When the pretty gypsy's boyfriend abandons her for a well-dressed rich lady, the gypsy realizes that she needs to dress more fashionably in this transitional piece.
D.W. Griffith had hectored his bosses at Biograph into spending more money on his cast's wardrobe, and it shows here. This short looks like it was made to show off that big-budget item. However, Griffith was in an experimental ferment and this short subject was an attempt to tell a story without titles.
Unfortunately for the modern viewer, the fact that all that Marion Leonard needs to do to make Harry Solter go gaga for her is to spend a lot of money on fashionable clothes will probably make no sense to the modern viewer, who will see her change from her work clothes to her evening clothes and not get the distinction. Also obscure may be the variations in acting register: people in gypsy costume make large, stagey motions, while rich society people -- or people who dress like them -- are much more restrained in their actions.
Clearly Griffith is moving towards a new style of motion picture acting, far more restrained, that will eventually sweep through the industry. Equally clearly, a modern viewer will not be able to understand these technical changes.... nor should he.
Doubtless the contemporary audience saw this comedy of class markers and thought it a good enough part of a film program. Griffith's handling of crowd scenes is impeccable and his editing is fine -- even to a modern viewer, this one will make sense with only a bit of coaching. Nonetheless, the failure of several of Griffith's experiments in this one makes it only of technical interest.
D.W. Griffith had hectored his bosses at Biograph into spending more money on his cast's wardrobe, and it shows here. This short looks like it was made to show off that big-budget item. However, Griffith was in an experimental ferment and this short subject was an attempt to tell a story without titles.
Unfortunately for the modern viewer, the fact that all that Marion Leonard needs to do to make Harry Solter go gaga for her is to spend a lot of money on fashionable clothes will probably make no sense to the modern viewer, who will see her change from her work clothes to her evening clothes and not get the distinction. Also obscure may be the variations in acting register: people in gypsy costume make large, stagey motions, while rich society people -- or people who dress like them -- are much more restrained in their actions.
Clearly Griffith is moving towards a new style of motion picture acting, far more restrained, that will eventually sweep through the industry. Equally clearly, a modern viewer will not be able to understand these technical changes.... nor should he.
Doubtless the contemporary audience saw this comedy of class markers and thought it a good enough part of a film program. Griffith's handling of crowd scenes is impeccable and his editing is fine -- even to a modern viewer, this one will make sense with only a bit of coaching. Nonetheless, the failure of several of Griffith's experiments in this one makes it only of technical interest.