Lillian Gish Silent Film Stardom
The history of the great talent Lillian Gish is immeasurable. She has acted in more productions per decade then anyone else in this century. She has been in one hundred and five films alone, that's not counting all the on stage productions she has performed in. The amazing talents of this once beautiful young actress can be seen in any of her early silent films too. Way Down East and Orphans of the Storm are two of her earlier films that portray her exquisite skills. Yet none of this would be know if it wasn't for a mastermind of directing, D.W. Griffith. Gish would have lived a long unrecognized life of theatre and missed out on the most important part of her career, the silent film. Gish first started acting in the very early years of this century, 1902 to be exact, in a small stage named The Little Red School House. Her great film debut did not come until much later in 1912 when the great Griffith noticed her in a filming studio. He described her as the most beautiful thing, and said it appeared as if the light in the room was emanating from her and her alone, almost as if she was glowing. From there Griffith picked her up and started her on her great future in film. Gish said she would only act for him if he sign
Once Gish got into the swing of things with her silent film stardom the era of silent films was coming to an end. Gish had a decision to make. She could go into sound productions or on to the stage. Gish was a bit hesitant at first of sound so she went into stage performances; she was after all a superior stage actress. Eventually Gish started her roles in sound films or "talkies" her first was One Romantic Night in 1930. This was now under her new signing, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, better known as MGM studios in modern times. The films she did under MGM will never live up to the greatness her earlier films do under the reign of Griffith. Many people consider Gish the most important actress in history. This is mostly because of her command in the film. She is said to have laid down the ground rules for movie acting (entertainment magazine). Gish with help from Griffith is even said to have invented the close-up. This is a very great accomplishment for a woman in the early days of film. Another aspect that Entertainment Magazine said about her was that the heroines she portrayed, especially with Griffith, were fluttery, waiflike creatures assaulted by cruelties straight out of Dickens. Gish's personality also has a lot to do with her success in film. She had a strong, rich voice that could be remembered and yet she was sensible and very gracious. People used to say she was as fragile as a steel rod. Gish even coined her own statement about herself. "I've never been in style, so I can't go out of style." A sensible term for a sensible woman. Way Down East was a romance. The film plotted Gish
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Approximate Word count = 1089
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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