The Love Flower (1920)

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

D.W. Griffith (writer)
Ralph Stock (story)

Release Date:

22 August 1920 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A man murders his wife's lovers, escapes with his daughter to the South Pacific. A detective pursues him...

Plot Keywords:

Falsely Accused | Adultery | Detective | Murder | South Sea Isle

Cast

Carol Dempster	...	Stella Bevan
Richard Barthelmess	...	Bruce Sanders
George MacQuarrie	...	Thomas Bevan
Anders Randolf	...	Matthew Crane
Florence Short	...	Mrs. Bevan
Crauford Kent	...	Her Visitor
Adolph Lestina	...	Bevan's Old Servant
William James	...	Crane's Assistant
Jack Manning	...	Crane's assistant

Also Known As:

Black Beach (USA) (working title)
The Gamest Girl (USA) (pre-release title)

Runtime:

77 min | 70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

D.W. Griffith Productions

Trivia:

Griffith and crew experienced a perilous voyage from Miami to the Bahamas during the making of this film, with two washed overboard, and no food for the crew for three days.

Flowers in the Dirt

While daddy's girl Carol Dempster (as Stella Bevan) frolics innocently in the woods, trouble is brewing -- her loving father (George MacQuarrie as Bevan) and shrewish mother (Florence Short as Mrs. Bevan) are having marital problems. Informed by a faithful servant that his wife is entertaining a lover, Mr. MacQuarrie discovers the trysting twosome; then, during a struggle, he shoots the man dead. To escape from the police, MacQuarrie takes daughter Dempster, and flees to a South Sea island. There, they encounter handsome Richard Barthelmess (as Bruce Sanders), who makes Dempster's heart flutter. She doesn't know it, but Mr. Barthelmess is assisting police detective Anders Randolf (as Crane), who has arrived to arrest her father.

"The Love Flower" is a much better film, overall, than director D.W. Griffith's accompanying South Sea adventure "The Idol Dancer" (1920) ***. G.W. Bitzer's photography is superb; he and Griffith paint some extraordinary, poetic images with the movie camera. The better production values are assisted by the absence of the ludicrous comic relief elements found in "The Idol Dancer". Unfortunately, "The Love Flower" fails to bloom; the melodramatic plot is interesting, but the love story between Dempster and Barthelmess does not work. Their pairing is more dull than passionate, although Barthelmess is a fine performer. Dempster is attractively athletic, and well-photographed; but, her emoting close-ups become sillier and sillier as the movie progresses. The older performers are much better, especially MacQuarrie.