Mother and the Law (D.W. Griffith, 1919). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. One Sheet (28.25" X 41").. ...

Description

Mother and the Law (D.W. Griffith, 1919). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. One Sheet (28.25" X 41").
D.W. Griffith originally intended for this social drama to be his next release after The Birth of a Nation, but the backlash against his Reconstruction-era epic from some critics and parts of the public led him to instead develop the even grander Intolerance, which contained multiple sections of examples of Intolerance through the ages, one of which was a pared-down edition of Mother and the Law, now titled "The Modern Story." Three years after the release of Intolerance in 1916, Griffith expanded and re-edited the footage excluded from "The Modern Story" section of Intolerance, and released it as a full feature, under the intended title of Mother and the Law. In part based on the real-life murder trial of Charles Stielow, Mother and the Law differs greatly in tone and scale from Intolerance, operating as an intimate and grounded drama of a family facing unwarranted legal and public condemnation. Heritage offers for the first time in over five years this one sheet for Mother and the Law, which captures the film's dramatic climax of Miriam Cooper shooting Walter Long mid-fight with Robert Harron while Mae Marsh sits aghast. Professional restoration has replaced and airbrushed a few chips and tears in the borders, and other minor tears and light fold wear in the interior have been delicately touched up.


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