Millennials and the End of Classic Cinema

posted in: Writer's notebook | 0

Like many others who grew up loving classic Hollywood movies, I’ve been discouraged to find those feelings not shared by so-called millennials and others in the digital age. I noticed this first some years back when I made the mistake … Continued

When Cinema Was of Two Minds

In the beginning, the movies were of two minds —D.W. Griffith’s and Mack Sennett’s. Griffith and Sennett were both young men when they came stumbling into the Biograph Co. in 1908. Each had tasted professional failure and was more than … Continued

Film Censorship and the ‘McClellan Massacre’

posted in: Early moving pictures | 6

      “Art belongs to the young — born in the passions of loins and hearts, not in the abstractions of mature minds.” – Terry Ramsaye in “A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture Through … Continued

Billy Bitzer: Close-up on ‘one black hell’

posted in: Early moving pictures | 1

  Flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Texas this week sent me looking for an old friend who photographed the aftermath of the horrific Galveston hurricane of 1900. The great G.W. “Billy” Bitzer was a cameraman at American Mutoscope and Biograph … Continued

Griffith’s Secret Scandal, Part 3

posted in: Early moving pictures | 2

Mrs. Mary Scott Castle’s erratic behavior made headlines both before and after her three-and-a-half year affair with actor Lawrence (D.W.) Griffith. So when she simply vanished from a Manhattan dinner party given in her honor, even her relatives balked at … Continued

Griffith’s Secret Scandal, Part 2

posted in: Early moving pictures | 0

Mary Scott’s sudden disappearance from a dinner party on March 23, 1901 was a complete shock to Lawrence (D.W.) Griffith. Until that evening he had seen himself largely as the victim in their relationship. He was a poet and would-be … Continued