Life and Lillian Gish (1932)

120 Life and Lillian Gish dren scattered about the various lots during the noon hour. Thousands of horses and sheep grazed along the green enclo- sures, their shaking heads mingling with the flashing swords and helmets of the fighting-men. "When the great mob scenes were being photographed, it seemed as though the entire population of Los Angeles had come out to Griffith's place, to take part in the various pageants and mighty rushing armies. Actors from other studios—many of them prominent stars—joined in the scenes. The writer assures us that in spite of the fierce conflicts waged on the parapets and walls and towers, only sixty- seven players were injured, and these but slightly; also that a modern field hospital, with surgeons, nurses and ambulances, was maintained. Actors whose names were well known, or have since be- come so, first appeared on the screen in "Intolerance": Count Erich von Stroheim, Frank Bennett, Tully Mar- shall, Constance Talmadge. Constance was an extra, used at first for rehearsal, but presently—in the "Mountain Girl who worshipped Belshazzar from afar"—Griffith could see only Constance, so gave her the part. Griffith had money to work with, now, and spent it like Belshazzar himself. "Intolerance" required a year and a half to make, and an expenditure of nearly two million dollars. Some of the items are impressive: A jeweled cos- tume for the "Princess Beloved" cost seven thousand dol- lars; the dancing-girls at the feast of Belshazzar, twenty- thousand—a good deal more than they ever cost that early Belshazzar, even in his palmiest days, but of course these were war prices. "Intolerance" was shown for the first time at the Lib-