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

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

1927

The King of Kings ... (Assistant Director)

1926

The Sorrows of Satan ... (Director)

1925

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

1924

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

1923

The White Rose ... (Director)

1922

One Exciting Night ... (Director)

1921

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

1920

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

1919

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

1918

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

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)
Hoodoo Ann ... (Writer)
Betty of Greystone ... (Story)
Fifty-Fifty ... (Producer)
The Social Secretary ... (Producer)
The Half-Breed ... (Producer)
Susan Rocks the Boat ... (Producer)
Daphne and the Pirate ... (Writer)
Macbeth ... (Producer)
Diane of the Follies ... (Writer)
An Innocent Magdalene ... (Story)
Let Katie Do it ... (Story)
The Missing Links ... (Production Supervisor)
The Children of the Feud ... (Producer)
The Marriage of Molly-O ... (Writer)
The Wood Nymph ... (Story)

1915

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

1914

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

1913

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

1912

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

1911

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

1910

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

1909

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

1908

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