Lines of White on a Sullen Sea

Movie
Original title	Lines of White on a Sullen Sea
	Play media file
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1909
length	13 minutes
Rod
Director	David Wark Griffith
script	Stanner EV Taylor
production	American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
camera	GW Bitzer
occupation
	Linda Arvidson : Emily; George Nichols : Joe; James Kirkwood : Bill; Kate Bruce : mother; Marion Leonard : Bill's wife; Dorothy West : friend of Bill's wife; Frank Powell : Doctor; Billy Quirk : first couple and fisherman; Gertrude Robinson : first couple; Mary Pickford : second pair; Frank Evans : Fisherman in the first port; Anthony O'Sullivan : Fisherman in First Port; Mack Sennett : Fisherman in the first port; Owen Moore : Fisherman in the second port; Harriet Quimby : Fisher Girl;

Joe ( George Nichols ) and Emily ( Linda Arvidson )

Bill ( James Kirkwood ) and his wife ( Marion Leonard )

Lines of White on a Sullen Sea ( German : White lines on a cloudy lake ) is an American Filmmelodram of director David Wark Griffith from the year 1909 . The screenplay was written by Stanner EV Taylor , the silent film is a production of the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company .

action

The pretty fisher girl Emily Brackett is being courted by two men, Joe and Bill. She rejects Joe with his engagement ring and chooses Bill, who puts a bracelet around her, the key of which he keeps. In this way, both want to ensure their loyalty. Joe is deeply affected, but he wishes Emily all the best. When Bill has to go out to sea again, he promises her marriage when he returns. But Bill is a weak character, in the first port he meets a pretty young girl and Emily is forgotten. He marries his new favorite, settles in the fishing village and becomes the captain of a fishing boat.

Meanwhile, Emily waits in constant hope but always in vain for Bill's return. Every day she expects a letter from Bill, every time a fishing boat returns, she hopes that Bill is on board. Day after day, she keeps an eye out for the cloudy sea, which only brings out large white lines of waves that run onto the beach and seem to mock her. Faithful Joe wants nothing more than to be able to put his engagement ring on her finger, but Emily has sworn her loyalty to Bill.

Weeks go by, months and years. Eventually, Emily collapses from worrying about Bill and is near death. Then Bill appears in the village after six years of absence and with his wife and child. When Joe meets him, he first wants to knock him down, but at the last moment he thinks about it. He forces Bill to go see the dying Emily to give her Joe's ring, while pretending that he is keeping his marriage vows and returning to her. Emily smiles and tries to straighten up in bed, but sinks back down and dies.

Production notes

The port shots were shot in Galilee , New Jersey .

Lines of White on a Sullen Sea is a one-reeler on 35mm film that is 975 feet long . The film was released on October 28, 1909.

criticism

The Moving Picture World describes the acting performance of the leading actors in Lines of White on a Sullen Sea as the best possible and most sublime. This story of an unrequited love is undoubtedly of great importance for the development of the silent film drama. The stories are known, but the way the Biograph Company shows them in their films makes the films extraordinary.

Web links

Commons : Lines of White on a Sullen Sea - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Lines of White on a Sullen Sea , Library of Congress copyon YouTube , September 27, 2018

Individual evidence

^ Lines of White on a Sullen Sea . In: The Moving Picture World , Volume 5, No. 18, October 30, 1909, p. 617, digitized .
^ Daniel Fairfax: "The Beauty of Moving Wind in the Trees": Cinematic Presence and the Films of DW Griffith . In: Charlie Keil (ed.): A Companion to DW Griffith . Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, New Jersey and Oxford 2018, ISBN 978-1-118-34125-4 , pp. 74-103.
↑ Lines of White on a Sullen Sea in the Internet Movie Database (English)
^ Lines of White on a Sullen Sea . In: The Moving Picture World , Volume 5, No. 19, November 6, 1909, pp. 644-645, digitized .

[MPW-1] Lines of White on a Sullen Sea . In: The Moving Picture World , Volume 5, No. 18, October 30, 1909, p. 617, digitized .

[Fairfax-2] Daniel Fairfax: "The Beauty of Moving Wind in the Trees": Cinematic Presence and the Films of DW Griffith . In: Charlie Keil (ed.): A Companion to DW Griffith . Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, New Jersey and Oxford 2018, ISBN 978-1-118-34125-4 , pp. 74-103.

[IMDb-3] Lines of White on a Sullen Sea in the Internet Movie Database (English)

[4] Lines of White on a Sullen Sea . In: The Moving Picture World , Volume 5, No. 19, November 6, 1909, pp. 644-645, digitized .