Friends (1912 film)

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Friends
Title card showing "Friends" in serif type against a dark background
Title card
Directed byD. W. Griffith
Written byD. W. Griffith
Starring
CinematographyG. W. Bitzer
Distributed byBiograph
Release date
  • September 23, 1912 (1912-09-23)
Running time
13 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Friends is a 1912 film written and directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Mary Pickford, Henry B. Walthall, Lionel Barrymore, and Harry Carey.[1] Walthall and Barrymore portray two old friends who each wind up involved with a beautiful girl (Pickford) who lives above a mining camp saloon.

The film, by the Biograph Company, was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey when many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based there at the beginning of the 20th century.[2][3][4] A print of Friends was run at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in July 2007 as part of a Biograph retrospective.[5]

It contains what Mary Pickford said in a CBC Radio interview to be the first closeup shot in all of cinema (one taken of herself).[6]

Complete film
Black and white film still showing a man and woman in 1912 period costume
Henry B. Walthall and Mary Pickford

Plot

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Dandy Jack, the sweetheart of Dora, the "little orphan of Golden Creek Inn," is leaving to try his luck mining elsewhere. She bursts into tears when he refuses to take her with him.

Jack encounters his old friend and fellow miner, Grizzley Fallon, on his way. Later Grizzley arrives at the Golden Creek hotel saloon. He makes the acquaintance of Dora, who is initially cool to him. After some thought, she agrees to his marriage proposal. He leaves the mining camp for a few days, but gives her his portrait. When he learns that Jack has returned, he turns back. Jack, unaware of the identity of his rival, bets the bar patrons he can get Dora back. Dora tries to send him away, but in the end embraces him. Then Jack sees Grizzley's picture. He gives Dora up and pays his gambling debt. When Grizzley and Jack are reunited, they celebrate the former's impending marriage.

Cast

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ D. W. Griffith, American film master. Museum of Modern Art. 1965. p. 43.
  2. ^ Koszarski, Richard (2004), Fort Lee: The Film Town, Rome, Italy: John Libbey Publishing -CIC srl, ISBN 0-86196-653-8
  3. ^ "Studios and Films". Fort Lee Film Commission. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  4. ^ Fort Lee Film Commission (2006), Fort Lee Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 0-7385-4501-5
  5. ^ "Mary Pickford". noirestyle. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  6. ^ "Mary Pickford (CBC Radio) Interview (May 25 1959)". YouTube. February 20, 2012.
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