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)

1993

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

1988

American Experience as Self

1961

The Legend of Rudolph Valentino as Self (archive footage)

1951

Footlight Varieties ... (Writer)

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 ... (Producer)

1921

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

1920

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

1919

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

1918

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

1917

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

1916

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

1915

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

1914

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

1913

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

1912

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

1911

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

1910

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

1909

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

1908

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