Griffith Returns to 1922 -- October 7, 2022

Photoplay, October, 1922

100 years ago this month, DW Griffith's favorite leading lady was his protégé, Carol Dempster. The Photoplay caption expresses wonderment because Griffith's new film would be set in the present day. "Carol Dempster is the flapper in chief..." One Exciting Night was not very. Poor previews led him to gather the cast back at his studio in Mamaroneck, Long Island. He decided that the film needed a big climax, so he created a hurricane scene. The film still exists, but I have never seen it.

Motion Picture News, 14-October-1922

At the same time, the Favorite Star Series re-released "twelve western and semi-western features of two reels each." The ad says that the chosen films were "issued under the original titles but re-edited and re-subtitled." The ad also says they were all directed by Griffith, but that is not true. "An Indian's Loyalty" was directed by Christy Cabanne in 1913, under the supervision of Griffith. DW Griffith and Frank Powell co-directed "Gold and Glitter" in 1912. "The Spirit Awakened(1912)," "Fate(1913)," "Heredity(1912)" and "Two Men of the Desert(1913)" were directed by Griffith. All were Biograph productions.