Orphans of the Storm (1921)
- General info
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- Synopsis:
- D.W. Griffith's last great success, Orphans of the Storm is a handsome, whirlwind of a film starring Lillian and Dorothy Gish as sisters during the French Revolution. Orphans is a wonderful showcase for all the techniques that Griffith had developed, mastered and patented since the beginning of his career.
- Actors:
- Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut, Frank Losee, Katherine Emmet, Morgan Wallace, Lucille La Verne, Sheldon Lewis, Frank Puglia, Creighton Hale, Monte Blue, Sidney Herbert, Lee Kohlmar, Marcia Harris, Adolph Lestina
- Directors:
- D.W. Griffith
- Writers:
- Adolphe d'Ennery, Eugène Cormon
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Romance
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Reviews (1) of Orphans of the Storm
Historical Melodrama (spoiler). - Orphans of the Storm review by Steve
Lavish historical epic set in the French Revolution. It failed at the box office, maybe due to its lengthy and complicated narrative. This is further confused by DW Griffith's position on the uprising; it was made four years after the Russian revolution and is primarily anti-Bolshevik propaganda. By the climax it feels like the aristocrats prevailed!
The films of Griffith and Lillian Gish were out of fashion by 1921. The title came to stand for the excesses of Victorian melodrama. But this succeeds as a spectacle. The recreation of Paris is magnificent. The cast of extras is vast and the costumes are fabulous. Griffith manoeuvres Gish into another cliffhanger every 10 minutes and disentangles her at the last possible moment.
This works because the director is so good at suspense, and Lillian Gish such an immense screen presence. She transcends the classic archetype of early cinema; a virtuous woman who must suffer because the world is hostile, but who is rewarded for her purity.
Griffith doesn't frame Gish in close-up as much as usual. She is in long shot, a fragment trapped in the whirlwind of events. Inevitably the film builds to Lillian on the guillotine with Danton riding to the rescue! As melodrama it is formulaic, though entertaining. As history it is bunk. But as a spectacle and a vehicle for Lillian's immortal fragility, it is a triumph.