We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
66 When the Movies were Young
ing with heavy hearts, proved to write more history than any picture ever filmed and it brought an entirely new technique to the making of films.
It was the first movie without a chase. That was something, for those days, a movie without a chase was not a movie. How could a movie be made without a chase? How could there be suspense? How action? "After Many Years" was also the first picture to have a dramatic close-up — the first picture to have a cut-back. When Mr. Griffith suggested a scene showing Annie Lee waiting for her husband's return to be followed by a scene of Enoch cast away on a desert island, it was altogether too distracting. "How can you tell a story jumping about like that? The people won't know what it's about."
"Well," said Mr. Griffith, "doesn't Dickens write that way?"
"Yes, but that's Dickens; that's novel writing; that's different."
"Oh, not so much, these are picture stories: not so different."
So he went his lonely way and did it; did "After Many Years" contrary to all the old established rules of the game. The Biograph Company was very much worried — the picture was so unusual — how could it succeed?
It was the first picture to be recognized by foreign markets. When one recalls the high class of moving pictures that Pathe and Gaumont were then putting out, such as "The Assassination of the Due de Guise," this foreign recognition meant something.
"After Many Years" made a change in the studio. All "suggestions" now came directly to Mr. Dougherty's office. He selected the doubtful ones and the sure bets and with