Tag Archives: Lillian Gish

From Lillian Gish to James Dean: My Interview with Dan Callahan

I had a lot of fun interviewing Dan Callahan about his new book The Art of American Screen Acting, 1912-1960. It’s now up at Slant Magazine: Mystery of Screen Acting: An Interview with Dan Callahan.

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Happy Birthday, Lillian Gish

While re-arranging my library, which meant removing many many books, I turned around and saw this tableau. Not only did Lillian Gish get her start in the earliest days of cinema, helping to basically “invent” the closeup, under the direction … Continue reading

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One of the Most Exciting Action Scenes Ever Filmed

It’s from D.W. Griffith’s Way Down East (1920), starring Lillian Gish and a stalwart yet passionate Richard Barthelmess. Way Down East, even with its overlay of sentimentality about womanhood (one title card reads: “Maternity – Woman’s Gethsemene”), is a very … Continue reading

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Night Of the Hunter: “Chiiiiiiiiildren…”

Watched Night of the Hunter this morning, this dark rainy morning. Is there a film more packed full of arrestingly beautiful and terrifying shots? The black silhouette of the farmhouse – against the white white sky … with the two … Continue reading

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