Life and Lillian Gish (1932)

"The Birth of a Nation" 113 in the play. Blanche was of ample proportions; the two were not a good match. For another thing, Griffith knew that Lillian's frail loveliness set against the big mulatto features of the villain of the piece, the man bound to possess her, would move the audience as would the face of no other member of his company. It is also just possible that Griffith, in the beginning, did not realize how big the part of Elsie Stoneman was to be. He had a fashion of making his play as he went along. Fifteen years later, he only said: "When I gave Lillian a part in 'The Birth of a Nation,' I merely thought she could play it, without considering how well, or at least without thinking she would make anything special out of it, though of course, by that time, I knew she would do it in her own way." The field work of the "Birth" was done at the Universal Ranch, a place of diversified scenery outside Los Angeles. The play itself was made at the Fine Arts studio, which consisted of an exterior stage like that on Pico Street— only, instead of a large building, a lot of little shacks served as temporary, very temporary, dressing-rooms. Any player so inclined could build one for his or her own use, and trim it and decorate it according to fancy. The roof was merely a piece of canvas, held in place—also accord- ing to fancy. It rarely rained. At one side of the lot, was constructed the "street" on which fronted the Cameron Southern home, about which most of the play centred. There was not much in the way of scenic designing. A stage carpenter, Huck Wort- man, one of the old-fashioned kind who chewed tobacco and cocked up his eye, was equal to most things. If Griffith wanted a village street, with a vine-covered cottage; or a