From Silents to Talkies

The Movies, Mr Griffith and Me by Lillian Gish

Amazon:

By today's standards, Lillian Gish's performances in silent film seem mannered--but during the 1910s and 1920s they were nothing short of revolutionary, for unlike most actors of the era Gish was determined to perform in as natural a manner as possible. In doing so, she literally pioneered screen acting technique as we now know it, and it would be extremely difficult to over-estimate her artistic impact.

Although Gish worked with numerous directors over the course of her extremely long career, she is most specifically remembered for her association with D.W. Griffith, whose pioneering silent films firmly established what Gish would describe as "the grammar" of modern cinema. As one might guess from its title, a good portion of THE MOVIES, MR. GRIFFITH, & ME is devoted to Griffith, and it offers a first-hand account of Griffith, the challenges he faced, and the evolution of film from extremely primitive one-reels into a sophisticated art form during the 1910s; those interested in film history will be particularly fascinated by Gish's accounts of the filming of two landmark silents, BIRTH OF A NATION and INTOLERANCE.

I bought this book for a number of reasons. The obvious being that I remember and like Lillian Gish movies...her last movie being right up there by the top, called The Whales of August.

The first two things I noticed about this book were both the "hand drawn cover" (by Jock von Bismark) and then the price! Back in 1969 when this second printing came out, this 385 page book was a trivial seven dollars and ninety-five cents! Now-a-day, that equals out to having to be a "Bargain Book"!

This book is aptly named, for although Lillian Gish worked for years with DW Griffith, the book is more about him and "their" movies than it is a biography of Ms. Gish. Still I found the book most enjoyable and interesting. At all times you had the feel of how things were back in the day, before talking movies.

Trivia from the book: It was Mary Pickford who introduced D W Griffith to Lillian Gish, Dorothy and their mother.

(a quote in the book. Ms Gish trying to describe DW Griffith) .....

I grope in the files of memory for my first impression of David Wark Griffith.

He looked so tall to my young eyes, yet he was two inches under six fee. He was imposing; he held himself like a king. Later I discovered that he could no more slouch than change the color of his blue eyes, which were hooded and deep-set. He was vigorous and masculine-looking. Under the wide-brimmed straw hat set on his head with a jaunty curve to the brim, his brown sideburns were rather long. His nose was prominent; his profile seemed to belong on a Roman coin, and he had the heavy loser lip and jaw of the Bourbons. It was an important face.

(DW Griffith)

(quote on making silent movies) We were encouraged to train our bodies for acrobatic pantomime, which was particularly useful when the camera was shooting from a distance. We were also called upon to perform the most dangerous stunts. None of us ever objected; it did not occur to us to object.

I do enjoy learning little things about a person or about the early days of movie making . In this book there were many little things that made the book enjoyable. For instance, at one point Ms. Gish mentions a man named Al Jennings, who taught her how to shoot a gun...

(quote) He taught me to draw and fire a gun, which he could do faster than the eye could follow. I am still a good shot; when later I played in The Unforgiven, John Huston, the director, was startled to find that I could fire faster than Burt Lancaster... thanks to my old friend Al Jennings.

(Orphan of the Storm 1922)

(Scarlet Letter)

(quote) I was upset at the changes that were taking place in our working world. Talking pictures had been born. When I returned to Hollywood, I saw that every studio was being transformed with soundproofing, which made it airtight. Under the hot lights, the poor actors had to wear rubber suits under their costumes to keep them looking dry during the filming.

(With Helen Hayes: Arsenic and Old Lace)

This was a very enjoyable book. Although it was more a dedication to Mr Griffith, Lillian Gish's career was closely entwined with Mr Griffith, and so it made perfect sense that this book would be written in such a way.

Since I am so firmly ensconced in the time when movies went from silent to talkies I have yet to finish reading books on many from that time period. I still have (and probably will for some time) a book on John Ford that is the biggest book I've ever owned..and small print! And I've sent from 2 more movie related books.... Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood by Eileen Whitfield and The Star Machine by Jeanine Basinger, which I plan on reading in between my books for the RIP III Challenge!!