by George Jobson

Apr 14, 2008

Lilliah Gish stars in "Broken Bossoms," which was directed by D.W. Griffith the same director for the 1914 epic, "Birth of a Nation." "Broken Blossoms" is my favorite Griffith movie. I saw it when I was a teen and I keep thinking about that movie years after I saw it on television. this may be the first feature movie that feature the issue of domestic violence.

Gish plays Lucy Barrows, an innocent child who can't smile. she only does with the help of her two finger. Bonald Crisp plays her fahter Battling Burrors. Every time he loses, he takes his anger out on her daughter. Richard Barthelmess plays a Chinese immagrant who befriends Lucy after one of her beatings. I can't reveal the ending, but I like to say this, the movie is scary anf shocking by today's standands. I was shaken when I saw it when I was a teen and I keep think of all the violent scenes today. "Broken Bossems" is one of the most important movies of the silent era. Unlike "Birth of a Nation" when the strength of the movie gave way to the civil rights era later on, "Broken Bossems" with it's subject matter still shines today.

If you haven't see a silent movie, nows your chance with "Broken Bossems."