One Exciting Night (1922)
** (out of 4)
D.W. Griffith's only venture into the "old dark house/mystery" genre is a rather strange film that also mixes in comedy but in the end it just doesn't work. A baby is born in Africa and sixteen years later she is about to gain control of an estate, although she doesn't know this. Soon someone shows up on the scene committing murders but who is it? On the whole this is a very average film due in large part to its incredible running time, which nearly reaches two and a half hours. The final hour of the film contains about twelve different endings where you think the film is over but it keeps going on and on and on. Henry Hull delivers a good performance but the rest of the cast is rather lame. The biggest highlight is a hurricane at the end of the film, which contains some of the greatest special effects of its time. There's a moment when a servant takes shelter by a house only to have the house tear apart and fly away while the actor is standing there.
** (out of 4)
D.W. Griffith's only venture into the "old dark house/mystery" genre is a rather strange film that also mixes in comedy but in the end it just doesn't work. A baby is born in Africa and sixteen years later she is about to gain control of an estate, although she doesn't know this. Soon someone shows up on the scene committing murders but who is it? On the whole this is a very average film due in large part to its incredible running time, which nearly reaches two and a half hours. The final hour of the film contains about twelve different endings where you think the film is over but it keeps going on and on and on. Henry Hull delivers a good performance but the rest of the cast is rather lame. The biggest highlight is a hurricane at the end of the film, which contains some of the greatest special effects of its time. There's a moment when a servant takes shelter by a house only to have the house tear apart and fly away while the actor is standing there.