STAGESTRUCK FILMMAKER Studies in Theatre History and Culture edited by Thomas Postlewait STAGESTRUCK FILMMAKER D.W.GRIFFITH & THE AMERICAN THEATRE David Mayer (cid:86)(cid:79)(cid:74)(cid:87)(cid:70)(cid:83)(cid:84)(cid:74)(cid:85)(cid:90)(cid:1)(cid:80)(cid:71)(cid:1)(cid:74)(cid:80)(cid:88)(cid:66)(cid:1)(cid:81)(cid:83)(cid:70)(cid:84)(cid:84)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:74)(cid:80)(cid:88)(cid:66)(cid:1)(cid:68)(cid:74)(cid:85)(cid:90) University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242 Copyright © 2009 by the University of Iowa Press www.uiowapress.org Printed in the United States of America Design by Richard Hendel No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. All reasonable steps have been taken to contact copyright holders of material used in this book. The publisher would be pleased to make suitable arrangements with any whom it has not been possible to reach. Some of the material published here previously appeared in abridged and altered form in The Griffith Projectvolumes, Film History, Living Pictures,and Nineteenth-Century Theatre. The University of Iowa Press is a member of Green Press Initiative and is committed to preserving natural resources. Printed on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mayer, David. Stagestruck filmmaker: D. W. Griffith and the American theatre/by David Mayer. p. cm.—(Studies in theatre history and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-1-58729-790-8 (cloth) isbn-10: 1-58729-790-6 (cloth) 1. Griffith, D. W. (David Wark), 1875–1948—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Motion pictures and theater. I. Title. pn1998.3.g76m39 2009 2008041453 791.4302'33092—dc22 frontispiece Poster, ca. 1900, for ’Way Down Eastdepicting Anna Moore’s arrival at Bartlett Farm and the principal characters, less Lennox Sanderson, gathered in the farmyard setting. Anna is central to the image, and in all depictions of her first entrance is isolated, an alien in an uncertain and initially unwelcoming place. The image is probably derived from the Joseph Byron photograph of Phoebe Davies as Anna Moore, in chapter 7. For Helen, Cassie, Lise, Catherine, and Isaac with much love Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 The Mobile Theatre 31 2 Actor and Playwright 57 3 Griffith at Biograph 87 4 Dramas of Civil War, Ethnicity, and Race 120 5 The ClansmanandThe Birth of a Nation 142 6 Eclecticism and Exploration 166 7 Way Down East 186 8 Twilight Revels 217 Notes 251 Playlist 273 Filmography 277 Bibliography 281 Index 295 Acknowledgments Some people don’t realize that they’re on a journey until a destination of sorts comes into view. I’m one of those people: traveling and enjoy- ing the scenery but with no sense of moving from back there to right here to somewhere farther in the distance. But I was lucky, and this list of colleagues and friends who helped and sometimes accompanied me on my journey is an admission that I didn’t travel alone and that I was constantly aided and befriended en route. Above all, I traveled, from start to finish, with my wife, Helen Day- Mayer. A fine theatre historian in her own right, Helen saw every Grif- fith film with me, often more than once, read, advised, suggested emendations, and repeatedly drew upon her outstanding skills at describing and analyzing actors’ performances and the effects of Grif- fith’s directorial instructions. In all truth, Helen should be credited as joint author, and it is only her genuine and self-effacing modesty which keeps her name from the title page. I acknowledge her innu- merable contributions with pride, gratitude, and love. Additionally and importantly, Christine Gledhill drew Helen and me into silent film and thence to the Pordenone Silent Film Festival just as the Griffith Project was getting under way. Patrick Loughney directed my attention to the Library of Congress’s Paper Print Collec- tion and brought us directly into the Griffith Project’s orbit, where Paolo Cherchi-Usai, Russell Merritt (who, years before me, had rec- ognized and identified Griffith’s early links to theatre), J. B. Kaufman, Scott Simmon, Yuri Tsivian, Eileen Bowser, Tom Gunning, Linda Williams, Joyce Jesionowski, Paul Spehr, Steven Higgins, Charles Musser, Lea Jacobs, Ben Brewster, and Cindi Rowell quietly and judi- ciously allowed me to discover Griffith’s numerous theatrical connec- tions while making certain that I continued to write about film. Their fellowship, multiple kindnesses, intellectual generosity, and their total lack of selfishness with Griffith information and artifacts sped my task. I had only to ask, and they supplied answers and essential inter- pretations. Helen and I have enjoyed the same measure of cordiality and assistance from Richard Abel, Rick Altman, and the many mem- bers of Domitor, who welcomed two theatre historians into their tight circle of film scholarship. They have been immensely supportive