The Better Way (1909)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writer:

Stanner E.V. Taylor (writer)

Release Date:

12 August 1909 (USA)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

Elizabeth is in love with a young man, but she is pressured by her mother to marry a wealthy but kind older man...

Cast

Stephanie Longfellow	...	Elizabeth Parker
Kate Bruce	...	Elizabeth's Mother
Henry B. Walthall	...	Oliver Sylvester
James Kirkwood	...	Squire Calvin Cartwright
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William J. Butler	...	The Squire's Father
Verner Clarges	...	Minister
Arthur V. Johnson	...	Puritan
Owen Moore	...	Puritan
Anthony O'Sullivan	...	Puritan
Lottie Pickford	...	Puritan
Mack Sennett	...	Puritan

Runtime:

11 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Coytesville, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Biograph Company

Detached from its audience

This eleven minute offering was successful in detaching itself from its audience. The 34 year old D.W. Griffith just does not have the ability to allow viewers to invest their interests in the protagonists. You don't feel any concern for the characters whatsoever, primarily on the basis of the fact that they are an extension of his own personality rather than discovering their soul through performance. The actors certainly don't have a voice in this piece, and I felt cheated that there wasn't a story to tell. The camera tends to be too passive in its observations of events. It doesn't intrude or trespass in order to engage the audience. Not my cup of tea at all.