This film was shot in January, 1912 and it represents a major step forward for Griffith. The camera-work by Billy Bitzer is excellent. Griffith is beginning to get his fluid style. Unlike the earlier Griffith films I've seen, the camera actually inter-cuts from a long-medium to a medium shot in the same scene.
We get a nice sense of a fishing village just from shots of Mary Pickford with waves in the background. Charles West is the handsome hero here. He is in love with Mary and proposes to her. Unfortunately, he apparently has been having a relationship with Mabel Norman. He drops Norman who doesn't take it very well and fights with Pickford (whom she later called "that prissy bitch")Mabel's brother is even more upset. He grabs a gun and comes after Charles West.
The acting is borderline melodramatic, but it is effective, You do get caught up in this love story. This is artistic filmmaking on the edge of being art. Griffith's direction is taking on a deeper quality here and he's starting to get some good performances from his actors. This is 1912, the year that Griffith really becomes Griffith.
We get a nice sense of a fishing village just from shots of Mary Pickford with waves in the background. Charles West is the handsome hero here. He is in love with Mary and proposes to her. Unfortunately, he apparently has been having a relationship with Mabel Norman. He drops Norman who doesn't take it very well and fights with Pickford (whom she later called "that prissy bitch")Mabel's brother is even more upset. He grabs a gun and comes after Charles West.
The acting is borderline melodramatic, but it is effective, You do get caught up in this love story. This is artistic filmmaking on the edge of being art. Griffith's direction is taking on a deeper quality here and he's starting to get some good performances from his actors. This is 1912, the year that Griffith really becomes Griffith.