A young orphan girl, courted by an unpleasant older suitor who has a hold over her adoptive mother, falls in love with Fairfax, a young stranger at a party. A group of bootleggers try to get away with the loot stashed previously within Fairfax's mansion; Mysterious faces peer into the windows and shadowy figures stalk the hall. One of the bootleggers is killed and the young stranger becomes the prime suspect.
Direction
Griffith's last desperate grasp at commercial relevance
Cinematography
Expressionist shadows creeping through every frame
Acting
Carol Dempster's chaotic screen presence divides historians
Director
D.W. Griffith
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Griffith made this desperate genre mashup after 'Intolerance' flopped, trying anything for crowds. The 'haunted house' craze of early '20s cinema is on full display here.
Carol Dempster was Griffith's muse and rumored lover; critics roasted her performances, yet he kept casting her. This was their final collaboration before his career collapsed into obscurity.
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