Review of Orphans of the Storm

This film demonstrates Griffith's genius in creating a massive scale and in linking disparate plot elements. By 1921, however, some of Griffith's innovations had become mere mannerisms, particularly the cross-cutting that leads to his climax, as introduced in "Birth of a Nation" and used, with powerful effect, in "Hearts of the World." The cross-cutting at the end of "Orphans" goes on much too long. Lillian Gish must have grown old staring down into the basket. Some techniques -- a blank screen followed by a face (memory) and a narrow focus on a face (point of view), for example, are still effective. I know that over-elaboration is a staple of the silent screen, but at times, it is over-the-top here. Constrast, for example, the more subtle approach of an actor like Alice Terry. Danton did argue for moderation, once he believed that the Revolution had succeeded. His oration in this film is, like much of it, simply unbelievable. The idyllic ending also strains credulity. How did this particular group of aristocrats escape the blade and retire to a country estate?