D.W. Griffith's photo

D.W. Griffith

Born: 1875-01-22 in LaGrange, Kentucky, USA

Died: 1948-07-23

Known For: Directing

Biography

David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance (1916). Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera and narrative techniques, and its immense popularity set the stage for the dominance of the feature-length film. It also proved extremely controversial at the time and ever since for its negative depiction of Black Americans and their supporters, and its positive portrayal of slavery and the Ku Klux Klan. Griffith responded to his critics with his next film, Intolerance, intended to show the dangers of prejudiced thought and behavior. The film was not the financial success that its predecessor had been, but was received warmly by critics. Several of his later films were also successful, but high production, promotional, and roadshow costs often made his ventures commercial failures. Even so, he is generally considered one of the most important figures of early cinema.

Filmography

2024

Hollywood Black as Self (archive footage)

2023

Mary Pickford a Blessing and a Curse as Self

2020

Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty as archive footage

2014

Flashback: The First World War as Self (archive footage)

2008

Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies as Self (archive footage)

2007

Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema as Self (archive footage)

2002

The Tramp and the Dictator as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
D.W. Griffith - Years of Discovery 1909-1913 ... (Writer)

1998

Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists as Self (archive footage)

1995

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies as Self (archive footage)

1993

The Making of 'The Birth of a Nation' as Self (Archive footage)

1988

American Experience as Self

1973

General Massacre ... (Novel)

1961

The Legend of Rudolph Valentino as Self (archive footage)

1951

Footlight Varieties ... (Director)

1936

San Francisco as Orchestra Conductor (uncredited)

1931

The Struggle ... (Director)

1930

Abraham Lincoln ... (Director)
1930 Prelude to "The Birth of a Nation" as Self

1929

Lady of the Pavements ... (Director)

1928

Drums of Love ... (Director)
The Battle of the Sexes ... (Director)

1927

The King of Kings ... (Assistant Director)

1926

The Sorrows of Satan ... (Director)

1925

That Royle Girl ... (Director)
Sally of the Sawdust ... (Director)

1924

Isn't Life Wonderful ... (Director)
America ... (Director)

1923

The White Rose ... (Director)

1922

One Exciting Night ... (Director)

1921

Orphans of the Storm ... (Director)
Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20) as Himself
Dream Street ... (Director)

1920

Way Down East ... (Director)
Remodeling Her Husband ... (Director)
The Idol Dancer ... (Director)
The Love Flower ... (Director)

1919

Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl ... (Director)
The Fall of Babylon ... (Writer)
True Heart Susie ... (Director)
The Mother and the Law ... (Director)
A Romance of Happy Valley ... (Director)
The Girl Who Stayed at Home ... (Producer)
Scarlet Days ... (Director)
The Greatest Question ... (Director)

1918

The Greatest Thing in Life ... (Producer)
The Hun Within ... (Writer)
The Great Love ... (Producer)
Hearts of the World ... (Director)
Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal ... (Writer)

1917

Betsy's Burglar ... (Supervising Producer)
A Girl of the Timber Claims ... (Supervising Producer)

1916

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages ... (Scenario Writer)
Don Quixote ... (Supervisor of Production Resources)
Fifty-Fifty ... (Producer)
Hoodoo Ann ... (Writer)
The Half-Breed ... (Producer)
Susan Rocks the Boat ... (Producer)
The Social Secretary ... (Producer)
Betty of Greystone ... (Story)
The Children of the Feud ... (Producer)
Diane of the Follies ... (Writer)
Macbeth ... (Producer)
The Missing Links ... (Production Supervisor)
Daphne and the Pirate ... (Writer)
An Innocent Magdalene ... (Story)
Let Katie Do it ... (Story)
The Wood Nymph ... (Story)
The Marriage of Molly-O ... (Writer)

1915

The Birth of a Nation ... (Producer)
Ghosts ... (Producer)
Enoch Arden as Mr. Ray
Old Heidelberg ... (Supervising Producer)
Double Trouble ... (Production Supervisor)
The Lily and the Rose ... (Writer)
The Lamb ... (Story)

1914

Judith of Bethulia ... (Director)
Home, Sweet Home ... (Director)
The Avenging Conscience ... (Director)
The Escape ... (Director)
Brute Force ... (Director)
The Life of General Villa ... (Supervising Producer)
The Battle of the Sexes ... (Director)
Waifs ... (Director)
The Odalisque ... (Supervising Producer)

1913

The Mistake ... (Director)
The Battle at Elderbush Gulch ... (Director)
Three Friends ... (Director)
Oil and Water ... (Director)
Just Gold ... (Writer)
The Hero of Little Italy ... (Director)
A Misunderstood Boy ... (Director)
If We Only Knew ... (Director)
The Ranchero's Revenge ... (Director)
Madonna of the Storm ... (Director)
The Wanderer ... (Director)
Death's Marathon ... (Director)
His Mother's Son ... (Director)
The Perfidy of Mary ... (Director)
The Telephone Girl and the Lady ... (Director)
The Reformers ... (Director)
The Tender Hearted Boy ... (Director)
The Sheriff's Baby ... (Director)
The House of Darkness ... (Director)
Love in an Apartment Hotel ... (Director)
The Enemy's Baby ... (Director)
The Coming of Angelo ... (Director)
A Misappropriated Turkey ... (Director)
Near To Earth ... (Director)
The Unwelcome Guest ... (Director)
The Yaqui Cur ... (Director)
The Lady and the Mouse ... (Writer)
His Mother's Son ... (Director)
The Left-Handed Man ... (Director)
The Little Tease ... (Writer)
Two Men of the Desert ... (Screenplay)
A Chance Deception ... (Director)
The Sorrowful Shore ... (Director)
The Mothering Heart ... (Director)
The Conscience of Hassan Bey ... (Director)
An Adventure in the Autumn Woods ... (Director)
Broken Ways ... (Director)
Fate ... (Director)
The Stolen Loaf ... (Director)
Brothers ... (Director)
The Adopted Brother ... (Director)
Her Mother's Oath ... (Director)
A Timely Interception ... (Director)

1912

Blind Love ... (Director)
Brutality ... (Writer)
His Lesson ... (Director)
In the Aisles of the Wild ... (Director)
The One She Loved ... (Director)
So Near, Yet So Far ... (Director)
Gold and Glitter ... (Director)
The Female of the Species ... (Director)
The Transformation of Mike ... (Director)
The Massacre ... (Director)
The Painted Lady ... (Director)
The Eternal Mother ... (Director)
Just Like a Woman ... (Director)
The Baby and the Stork ... (Director)
The Informer ... (Director)
A Siren of Impulse ... (Director)
My Baby ... (Director)
The New York Hat ... (Director)
A Cry for Help ... (Director)
An Unseen Enemy ... (Director)
The Narrow Road ... (Director)
Friends ... (Director)
Man's Genesis ... (Director)
The Musketeers of Pig Alley ... (Writer)
Heredity ... (Director)
A Beast at Bay ... (Director)
The Burglar’s Dilemma ... (Director)
The Chief's Blanket ... (Director)
The Root of Evil ... (Director)
A String of Pearls ... (Director)
One Is Business, the Other Crime ... (Director)
A Pueblo Legend ... (Director)
My Hero ... (Director)
A Lodging for the Night ... (Director)
The Sands of Dee ... (Director)
Two Daughters of Eve as At Stage Door
The School Teacher and the Waif ... (Director)
The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch ... (Producer)
For His Son ... (Director)
The God Within ... (Director)
The Sunbeam ... (Director)
The Old Actor ... (Director)
The Lesser Evil ... (Director)
When Kings Were the Law ... (Director)
Lena and the Geese ... (Director)
The Girl and Her Trust ... (Director)
The Mender of Nets ... (Director)
The Inner Circle ... (Director)
A Temporary Truce ... (Director)
A Feud in the Kentucky Hills ... (Director)
Under Burning Skies ... (Director)
Fate's Interception ... (Director)
Iola's Promise ... (Director)
Home Folks ... (Director)
An Indian Summer ... (Director)
Billy's Stratagem ... (Director)

1911

The Two Paths ... (Director)
Conscience ... (Director)
The Failure ... (Director)
Three Sisters ... (Director)
Her Sacrifice ... (Director)
Through Darkening Vales ... (Director)
A Knight of the Road ... (Director)
The Blind Princess and the Poet ... (Director)
How She Triumphed ... (Director)
Teaching Dad to Like Her ... (Director)
A Wreath of Orange Blossoms ... (Director)
The Spanish Gypsy ... (Director)
The Primal Call ... (Director)
The Broken Cross ... (Director)
The Sorrowful Example ... (Director)
The Diamond Star ... (Director)
A Decree of Destiny ... (Director)
Fate's Turning ... (Director)
The Indian Brothers ... (Director)
The Thief and the Girl ... (Director)
A Woman Scorned ... (Director)
The New Dress ... (Director)
A Terrible Discovery ... (Director)
A Country Cupid ... (Director)
Love in the Hills ... (Director)
Enoch Arden: Part II ... (Director)
The Voice of the Child ... (Director)
The Battle ... (Director)
The Rose of Kentucky ... (Director)
The Last Drop of Water ... (Director)
His Trust Fulfilled ... (Director)
The Making of a Man ... (Director)
When a Man Loves ... (Director)
The Adventures of Billy as On Bench
Swords and Hearts ... (Director)
The Lonedale Operator ... (Producer)
The Revenue Man and His Girl ... (Director)
The Long Road ... (Director)
His Trust ... (Director)
Fisher Folks ... (Director)
Fighting Blood ... (Director)
The Trail of Books ... (Director)
Enoch Arden: Part I ... (Director)
The Miser's Heart ... (Director)
The Lily of the Tenements ... (Director)
Italian Blood ... (Director)
Bobby the Coward ... (Director)
The Unveiling ... (Director)
What Shall We Do with Our Old? ... (Director)
Enoch Arden ... (Director)
Heart Beats of Long Ago ... (Director)
Madame Rex ... (Director)
Saved from Himself ... (Director)
His Daughter ... (Director)
The Squaw's Love ... (Director)
Her Awakening ... (Director)
The Italian Barber ... (Director)

1910

The Refuge ... (Director)
The Impalement ... (Director)
Examination Day at School ... (Director)
The Man ... (Director)
The Duke’s Plan ... (Director)
After the Ball ... (Producer)
Taming a Husband ... (Director)
The Call to Arms ... (Director)
The Banker's Daughters ... (Director)
The Troublesome Baby ... (Producer)
The Way of the World ... (Director)
The Face at the Window ... (Director)
A Romance of the Western Hills ... (Director)
A Mohawk's Way ... (Director)
Gold Is Not All ... (Director)
The Englishman and the Girl ... (Director)
His Sister-In-Law ... (Director)
His Last Dollar ... (Director)
The Two Brothers ... (Director)
The Tenderfoot's Triumph ... (Producer)
The Oath and the Man ... (Director)
His Last Burglary ... (Director)
The Marked Time-Table ... (Director)
Muggsy's First Sweetheart ... (Director)
Bill Sharkey's Last Game ... (Director)
A Summer Idyll ... (Director)
Little Angels of Luck ... (Director)
A Child's Stratagem ... (Director)
The Gold Seekers ... (Director)
Two Little Waifs ... (Director)
Ramona ... (Director)
As It Is in Life ... (Director)
The Usurer ... (Director)
A Child of the Ghetto ... (Director)
The Twisted Trail ... (Director)
What the Daisy Said ... (Director)
Faithful ... (Director)
In the Border States ... (Director)
The Unchanging Sea ... (Director)
The House with Closed Shutters ... (Director)
In Old California ... (Director)
The Honor of His Family ... (Director)
A Child's Impulse ... (Director)
A Flash of Light ... (Director)
The Thread of Destiny ... (Story)
An Arcadian Maid ... (Director)
When We Were in Our 'Teens ... (Producer)
The Modern Prodigal ... (Director)
The Fugitive ... (Director)
The Broken Doll ... (Director)
Winning Back His Love ... (Director)
Waiter No. 5 ... (Director)
The Converts ... (Director)
A Victim of Jealousy ... (Director)
The Newlyweds ... (Director)
The Rocky Road ... (Director)
The Golden Supper ... (Director)
The Message of the Violin ... (Writer)
A Salutary Lesson ... (Director)
Rose o' Salem Town ... (Director)
The Last Deal ... (Writer)
The Purgation ... (Director)
The Iconoclast ... (Director)
Serious Sixteen ... (Director)
The Cloister’s Touch ... (Director)
In the Season of Buds ... (Director)
Unexpected Help ... (Director)
The Call ... (Writer)
The Lesson ... (Director)
A Plain Song ... (Director)
In Life's Cycle ... (Director)
The Sorrows of the Unfaithful ... (Director)
Love Among the Roses ... (Director)
The Song of the Wildwood Flute ... (Director)
Wilful Peggy ... (Director)
That Chink at Golden Gulch ... (Director)
A Midnight Cupid ... (Director)
Her Terrible Ordeal ... (Director)
The Woman from Mellon's ... (Director)
All on Account of the Milk ... (Producer)
As the Bells Rang Out! ... (Director)
Thou Shalt Not ... (Director)
May and December ... (Producer)
Over Silent Paths ... (Director)
Her Father's Pride ... (Director)
On the Reef ... (Writer)
Simple Charity ... (Director)
A Child's Faith ... (Director)
A Rich Revenge ... (Director)
The Final Settlement ... (Director)
A Gold Necklace ... (Producer)
Sunshine Sue ... (Director)

1909

The Medicine Bottle ... (Writer)
The Renunciation ... (Director)
The Expiation ... (Writer)
The Eavesdropper ... (Writer)
Leather Stocking ... (Director)
Pranks ... (Director)
1776, or The Hessian Renegades
A Fool's Revenge ... (Director)
Eradicating Aunty ... (Director)
The Golden Louis ... (Director)
Wanted, a Child ... (Director)
The Lonely Villa ... (Director)
The Girls and Daddy as At Black & Tan Ball
The Mills of the Gods ... (Director)
In the Watches of the Night ... (Director)
Lady Helen's Escapade ... (Director)
To Save Her Soul ... (Director)
The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals ... (Director)
In the Window Recess ... (Director)
Eloping with Auntie ... (Director)
In Little Italy ... (Director)
The Trick that Failed ... (Director)
The Prussian Spy ... (Director)
The Children's Friend ... (Director)
The Son's Return ... (Screenplay)
A Rude Hostess ... (Director)
The Sealed Room ... (Director)
The Cricket on the Hearth ... (Director)
The Little Teacher ... (Director)
Mrs. Jones Entertains ... (Director)
I Did It ... (Director)
His Lost Love ... (Director)
The French Duel ... (Director)
The Redman's View ... (Director)
The Wooden Leg ... (Director)
The Mountaineer's Honor ... (Director)
Pippa Passes ... (Director)
A Corner in Wheat ... (Director)
Nursing a Viper ... (Director)
A Change of Heart ... (Director)
The Sacrifice ... (Director)
The Cord of Life ... (Director)
The Suicide Club ... (Director)
The Voice of the Violin ... (Director)
Edgar Allan Poe ... (Director)
The Broken Locket ... (Writer)
The Fascinating Mrs. Francis ... (Director)
The Hindoo Dagger ... (Director)
The Cardinal's Conspiracy ... (Director)
They Would Elope ... (Director)
The Lure of the Gown ... (Writer)
The Politician's Love Story as Man - First Couple
The Honor of Thieves ... (Director)
A Trap for Santa Claus ... (Director)
Those Awful Hats ... (Director)
The Light That Came ... (Director)
A Troublesome Satchel ... (Director)
The Gibson Goddess ... (Director)
Resurrection ... (Director)
What's Your Hurry? ... (Director)
The Little Darling ... (Director)
A Baby's Shoe ... (Director)
Confidence ... (Writer)
Getting Even ... (Director)
A Drunkard's Reformation ... (Writer)
The Curtain Pole ... (Writer)
A Strange Meeting ... (Director)
Jones and His New Neighbors ... (Director)
Her First Biscuits ... (Director)
The Day After ... (Director)
The Violin Maker of Cremona ... (Director)
Lines of White on a Sullen Sea ... (Writer)
The Salvation Army Lass ... (Director)
The Heart of an Outlaw ... (Director)
His Duty ... (Director)
Lucky Jim ... (Director)
The Death Disc: A Story of the Cromwellian Period ... (Director)
Love Finds a Way ... (Director)
The Awakening ... (Director)
The Necklace ... (Director)
The Mended Lute ... (Director)
Schneider’s Anti-Noise Crusade ... (Director)
A Wreath in Time ... (Writer)
And a Little Child Shall Lead Them ... (Writer)
The Road to the Heart ... (Writer)
The Note in the Shoe ... (Writer)
The Slave ... (Director)
The Criminal Hypnotist ... (Writer)
The Winning Coat ... (Writer)
Those Boys! ... (Writer)
Twin Brothers ... (Director)
Mr. Jones’ Burglar ... (Director)
The Restoration ... (Director)
His Wife's Mother ... (Director)
At the Altar
The Way of Man ... (Director)
The Faded Lilies ... (Director)
Fools of Fate ... (Director)
The Roue’s Heart ... (Writer)
Mr. Jones Has a Card Party ... (Writer)
Drive for a Life ... (Writer)
The Welcome Burglar ... (Director)
Through the Breakers ... (Director)
Oh, Uncle! ... (Director)
The Mexican Sweethearts ... (Director)
One Touch of Nature ... (Director)
A Rural Elopement ... (Director)
In Old Kentucky ... (Director)
The Peachbasket Hat ... (Director)
The Seventh Day ... (Director)
Jealousy and the Man ... (Director)
Trying to Get Arrested ... (Director)
Tender Hearts ... (Director)
The Maniac Cook ... (Writer)
Sweet and Twenty ... (Director)
His Wife's Visitor ... (Director)
A Sweet Revenge ... (Writer)
The Jilt ... (Writer)
The Indian Runner's Romance ... (Director)
His Ward's Love ... (Director)
Comata, the Sioux ... (Director)
The Deception ... (Director)
A Burglar’s Mistake ... (Writer)
Jones and the Lady Book Agent ... (Director)
The Country Doctor ... (Director)
What Drink Did ... (Writer)
Tragic Love ... (Writer)
The Brahma Diamond ... (Director)
Mrs. Jones' Lover or, I Want My Hat ... (Director)
Two Memories ... (Director)
A New Trick ... (Director)
Tis an Ill Wind That Blows No Good ... (Writer)
A Midnight Adventure ... (Director)
The Test ... (Director)

1908

The Tavern Keeper’s Daughter ... (Director)
The Man and the Woman ... (Director)
For Love of Gold ... (Director)
For a Wife's Honor ... (Director)
The Greaser's Gauntlet ... (Director)
King of the Cannibal Islands as Cannibal in top hat
The Red Girl as Man on Footpath
Cupid’s Pranks as Extra at ball
The Redman and the Child ... (Director)
The Yellow Peril as Mr. Phlipp
The Fight for Freedom ... (Director)
The Call of the Wild ... (Director)
Father Gets in the Game ... (Director)
The Sculptor's Nightmare
Ingomar, the Barbarian ... (Director)
Rescued from an Eagle's Nest as Father
The Feud and the Turkey ... (Director)
Falsely Accused! as Cop in Court
The Man in the Box as Station Agent
The Song of the Shirt ... (Director)
A Smoked Husband ... (Director)
The Girl and the Outlaw ... (Director)
Money Mad ... (Director)
Behind the Scenes: Where All Is Not Gold That Glitters ... (Director)
At the French Ball as Husband
The Invisible Fluid as Mailman
The Heart of O Yama as Footman
The Helping Hand ... (Director)
The Fatal Hour as Policeman
Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court ... (Director)
The Taming of the Shrew ... (Director)
The Adventures of Dollie ... (Director)
The Princess in the Vase as Lover
Balked at the Altar
Old Isaacs, the Pawnbroker as Doctor, Charity worker
The Valet's Wife ... (Director)
The Devil ... (Director)
At the Crossroads of Life as Suitor
Where the Breakers Roar ... (Director)
The Black Viper as Rescuer
After Many Years ... (Director)
Professional Jealousy as Extra on stage
The Stolen Jewels ... (Director)
Betrayed by a Handprint ... (Director)
Mr. Jones at the Ball ... (Writer)
The Zulu's Heart ... (Director)
The Kentuckian
The Test of Friendship ... (Director)
The Ingrate ... (Director)
Classmates as Extra
When Knights Were Bold
A Calamitous Elopement as Policeman
The Pirate's Gold ... (Director)
A Famous Escape as Prisoner
Romance of a Jewess ... (Director)
The Clubman and the Tramp ... (Director)
Deceived Slumming Party as Reginald O.C. Wittington
The King's Messenger as Messenger
An Awful Moment ... (Writer)
Over the Hills to the Poor House ... (Writer)
The Vaquero's Vow ... (Director)
The Planter's Wife ... (Director)
Concealing a Burglar ... (Director)
Hulda's Lovers as Handy Hank
The Christmas Burglars ... (Writer)
The Bandit's Waterloo: The Outwitting of an Andalusian Brigand by a Pretty Senora ... (Director)
The Outlaw ... (Author)
The Music Master
Her First Adventure as Father
The Stage Rustler as Phil Bowen
'Ostler Joe as Lover
Caught by Wireless as Policeman
Mixed Babies ... (Writer)
A Woman's Way ... (Director)
The Reckoning ... (Director)
The Guerrilla ... (Director)