THE OLD ACTOR (1912) - ♦♦♦

Directed by - D.W. Griffith

Written by - George Hennessy

Starring - W. Christye Miller, Kate Bruce, Mary Pickford

"GRIFFITH's representation of realism would often also aim to tell the story of older people. In THE OLD ACTOR, the titular character is an old man who loses his part in the theatre production because of his age, and instead of taking it in his stride, he decides to turn the world into his stage and act as a beggar.

The starting concept of THE OLD ACTOR is ingenious, but feels widely rushed and misused. At this point it is only fair to point at the fact that around this time, GRIFFITH was making an avarage of one or two films a week for BIOGRAPH, and that therefore not all his films could probably be developed to their highest standards. Therefore, here, the plot seems a little sketchy and relies on too many melodramatic convetions. 

Nevertheless, as with the vast majority of the filmmaker's shorts at this time, there is still a lot to be admired. Namely, the representation of acting as a legitimate profession shows GRIFFITH's respect for performing arts and provides a great starting point for a touching portrayal of vulnerable pride, masculinity and the cruel and harsh awakening to the struggles of old age."

Drama, USA