March 11

Dorothy Gish

For Dorothy Gish's Birthday I watched Orphans of the Storm by DW Griffith. It is almost like watching 2-3 different movies. One of the French Revolution and of the girls. I am going to focus on Dorothy and Lillian's story. The story starts off as a noble woman married a commoner and has a child and the commoner is killed by her family. The family takes the baby and leaves her at a foundling house. The woman leaves a note in a locket that her name is Louise and to take care of her. Another man goes to leave a baby at the foundling home and finds Louise. He realizes what will really happen to his child and takes her and the other baby back home. When he shows the baby to his wife they discover the note and a packet of coins. They raise the two girls as sisters. Louise is played by Dorothy and Henriette the Lillian Gish. They first appear in the about 15 minutes into the film as young ladies 16-18 years old I think. They do not have a credit in the beginning with the other actors but do have the their name listed on single title cards, whereas the other actors don't. Their parents have died from the plague a few years earlier and Dorothy is blind (dare I say spoiled) by mother hen Lillian. The sisters go to Paris where a doctor may help Dorothy regain her sight. When the girls get to Paris Dorothy is abducted by and Louise is left to fend on her own. She is taken in by a street Hag. The hag and her crew want her to sing so the Hag can beg for coins. She refuses and is locked in a cellar complete with rats. Dorothy meanwhile has been taken to a royal/society party, I don't know if it is an orgy but it is scandalous. Several men grab her and she begs for help. One man helps her. They go to where she was abducted and tries to find Dorothy but they can't find her. A doctor sees the girl and tells the hag that he can cure her, but the hag tells the girl there is nothing he can do for her. The hag takes her shawl so that she will really shiver in the cold. The Countess is Dorothy's mother. She sees the girl in the streets and gives her a coin. The Countess then goes to see Lillian who is involved with her nephew, the man who rescued her. While in Lillian's rooms Dorothy's voice is heard. She is begging in the street. Dorothy and Lillian finally find each other. As Lillian is going to the door the police come in and arrest her. She is taken to the jail kicking and screaming. Dorothy is taken away by the hag. At the jail, Lillian meets the doctor that saw her sister and finds out where she is staying. Then the French Revolution happens. The women are freed from jail and she goes right to the area. Lillian sees the hag wearing Dorothy's shawl and hag tells her Dorothy is dead. Devastated Lillian goes back to her apartments. Where she is turned in for having housed a nobleman. Dorothy is not dead she was begging in the streets. When they get back to their place one of the gang members attacks her and another gang member defends her and they fight. Dorothy and the man get away after the other man is wounded.

At the court Lillian and the man she loves are sentenced to die at the guillotine. Dorothy is one of the peasants in the courthouse. Lillian is given an hour to spend with her sister before she is taken away. The next part, which is the climatic part of the film, is very long. One blog I read stated that the the film could have been cut down, but the editing to prolong the anticipation of the actual death sentence is very good. At the court Lillian and her friend are defended by an impassioned speech, cut to Lillian getting on the cart to be taken to her execution. Back to the court, cut to Lillian several times, including one time seeing Dorothy in the streets. The court gives Lillian and her friend a stay of execution. As they try to get to the guillotine there are many obstacles. Lillian is put on a platform and lowered and locked into the guillotine that has a sticky catch. I have great respect for Lillian on doing that, she was in there for a long time. When the moment of execution comes the man who saved Dorothy comes onto the platform and knifes the executioner, but is knocked down by guards. As the hand rises to commence death the men from the court finally reach the platform and execution is halted. I have to admit, I did not think she would be saved, I had too sigh in relief. The last scene Dorothy and her mother are reunited and Dorothy can now see. Lillian is going to marry her man and life for them is good.

I am a little mixed on Dorothy's performance. At times she underacts and at times she overacts. Part of the overacting can be due to the fact it is a silent film. I first thought in comparison to Lillian, Dorothy was not as good. But the end of the film but them on an even level. At the end of the film when Dorothy gets her sight back she was happy and childlike in her exuberance.