The Washington herald., 1920-09-19
Way Down East Looks Real
Only Because 1t Is Real


months in the filming and cost
more than sS5oOOO. but we doubt
II these figures impress any one
very much. writes HARRIET Under
hill in the New York Tribune.
Usually the more a picture costs
the less we like II. for vast for
tunes are souandered on these huge
spectacle things, where all the
critics come out the next day and
say that it was historically correct
or that It wasn't historically correct.
and that dancing girls in Nero's
time did or did not wear tunics.
But Way Down East" is reas-
suring because you know that Mr..
Griffith did not, could not have
spent any OF that $3.50, 900 in strings
OF beads for Nero's favorite, for
palace walls to crumble UP later.
nor for Roman armies.
Even after you see the picture
you wonder what makes il 50 ex-
pensive. OF course, as the young
man from Boston who goes 70 the
movies with us says, 1T is thrilIin'.
fANlAAh anu EElpplu IN ldCL more
so than any picture We ever saw,
but none OF those things makes Il
gorgeous spectacle" nor puts Il
in the million dollar class. So we
decided TO talk TO Mr.. Grifith and
find out all about Il. Way Down
East" is picture every one should
see three times: the frst time to
see how perfect Il is in every de-
tail; the second time for the ice
scenes and the third time for the
ice scenes.
Saw IL with Grfmh.
The second time we saw il Il was
with the producer himself. and
after the three brides had been
kissed by their respective husbands
and the people had stopped cheer
ing we went up TO the once Of the
Forty-fourth Street Thestcr to talk
it over. Mr.. Gririth is one Of the
persons in whose presence we thrill
The others are Charlie Chaplin and
Elsie Ferguson.
Will you tell US the truth and
will you answer any questions we
want to ask about the picture"
Yes" answered the greatest d.
rector in the world. II you don't
ask me something I don't want you
10 know"
Well" We said. starting OF easy.
what makes Way Down East so
expensive
principally the ice" We gaspsd
as though We had received a dash
of cold water in our face
oh. the icc-yoU had 10 buy it,
Wasn't il resl9" And We had Wis
ions of each refrigerator giving up
its chunk and OF property men
dumping them into the river. per
hsps nice peaceful summer river.
and all OF our illusions were de-
stroyed. W" felt as though we
had just learned that there was no
Santa Claus.
"Oh. yes. OF course the ice was
real-too real That is why il was
50 dangerous and cost so much
money"
Dangerous as IL Looks.
And was it so dangerous we
asked breathlessly. feeling almost
as we felt when we watched Lillian
Gish hanging on a cake OF ice
which was floating over the falls
and Dick Rarth,ImCss trying 10
grab her Frnw another pitching
oak" ~ i""- Was IL as dangerous
as IL looked ."
We'll. began Mr.. Grihth. per
Was it almost as dangerous as
Il looked we interrupted
81 guess ] can safely saw that IL
was that. all right. Why, you know
that was q real river. and real ire
and real falls and that was really
Lillian GiSh on the ice"
And no doubles and no dummies.
honestly. And was that Dick Rar-
thelmess who did all or that ice
jumping that would make the most
agile Eliza look like a piko-s And
We're they really hanging on tho eGEe
Of the falls like that and Ea-theT-
mess leapinE from chunk TO chunk
with Miss GIsh in his arms"
IT all happened just as YOU saw
H. There were no doubles and no
dummies. hut. OF course. IL all had
TO be timed and that is why IL took
50 lonE and was so extensive. We
USED hNc different rivers % got the
cncct Tor after the ice brrsks in
II disappears very quickly. AND we
had To build dams TO keen the Va
ter from flowing too fast and Nc
had to use dynamite 10 change IN.
course OF the river At times. ana
We had TO build bridges for fpe
camera. and sometimes the rivers
""Hiu ri>" and sweep away our
, hTldEcS and our platforms and We
had TO wait around for rgr,,Isr
storm 10 come SO that Anna Moore
p could he driven out into e."
No Torn Paper Here.
And how surprised Anna must
nave been when she found herself
out IN that storm-the most terri
bic OF her career. No torn up ma
per and salt drifts there
There were not. Those nic'urr.
wer" taken in scvcnty-nile rale
with zero weather and all OF the
! ici"les ON Miss Gish's face w..
real iclcles. However. I was tn.
only one who suffered sny -rest
hardship In my zeal, froze INV
face. shouldn't care TO do an
other Way Down East
And yet wasn't that Just why
. you selected it-for the snowstorrp-
Every on" said so"
Mr. Griffith shook his head M
TOT the story: every one likes uelo-
drama. Not that q story matt.-,
, much. though"
And you paid $4,000 FOR Way
Down East" we asked. insisting
on all the ghastly details.
ScVenty-hve thousand dollars
to be exact. And yet I say a story
matters very little"
Yes. and when you say that
? you-you are voiCing our own sent
iments-' Which is a ladvIfke W.
r OF saying that which no lady &c.
Noulo say-at least not To Mr. GriF