The Greatest Thing in Life

Infobox Film
name = The Greatest Thing in Life


image_size =
caption =
director = D. W. Griffith
producer = D. W. Griffith
writer = Lillian Gish
D. W. Griffith
Stanner E.V. Taylor
narrator =
starring = Robert Harron
Lillian Gish
music =
cinematography = G.W. Bitzer, with Henrik Sartov
editing = James Smith
distributor = Famous Players – Lasky Artcraft Pictures Corporation
released = Chicago, Philadelphia: 1 December, 1918 Los Angeles: 16 December, 1918 New York City: 22 December, 1918
runtime = 70 minutes
country = USA
language = Silent
English intertitles
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0009133

"The Greatest Thing in Life", a 1918 drama film about World War I, was directed by D. W. Griffith and stars Lillian Gish, Robert Harron and David Butler. The film is considered to be a lost film, as no prints are known to exist. cite web |url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/G/GreatestThinginLife1918.html |title=Silent Era: The Greatest Thing in Life |accessdate=2008-06-19|work=silentera] This film was released later in the same year as Griffith's more famous World War I film, "Hearts of the World", which also stars Lillian Gish and Robert Harron. "The Greatest Thing in Life" was renowned for two main aspects: the groundbreaking portrait photography style of Henrik Sartov,Merrit, Russel, quoted in The Griffith Project. Usai, Paolo Cherchi, and Cynthia Rowell, eds. Vol. 9: Films Produced in 1916-8. London: British Film Institute, 2005. Pgs. 196-9.] and a "new and daring" interracial kiss between a white officer and a black soldier (both male).Gish, Lillian, with Ann Pinchot. Lillian Gish: The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969. Pgs. 202.]

Cast

* Robert Harron - Edward Livingston
* Lillian Gish - Jeannette Peret
* David Butler - Mr. Le Bebe
* Peaches Jackson - Miss Peaches
* Adolph Lestina - Leo Peret
* Elmo Lincoln - The American soldier
* Edward Peil Sr. - The German officer
* Kate Bruce - Jeannette's aunt
* ZaSu Pitts - (scenes deleted)
* Ernest Butterworth - (uncredited)
* Carol Dempster - Dancer (uncredited)
* Fred Malatesta - (uncredited)
* Lucille Young - (uncredited)

Background

After attaining significant fame as a director of war pictures, D. W. Griffith was invited by the British government to film on actual World War I battlefields.Wakerman, John, ed. World Film Directors. Vol I: 1890-1945. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1987.] Griffith had originally intended to make only a single picture with the material, but came back with over 86,000 feet and decided to turn it into three.Gish, Lillian, with Ann Pinchot. Lillian Gish: The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969. Pgs. 202-3.] The chief production was "Hearts of the World", with "The Great Love" and "The Greatest Thing in Life" made with the leftover battlefield footage. Some of the footage was filmed on the Marne River in Château-Theirry, France. There is some speculation, however, as to whether some of the shots originated in Salisbury Plain, in the United Kingdom, or was footage purchased by D. W. Griffith from Franz Kleinschmidt.Usai, Paolo Cherchi, and Cynthia Rowell, eds. The Griffith Project. Vol. 9: Films Produced in 1916-8. London: British Film Institute, 2005. Pgs. 196-9.]

ee also

* D. W. Griffith filmography
* Lillian Gish filmography

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0009133|title=The Greatest Thing in Life