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The Greatest Thing In Life
''The Greatest Thing in Life'' is a 1918 American silent drama film about World War I, directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, and David Butler. The film is now considered lost as no prints are known to exist.(Wayback Machine) This film was released later in the same year as Griffith's more famous World War I film, '' Hearts of the World'', which also stars Lillian Gish and Robert Harron. ''The Greatest Thing in Life'' was renowned for two main aspects: the groundbreaking portrait photography style of Henrik Sartov,Merrit, Russel, quoted in ''The Griffith Project''. Usai, Paolo Cherchi, and Cynthia Rowell, eds. Vol. 9: Films Produced in 1916-8. London: British Film Institute, 2005. Pgs. 196-9. and a "new and daring" interracial kiss between a white officer and a black soldier (both male).Gish, Lillian, with Ann Pinchot. ''Lillian Gish: The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me'', Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969. Pgs. 202. Plot As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was dubbed the "First Lady of the Screen" by ''Vanity Fair'' in 1927 and is credited with pioneering fundamental film performance techniques. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Gish as the 17th-greatest female movie star of classical Hollywood cinema. Having acted on stage with her sister as a child, Gish was a prominent film star from 1912 into the 1920s, being particularly associated with the films of director D. W. Griffith. This included her leading role in the highest-grossing film of the silent era, Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915). Her other major films and performances from the silent era included ''Intolerance'' (1916), '' Broken Blossoms'' (1919), '' Way Down East'' (1920), '' Orphans of the Storm'' (1921), ''La Bohème'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adolph Lestina
Adolph Lestina (1861 – August 23, 1923) was an American stage and film actor who was a member of D. W. Griffith's stock company of film actors. Career He received positive notice for his performance in Justin McCarthy's ''If I Were King'' and in Laurence Irving's ''The Fool Hath Said There Is No God''. Lestina's performance in the play ''A Citizen's Home'' was noted as being "sympathetic". Lestina was credited with "discovering" D. W. Griffith. "This gentleman saw to it that young Griffith played the role of Old Man Marks in '' The Lights o' London'' with the Meffert company ..The gentleman who "discovered Griffith as an actor, Adolphe Lestina, later appeared in many D. W. Griffith film productions, including '' Hearts of the World'' (1918) and '' The Love Flower'' (1920)". Griffith, speaking of his time with the Meffert Stock Company, said that Lestina told him that to be a playwright, one first had to be an actor. Personal life Adolph Lestina was married to Bessie Lee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Rohauer
Raymond Rohauer ( 1924 – November 10, 1987) was an American film collector and distributor. Rohauer first started his career by curating films at the Coronet Theatre. In the 1950s, he came to prominence as a distributor and reissuer of Buster Keaton movies which he partnered with Keaton for. Rohauer would later acquire various films, such as silent films, which expanded into a film library better known as the Rohauer Library. Rohauer often used tactics to secure the distribution of these films, protect his library by exhibiting low-quality copies of such, and licensing them, which were often contested by his contemporaries and the subject of his controversy. He died on November 10, 1987, with his film library estimated to have 700 titles. Since then, his library has been integrated into the Cohen Film Collection. Early life and career Raymond Rohauer was born in 1924 and raised in Buffalo, New York. He moved to California in 1942 and was educated at Los Angeles City Colleg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of List of islands of the United Kingdom, the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering . Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. It maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London. The cities o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salisbury Plain Training Area
The Salisbury Plain Training Area is a large expanse of land on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, which is managed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. History The British Army's Salisbury Plain Training Area covers roughly half of the plain (and makes up about 11% of Wiltshire). The army first conducted exercises on the plain in 1898. From that time, the Ministry of Defence bought up large areas of land until the Second World War. The MoD now own of land, making it the largest military training area in the United Kingdom. Much of this land is let to farmers or grazed under licence, while around (12,000 ha) are used for live firing, where public access is greatly restricted or permanently closed. The land and facilities are managed by the MoD's Defence Infrastructure Organisation. The largest camps and barracks in or near the training area are at Larkhill, Bulford, Tidworth, Trenchard Lines (Upavon) and Waterloo Lines (War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry (; Picard: ''Catieu-Thierry'') is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition attributes it to Theuderic IV, the penultimate Merovingian king, who was imprisoned by Charles Martel, without a reliable source. Château-Thierry is the birthplace of Jean de La Fontaine and was the location of the First Battle of the Marne and Second Battle of the Marne. The arrondissement of Château-Thierry is called the country of Omois. Château-Thierry is one of 64 French towns to have received the Legion of Honour. History In the late years of the western Roman empire, a small town called Otmus was settled on a site where the Soissons-Troyes road crossed the Marne river. During the 8th century, Charles Martel kept king Theuderic IV prisoner in the castle of Otmus. At this time, the town took the na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marne River
The Marne (; ) is a river in France, an eastern tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. It is long. The river gave its name to the departments of France, departments of Haute-Marne, Marne (department), Marne, Seine-et-Marne, and Val-de-Marne. The Marne starts in the Langres plateau, runs generally north then bends west between Saint-Dizier and Châlons-en-Champagne, joining the Seine at Charenton-le-Pont, Charenton just upstream from Paris. Its main tributaries are the Rognon (Marne), Rognon, the Blaise (Marne), Blaise, the Saulx (river), Saulx, the Ourcq, the Petit Morin and the Grand Morin. Near the town of Saint-Dizier, part of the flow is diverted through the artificial Lake Der-Chantecoq. This ensures both flood prevention and the maintenance of minimum river flows in periods of drought. The Marne is famous as the site of two eponymous battles during World War I. The First Battle of the Marne, first battle was a turning point of the war, fought in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Love (1918 Film)
''The Great Love'' is a 1918 American silent war drama film directed and written by D. W. Griffith who, along with scenario writer Stanner E.V. Taylor, is credited as "Captain Victor Marier". The film stars George Fawcett and Lillian Gish. Set during World War I, exterior scenes were shot on location in England. ''The Great Love'' is now considered to be a lost film. This film had footage of several high society and influential British people helping out with the war effort, including Queen Alexandra, the widow of King Edward VII, and Sir Frederick Treves, the doctor who once knew and tended to Joseph Merrick a.k.a. "The Elephant Man". Footage of a Zeppelin air raid on London taken by G. W. Bitzer was also included the film. Plot Jimmie Young (Robert Harron), a young man from Youngstown, Pennsylvania, enlists in the British army after reading reports of German atrocities, joining the war effort before American forces formally enter the conflict. He begins military training at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucille Young
Lucille May Young (March 6, 1883 – August 2, 1934) was an American actress of the early silent film era. Early life Lucille May Young was born on March 6, 1883, in Lansing, Michigan, the daughter of Glendower Young (1858–1927) and Katherine Bessie "Kittie" Young (1861–1942). She had one brother, Howard Earl Young, who was born a year earlier. Some sources give Lucille's birth name as Lucia Medina, her birth year as 1892, and her birthplace as Lyon, France. Her parents' marriage was short-lived, and her mother remarried to James Mortimer Terry, gaining Young a half-sister, Ethel Terry, who also became an actress (not to be confused with Ethel Grey Terry). Career In 1905, Lucille and Ethel began performing in vaudeville in Detroit. One production noted in the Detroit Free Press was the "Isles of Spice". She's mentioned as a player in the vaudeville giant, Vaughan Glaser Company in 1907. Around 1909 she made her way to New York, her early film work there being w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Malatesta
Fred Malatesta (April 18, 1889 – April 8, 1952) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1915 and 1941. He was born in Naples, Italy, and died in Burbank, California. Selected filmography * ''Sherlock Holmes'' (1916) - 'Lightfoot' McTague * '' The Legion of Death'' (1918) - Grand Duke Paul * '' The Claim'' (1918) - Ted 'Blackie' Jerome * '' The Demon'' (1918) - Count Theodore de Seramo * '' The Border Raiders'' (1918) - 'Square Deal' Dixon * '' The Greatest Thing in Life'' (1918) - (uncredited) * '' Terror of the Range'' (1919) - Black John * '' Full of Pep'' (1919) - General Lopanzo * '' The Devil's Trail'' (1919) - Dubec * '' The Four-Flusher'' (1919) - Señor Emanuelo Romez * '' The Valley of Tomorrow'' (1920) - Enrico Colonna * '' The Best of Luck'' (1920) - Lanzana * '' Big Happiness'' (1920) - Raoul de Bergerac * ''The Challenge of the Law'' (1920) - Jules Lafitte * '' The Sins of Rosanne'' (1920) - Syke Ravenal * '' Risky Business'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carol Dempster
Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent film era. She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with D. W. Griffith extensively. Early years Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dempster was the daughter of a captain on the Great Lakes and the youngest of four children. The family moved to California when her father decided to change careers. While dancing in a school program, Dempster was noticed by Ruth St. Denis and went on to become the youngest graduate in the first class of St. Denis's school of dance. Career Dempster's first feature role came in 1919 in the Griffith directed ''The Girl Who Stayed at Home'' opposite Robert Harron, Robert "Bobby" Harron. Dempster followed this with Griffith's ''The Love Flower'' (1920), ''Dream Street (film), Dream Street'' (1921), ''One Exciting Night (1922 film), One Exciting Night'' (1922) and ''Isn't Life Wonderful'' (1924), ''America (1924 film), America'' (1924), ''Sally of the Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who, in a career spanning nearly five decades, starred in many silent film drama film, dramas, such as Erich von Stroheim's 1924 epic ''Greed (1924 film), Greed'', along with comedies, before moving into sound films, mostly comedy roles. She also appeared on numerous radio shows and, later, on television. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 at 6554 Hollywood Blvd. Early life ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas, the third of four children of Rulandus and Nelly (''née'' Shay) Pitts. Her father, who had lost a leg while serving in the 76th New York Volunteer Infantry, 76th New York Infantry in the American Civil War, Civil War, had settled the family in Kansas before ZaSu's birth. The names of her father's sisters, Eliza and Susan, were purportedly the basis for the name "ZaSu", i.e., to satisfy competing family interests. It has been (incorrectly) spelled as Zazu Pitts in some fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
