Lillian Gish Silent Film Stardom essays

Lillian Gish Silent Film Stardom essays The history of the great talent Lillian Gish is immeasurable. She has acted in more productions per decade then anyone else in this century. She has been in one hundred and five films alone, thats not counting all the on stage productions she has performed in. The amazing talents of this once beautiful young actress can be seen in any of her early silent films too. Way Down East and Orphans of the Storm are two of her earlier films that portray her exquisite skills. Yet none of this would be know if it wasnt for a mastermind of directing, D.W. Griffith. Gish would have lived a long unrecognized life of theatre and missed out on the most important part of her career, the silent film. Gish first started acting in the very early years of this century, 1902 to be exact, in a small stage named The Little Red School House. Her great film debut did not come until much later in 1912 when the great Griffith noticed her in a filming studio. He described her as the most beautiful thing, and said it appeared as if the light in the room was emanating from her and her alone, almost as if she was glowing. From there Griffith picked her up and started her on her great future in film. Gish said she would only act for him if he signed her sister Dorothy as well. Of course not to miss out on this beautiful young actress Griffith signed both. The two sisters had their first major film debut was in 1912 with the film An Unseen Enemy. This got Lillian off to a much better start then Dorothy I suppose, because from there she acted in 104 more plays until her death in 1993. She acted in her last film in 1987 completing her great career. Many people consider Gish the most important actress in history. This is mostly because of her command in the film. She is said to have laid down the ground rules for movie acting (entertainment magazine). Gish with help from Griffith is even said to have invented the close-up. This is a ...