Almost all of these films have been “ lost”.
Dorothy became famous in this long series of Griffith-supervised films for the Triangle-Fine Arts and Paramount companies from 1918 through 1920, comedies that put her in the front ranks of film comediennes. She specialised in pantomime and light comedy, while her sister appeared in tragic roles. These films were wildly popular with the public and the critics. Elmer Clifton directed a series of seven Paramount-Artcraft comedies with Dorothy that were so successful and popular that the tremendous revenue they raked in helped to pay the cost of Griffith’s expensive epics. They were directed by young Griffith protégés such as Donald Crisp, James Kirkwood, and Christy Cabanne. Griffith did not use Dorothy in any of his earliest epics, but while he spent months working on The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, Dorothy was featured in many feature-length films made under the banner of Triangle and Mutual releases. As the “little disturber”, a street singer, her performance was the comic highlight of the film, and her characterization in this role catapulted her into a career as a star of comedy films. In Hearts of the World (1918), a film about World War I and the devastation of France, Dorothy found her first foothold, striking a personal hit in a comedy role that captured the essence of her sense of humor. She was watching intently, for Dorothy had had so few opportunities, and now was doing so well, Lillian was unable to contain her surprise, and as she left the scene she said: ‘Why, Dorothy is good she’s almost as good as I am.’ Many more than myself thought Dorothy was better.” At a rehearsal of The Wife, of Belasco and DeMille fame, in which picture I played the lead, and Dorothy the ingénue, Lillian was one day an interested spectator.
Lillian regarded Dorothy with all the superior airs and graces of her rank. In The Unseen Enemy the sisters made their first joint appearance. Dorothy was still a person of insignificance, but she was a good sport about it a likable kid, a bit too perky to interest the big director, so her talents blushed unnoticed by Mr. She also continued to play in many one and two reel Biograph films, learning the difficult technique of silent film acting, and preparing for opportunity when it came. Griffith paid her no attention whatsoever and she kept on crying and trailed along. For quite a long time they merely did extra work in and out of pictures. Linda Arvidson, Griffith’s secret wife while they were working at the American Biograph Company, remembered in her autobiography, When The Movies Were Young, “Lillian and Dorothy just melted right into the studio atmosphere without causing a ripple. Dorothy would go on to star in over 100 short films and features, many of them with Lillian. Griffith, and the sisters began acting at the Biograph Studios.ĭorothy and Lillian Gish both debuted in Griffith's An Unseen Enemy. In 1912 their childhood friend Mary Pickford introduced them to director D.W. When they were old enough, Dorothy and Lillian were brought into their mother's act, and they also modeled. Dorothy's mother Mary began acting in order to support the family after her husband left.