Dream Street (film)

Dream Street
Directed by	D. W. Griffith
Written by	Thomas Burke(short story) Roy Sinclair (aka D.W. Griffith)(scenario)
Narrated by	D. W. Griffith Lillian Gish Al Jolson Eddie Cantor (in 1936 sound reissue)
Starring	Carol Dempster Charles Emmett Mack Ralph Graves Tyrone Power Sr.
Music by	Louis Silvers Irving Berlin
Cinematography	Henrik Sartov
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	12 April 1921 (silent version) 2 May 1921 (sound version)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (with sound sequences) English intertitles

Dream Street (1921) is a silent movie directed by D. W. Griffith, and starring Carol Dempster, Charles Emmett Mack, and Ralph Graves in a story about a love triangle set in London, and based on two short stories by Thomas Burke, "Gina of Chinatown" and "Song of the Lamp". The film, released by United Artists, was poorly received in its day and critics still consider it one of Griffith's worst films. In 1936, Griffith's film was reissued and narrated by Lillian Gish, Griffith, Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson.

1921 Premiere

The original 1921 version of Dream Street is notable for a brief sequence when Griffith steps out in front of a curtain at the beginning of the movie and talks to the audience about the film, using Photokinema, an early sound-on-disc process developed by Orlando Kellum. Some films made in the Photokinema process, including Dream Street, are preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

The silent version premiered on April 12, 1921 at the Central Theatre in New York City. On April 27, Griffith and Ralph Graves recorded their respective sound segments at Orlando Kellum's Photokinema office at 203 West 40th Street.^[1][2]

The premiere engagement of the sound version of Dream Street took place on May 2, 1921 at Town Hall in New York City with Griffith's introduction. On May 15, the film reopened, now also with two other short sound sequences — Ralph Graves singing, and background noise in a scene showing a craps game. Unfortunately, no other theaters could show the sound version of the film, since no other theaters had the Photokinema sound system installed.^[3]

On Sunday, May 29, Dream Street opened at the Schubert-Crescent Theater in Brooklyn with a program of short films made in Phonokinema. However, business was poor, and the program soon closed.

References

1. ^ Richard Barrios, A Song in the Dark (1995), page 15
2. ^ "Griffith to Present Sound Film at Town Hall Tomorrow", The New York Times (May 1, 1921), Drama and Music section, page 78
3. ^ Scott Eyman, The Speed of Sound (1997), page 43

External links

• Dream Street at the Internet Movie Database
• Dream Street at YouTube
• Review of film at CinemaWeb
• Dream Street at SilentEra