Griffith, Keaton, Chaplin, Micheaux

1. D.W. Griffith
1875-1948
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2. D.W. Griffith
* Began as a playwright, very influenced by David Belasco
*When he decided to do film he was unmatched in using the
Belasco effect to create melodrama, suspense, pathos and purity.
* 1913 he breaks from the idea of the 1 reel movie and create
more complex material
* loved symbolism and allegory (blatant use)
* Most famous for “Birth of a Nation” 1914 and “Intolerance”
1916.
* Intolerance was Griffith’s longest, greatest, most complex film
it cost 1.9 million to make and was 14 reels long (only 12
survived)
* By the 1920’s Griffith was seen as “outdated.” He spent the last
17 years of his life “banned” from the art he practically created.
*He received an honorary Oscar in 1935
Monday, August 31, 15

3. Intolerance
1916
Intolerance is 4 stories told together. The intermixing of the
stories, (Belshazzar’s Babylon, The Pharisees against Jesus,
Reformation France and a Modern political story) creates an
intellectual, historical and emotional argument, that
the oppression of the little guy or underdog is always going
on. That all men must struggle against oppression,
intolerance and the overwhelming forces of hypocrisy and
cruelty.
Monday, August 31, 15

4. Mack Sennett
* Begin directing for Biograph in 1910
*Wanted to make a comedy about cops but studio said no.
* Opened his own company in 1912 called Keystone and started
making his own “cop comedies”
* The conversion of people into moving objects is at the center
of Sennett’s comic technique
The three Sennett formulas for comedy:
1. Start with a melodramatic plot and pepper it with gags.
The gags string the plot together.
2. Come up with a place or situation and think of gags that might
occur there. Called “riffing”
3. Parodying other directors with gags
Keystone Cops
First to use Charlie Chaplin in
a movie “Making a Living” 1914
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5. Charlie Chaplin
Chaplin working with Mack Sennett developed his character called “The Little Tramp”
He found all his props in the Sennett costume rooms. He wanted to add character to his
gymnastics. The oversized shoes, big pants, a little hat, little coat, mustache and cane
were all developed by Chaplin. Sennett didn’t want Chaplin to only have one character. They
parted ways. Between 1913 and 1918 Chaplin became one of the most popular “movie stars” ever.
Sennett Idea of
Comedy
“the comic world is a realm of
silly surfaces”
Chaplin Idea of
Comedy
“the comic world provides the means
to examine the serious world of human
needs and societal structures.”
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6. Charlie Chaplin
1889-1977
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7. Charlie Chaplin and The Little Tramp
* Chaplin slowed down the crazy pace of Sennett.
* He strung together distinct pieces of drama and
situation to create a comic narrative.
* The comical gags and physical antics tell the story
of a tragic hero, a man out of place, someone who
just wants to be loved.
* The “Tramp” is wiry tough and pragmatic, but
he has no social graces and is very naive. He survives
on toughness, opportunism and dishonesty but he
has a kind and giving heart.
* There is always a female character that he loves and
wants to help, protect or find redemption with.
* For Chaplin though, the woman is not just a sentimental
romantic character, She is a metaphor for natural beauty
uncorrupted by society and materialism.
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8. City Lights
1931
The Kid
1921
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9. The Rise of the Movie Star
*Early movies did not even recognize actors although they may be known as their character name.
* 1912 the first fan magazine was published called “Photoplay”
* By the twenties the lifestyles of the movie stars became big news
* Directors begin to market their stars and create “phony biographies” for more public appeal
Theda Bara
-the vamp Lillian Gish-The
first lady of
the cinema
Mary Pickford
America’s
Sweetheart
Rudolf Valentino- The Latin Lover
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10. The Rise of the Movie Studio
By 1915 most film companies had moved to Los Angeles
* Ironically most of the first movie producers who made the ethical rules for
the artistic and moral values of film were not always the best educated or moral of society.
*Most were immigrants, Russian, Jewish, German and Polish
* Paramount- the most powerful film company. Head: Adolf Zukor
* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer- Marcus Loew a theater owner, bought the Metro Picture
Company and merged with the Golden picture company to start MGM.
* United Artists- the 4 Best actors came together to create United. D.W.Griffith, Douglas
Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin
* Universal- a Nickelodeon theater owner Carl Laemmle merged several companies together
* Fox- William Fox a distributor and producer. First studio to receive awards for artistic quality
* Warner Brothers- Four brothers Albert, Harry, Sam and Jack were Nickelodeon owners
then bought Vitagraph and began to experiment with sound. It was a minor studio until
“The Jazz Singer”
Monday, August 31, 15

11. Buster Keaton
*American vaudevillian
* Big fan of Edison
* loved to manipulate the
camera (especially splitting a
frame into as many as 9
fragments)
* one of the greatest
performer/athletes
* constantly broke bones
filming his movies
* competition with Chaplin
but in the end they were
friends
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12. Oscar Micheaux
Pioneer Filmmaker
*Became a one man studio. Between 1918-48 he wrote, produced, directed, edited
and distributed more than 30 feature films.
*Controversial subjects: Such as a lynching from the African-American point of view, fighting
the KKK.
* Most popular film was “Body and Soul” 1924-starring great singer Paul Robeson.
* Moved to England where the movie industry was more open to Black performers and directors.
*He set the pattern and created the market for the “race movie” Race movies were made with all black
casts, for black audiences and shown in segregated theaters.
* themes of race movies was always a struggle of good and evil.
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