Beyond the Rocks (1922): Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     For decades, with the exception of a one-minute portion, Beyond the Rocks (1922) was considered to be a lost film. It was a particularly tragic loss because the film portrayed the only time Silent greats Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson were paired together on screen. Miraculously, and with great applause from Film Historians, a nearly-complete print was found in an old rusty pile of film canisters in the Netherlands in 2003. Beyond the Rocks was restored by the Nederlands Filmmuseum, and was re-released in 2005... 83 years after it's initial debut.

     Theodora's (Gloria Swanson) father, Captain Fitzgerald, is in need of money. Theodora resolves to marry a rich man in order to ensure her family's well-being. When Theodora falls overboard from her rowboat, she is rescued by the wealthy Lord Hector Bracondale (Rudolph Valentino). The two part ways, as Bracondale is "not the marrying kind"... 

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     Theodora marries a rich old man that she does not love, and on her honeymoon, fate intervenes again. Theodora falls during a mountain climbing excursion, and by coincidence, Hector is there to rescue her again... 

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     They part ways once more, but reconnect in Paris. This time, they acknowledge their mutual love, and begin an affair... 

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     they even fantasize about their love existing in the past... 

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     But Theodora has made a vow to her husband, and is unsure whether or not her love for Hector is cause enough to break it...

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

a scene from "Beyond the Rocks" (1922)

The Great Train Robbery (1903): The First Narrative Film

     The first film to have a clear narrative storyline, albeit only 12 minutes long, was The Great Train Robbery (1903), written, directed and photographed by Edwin S. Porter. That's correct, the first "Modern American Film" was a Western... a fact most Western Film scholars are proud to reiterate. It was a milestone in movie making, produced by the Edison Film Company, and was pioneering in a number of the cinematic techniques that it utilized. These elements include double exposures, moving cameras and on-location shooting, to name a few. The Great Train Robbery was loosely based on the brazen exploits of the Wild Bunch, namely Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, as evidenced by the scene where explosives are used to open the locked strong-box. On a related historic side note, Butch and Sundance were in New York City, en route to South America, around the time The Great Train Robbery was released, and it is more than likely that the two would have caught a showing of it.

     Armed men enter a railroad telegraph office, forcing the operator to signal the train to stop, before leaving him bound up on the floor... 

The Great Train Robbery. 1903

     The bandits board the train, but find the safe to be locked. They must use dynamite to open it... 

The Great Train Robbery. 1903

     They de-board and a person trying to escape is shot... 

The Great Train Robbery. 1903

     The robbers flee with the money... 

The Great Train Robbery. 1903

     A young girl frees the telegraph operator, who promptly alerts the authorities, and the chase is on... 

The Great Train Robbery. 1903

     The inevitable shoot-out occurs...

The Great Train Robbery. 1903

"The Great Train Robbery"- full feature film

The Birth of a Nation (1915): D.W. Griffith's Controversial Epic Silent Masterpiece

     D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915), was one of the first large scale films (both in production costs and a 3 hour running time) and one of the first to validate Cinema as an art form. It is undeniably one of the most important films ever made, technically speaking. However, the film has been cloaked in controversy and protest ever since it's first showing on February 8, 1915. The film was still a huge success despite the boycotts and protests. D.W. Griffith's reasoning behind it was never quite clear, but he felt very hurt by the negative critiques. In response, his next film was titled Intolerance (1916). Perceived content aside, The Birth of a Nation is still wonderful to watch, if taken in the context of the time and the Cinematic technique and mastery from which it was made.

     The film follows two juxtaposed families. The Northern Stoneman family and the Southern Cameron family. The two families are friends and even have romantic ties between them with one of the elder Cameron boys and Elsie Stoneman (Lillian Gish)... 

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

     However, tensions are growing between the two halves of the Nation and, as a result, the two families must pick opposite sides in the conflict. The Civil War Begins... 

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

The Birth of a Nation. 1915

D.W. Griffith

The Birth of a Nation (1915)- full feature film