After many failed attempts to become a writer for the rising American film industry, 34 years old playwright D.W. Griffith ended up being hired only as an actor, as nobody really had faith in his work as a writer. However, in 1908 Griffith was offered a position as a director at the American Mutoscope & Biograph company, an opportunity he took without hesitation as his entrance to the industry's area that really interested him. At Biograph, Griffith was slated to direct dozens of short films, where he began to develop the many techniques that years later would be considered as cinema's true language. Since his first movie, "The Adventures of Dollie", Griffith began to experiment with editing, cinematography and other narrative devices that would result in his 1915 epic, "The Birth of a Nation". But while those early films weren't exactly on par with other filmmakers' movies in terms of quality, they always showed Griffith's inventive spirit.
"A Calamitous Elopement", Griffith's seventh film (or eight, depending to sources), is just another example of this, a movie that while not exactly successful, shows Griffith's innovative mind at work and forecasts elements from his future works. A short comedy, "A Calamitous Elopement" is the story of a thief named Bill (George Gebhart), and how he became comically involved in a couple's elopement. Frank (Harry Solter) and Jennie (Linda Arvidson) are a young couple in love, but Jennie's Father (Charles Inslee) hates Frank and disapproves their union, so the couple plans to run away and get married. Exactly at the same moment when Jennie plans to escape, Bill the thief plans to get inside her family's house, and discovering what the couple is trying to do, Bill plans to use the situation to his advantage. However, Bill is not exactly a skillful thief, and everything is set up to end in hilarious calamity.
Working at Biograph, Griffith not only had the chance to become a director, he also finally made his dream of writing movies a reality. "A Calamitous Elopement" was one of the first movies where he had full control, doing the writing of the story as well as the directing of the film.The short film consists of several fun situations where Bill gets in trouble because of the couple's elopement escape, making his robbery a lot more difficult than he expected. The jokes work nicely most of the times, but the story is written in a very convoluted way, with a lot happening too fast and without many explanations. It is clear that Griffith was still learning about the possibilities of cinema, as it seems like he wanted to put as much as he could in 12 minutes, making the film look a bit too complex for its own sake.
As usual, it's in his directing where Griffith shows his talent, and even in this simple short he manages to put a lot of creativity in the making of this movie. Playing with editing, he makes a highly dynamic film for its time, keeping up with the frantic pace the story has and making great use of the inherent slapstick of silent cinema. Obviously, the film is not a masterpiece, and nowadays it may not produce more than a chuckle, however, Griffith makes some of the jokes work very well despite its narrative flaws. A lot of this depends in his handling of the cast, and even when this time he moves away from his realistic style and opts for over-the-top performances, Griffith makes it work within the film's context, creating fun scenes of slapstick that look really good given the budget thanks to his care at editing.
The cast is mostly effective, considering the limitations of the story. As Bill the thief, George Gebhardt showcases a natural talent and astounding comedic presence. As the film's protagonist, he manages to convey a sympathetic character despite the fact that he is a thief, and one wonders if his performance here had any influence in posterior similar performances by other comedians. The rest of the cast is less important in the film, although everyone gave at least competent performances. While Harry Solter doesn't give a good performance, Griffith's wife, Linda Arvidson makes her character pretty believable and helps both actors to deliver a nice job. Finally, Charles Inslee's over-the-top performance as Jennie's father is effective, although a bit too typical. Still, it's good for the limited screen time he had.
"A Calamitous Elopement" isn't really a great film, but it serves to show Griffith's developing his talents with creativity and an eagerness to learn that would take him to discover and develop some of cinema's techniques that are still used today. "A Calamitous Elopement" is definitely not one of Griffith's best, as even for its time it was kind of outdated, however, it's interesting to see Griffith making a comedy, as most of his early short masterpieces would be either powerful melodramas or thrilling adventure films. It's highly possible that this little movie will be of interest only to those interested in D.W. Griffith's life and times, as other than being a significant chapter in the development of his skills, there isn't a lot to see in this little short. 5/10
"A Calamitous Elopement", Griffith's seventh film (or eight, depending to sources), is just another example of this, a movie that while not exactly successful, shows Griffith's innovative mind at work and forecasts elements from his future works. A short comedy, "A Calamitous Elopement" is the story of a thief named Bill (George Gebhart), and how he became comically involved in a couple's elopement. Frank (Harry Solter) and Jennie (Linda Arvidson) are a young couple in love, but Jennie's Father (Charles Inslee) hates Frank and disapproves their union, so the couple plans to run away and get married. Exactly at the same moment when Jennie plans to escape, Bill the thief plans to get inside her family's house, and discovering what the couple is trying to do, Bill plans to use the situation to his advantage. However, Bill is not exactly a skillful thief, and everything is set up to end in hilarious calamity.
Working at Biograph, Griffith not only had the chance to become a director, he also finally made his dream of writing movies a reality. "A Calamitous Elopement" was one of the first movies where he had full control, doing the writing of the story as well as the directing of the film.The short film consists of several fun situations where Bill gets in trouble because of the couple's elopement escape, making his robbery a lot more difficult than he expected. The jokes work nicely most of the times, but the story is written in a very convoluted way, with a lot happening too fast and without many explanations. It is clear that Griffith was still learning about the possibilities of cinema, as it seems like he wanted to put as much as he could in 12 minutes, making the film look a bit too complex for its own sake.
As usual, it's in his directing where Griffith shows his talent, and even in this simple short he manages to put a lot of creativity in the making of this movie. Playing with editing, he makes a highly dynamic film for its time, keeping up with the frantic pace the story has and making great use of the inherent slapstick of silent cinema. Obviously, the film is not a masterpiece, and nowadays it may not produce more than a chuckle, however, Griffith makes some of the jokes work very well despite its narrative flaws. A lot of this depends in his handling of the cast, and even when this time he moves away from his realistic style and opts for over-the-top performances, Griffith makes it work within the film's context, creating fun scenes of slapstick that look really good given the budget thanks to his care at editing.
The cast is mostly effective, considering the limitations of the story. As Bill the thief, George Gebhardt showcases a natural talent and astounding comedic presence. As the film's protagonist, he manages to convey a sympathetic character despite the fact that he is a thief, and one wonders if his performance here had any influence in posterior similar performances by other comedians. The rest of the cast is less important in the film, although everyone gave at least competent performances. While Harry Solter doesn't give a good performance, Griffith's wife, Linda Arvidson makes her character pretty believable and helps both actors to deliver a nice job. Finally, Charles Inslee's over-the-top performance as Jennie's father is effective, although a bit too typical. Still, it's good for the limited screen time he had.
"A Calamitous Elopement" isn't really a great film, but it serves to show Griffith's developing his talents with creativity and an eagerness to learn that would take him to discover and develop some of cinema's techniques that are still used today. "A Calamitous Elopement" is definitely not one of Griffith's best, as even for its time it was kind of outdated, however, it's interesting to see Griffith making a comedy, as most of his early short masterpieces would be either powerful melodramas or thrilling adventure films. It's highly possible that this little movie will be of interest only to those interested in D.W. Griffith's life and times, as other than being a significant chapter in the development of his skills, there isn't a lot to see in this little short. 5/10
