Way Down East
Summary
D.W. Griffith's silent epic, "Way Down East," unfurls a poignant narrative of societal condemnation and the enduring spirit of a wronged innocent, Anna Moore. A guileless country blossom, Anna falls prey to the insidious charm of Lennox Sanderson, a predatory scion of wealth who orchestrates a mock marriage, leaving her abandoned and pregnant. Her subsequent struggle to navigate a world that views her as irrevocably tainted, culminating in the heart-wrenching loss of her infant, forms the tragic core of her ordeal. She eventually finds refuge, albeit anonymously, in a rural community, only for her past to resurface with devastating force. The film meticulously charts her agonizing journey from naive vulnerability to a harrowing fight for survival, both physical and moral, against the backdrop of an unforgiving society and nature's icy wrath, ultimately questioning the rigidity of moral judgment and celebrating the possibility of redemption through genuine human connection.
Synopsis
A naive country girl is tricked into a sham marriage by a wealthy womanizer, then must rebuild her life despite the taint of having borne a child out of wedlock.
Director
Richard Barthelmess, George Neville, Lowell Sherman, Vivia Ogden, Lillian Gish, Edgar Nelson, Burr McIntosh, Carol Dempster, Frank Walsh, Patricia Fruen, Norma Shearer, Emily Fitzroy, Louise Lawson II, Edith Shearer, Josephine Bernard, Paul Porcasi, Porter Strong, Athole Shearer, Florence Short, The Vermont Dancers, Mrs. David Landau, Mary Hay, Mrs. Morgan Belmont, Creighton Hale, Kate Bruce
