This quaint Biograph picture made nearly 100 years ago, is a perfect case study for anyone really interested the first 20 years of movie making, however, if you're looking to compare it with a movie made today or even movies that were made only ten or fifteen years after this 1909 short, then admittedly, you're going to be left pretty clueless and unfulfilled.
D W Griffith's 'The light That Came', was made long before the creation of movie stars as we know them, intricate plots were still a few years away and even the close-up shot had yet to be invented. In those days, it was pretty much, nothing more than a filmed stage play with little need for editing and a minimum of lighting. In 1909, the Director's were the stars of their movies or 'flickers' as they were then known, just as in Shakespeare's time when only the playwright would receive the accolades. That said, there is a strong argument to say that Griffith was the motion picture's first superstar. It is also worth noting that in 1909 ALONE, D W Griffiths directed no less than 148 of these short films.
The Plot of 'The Light That Came' is quite endearing but sadly it's also completely absurd and 'slightly' far-fetched. Ruth Hart plays Grace, a good natured but facially disfigured young lady, who's resigned herself to never finding love due to her non-glamorous appearance. Enter violin player Francis J. Grandon, simply billed here as 'The Suiter', who's very conveniently blind and who unknown to Grace, harbours the same feelings of loneliness due to his affliction.
The two form a friendship, but with Grace not wanting to drive him away, she dares not disclose the fact that she's as ugly as sin. However, Grandon can only see Grace's inner beauty and eventually and inevitably, the two fall in love.
After a period of blissful happiness, a visiting Doctor mentions to Grandon that he can restore his sight, and Grace is now petrified that he will see her face and discard her. She at first thinks of stopping him from having the operation, but her love for him is too strong, strong enough not to deny him his lifetime dream of sight. The aforementioned doctor then takes Grandon into the KITCHEN, to perform the short 20 second operation. Grace's fears however, are completely unfounded, as after the quickest healing process known to mankind, he emerges from the kitchen with his fifth sense intact, he looks upon Grace's face for the first time and still sees the inner beauty that he has fallen in love with and presumably the two live together happily ever after.
So was the 'Light' so prominent in the films title referring to the restoration of Grandon's sight?, or was it, as I suspect, the light that both protagonists now feel in their hearts as the pair now cherish a mutual future which is not as bleak as they both first thought it was.
As I said, far-fetched, but I actually quite enjoyed this heart warming movie. For silent movie aficionados, look out for little Mary Pickford, in a small role, and also Mack Sennett during his tenure as an actor before he found his niche as one of the most famous and pro-active producers of the silent age.
Enjoy!
D W Griffith's 'The light That Came', was made long before the creation of movie stars as we know them, intricate plots were still a few years away and even the close-up shot had yet to be invented. In those days, it was pretty much, nothing more than a filmed stage play with little need for editing and a minimum of lighting. In 1909, the Director's were the stars of their movies or 'flickers' as they were then known, just as in Shakespeare's time when only the playwright would receive the accolades. That said, there is a strong argument to say that Griffith was the motion picture's first superstar. It is also worth noting that in 1909 ALONE, D W Griffiths directed no less than 148 of these short films.
The Plot of 'The Light That Came' is quite endearing but sadly it's also completely absurd and 'slightly' far-fetched. Ruth Hart plays Grace, a good natured but facially disfigured young lady, who's resigned herself to never finding love due to her non-glamorous appearance. Enter violin player Francis J. Grandon, simply billed here as 'The Suiter', who's very conveniently blind and who unknown to Grace, harbours the same feelings of loneliness due to his affliction.
The two form a friendship, but with Grace not wanting to drive him away, she dares not disclose the fact that she's as ugly as sin. However, Grandon can only see Grace's inner beauty and eventually and inevitably, the two fall in love.
After a period of blissful happiness, a visiting Doctor mentions to Grandon that he can restore his sight, and Grace is now petrified that he will see her face and discard her. She at first thinks of stopping him from having the operation, but her love for him is too strong, strong enough not to deny him his lifetime dream of sight. The aforementioned doctor then takes Grandon into the KITCHEN, to perform the short 20 second operation. Grace's fears however, are completely unfounded, as after the quickest healing process known to mankind, he emerges from the kitchen with his fifth sense intact, he looks upon Grace's face for the first time and still sees the inner beauty that he has fallen in love with and presumably the two live together happily ever after.
So was the 'Light' so prominent in the films title referring to the restoration of Grandon's sight?, or was it, as I suspect, the light that both protagonists now feel in their hearts as the pair now cherish a mutual future which is not as bleak as they both first thought it was.
As I said, far-fetched, but I actually quite enjoyed this heart warming movie. For silent movie aficionados, look out for little Mary Pickford, in a small role, and also Mack Sennett during his tenure as an actor before he found his niche as one of the most famous and pro-active producers of the silent age.
Enjoy!
