| The Escape | |
|---|---|
 Still of D. W. Griffith directing is variously attributed to bothThe Avenging Conscience or this film. | |
| Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
| Written by | D. W. Griffith (uncredited) |
| Screenplay by | Paul Armstrong |
| Based on | The Escape byPaul Armstrong |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | G. W. Bitzer |
| Edited by |
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| Distributed by | Mutual Film |
Release date |
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Running time | 7reels |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (Englishintertitles) |
The Escape is a 1914 Americansilentdrama film written and directed byD. W. Griffith and starredDonald Crisp. The film is based on the play of the same name byPaul Armstrong who also wrote the screenplay. It is now consideredlost.[1] The master negative of the production was destroyed in the disastrous1914 Lubin vault fire inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.
The film begins with a prologue oneugenics, contrasting careful animal breeding with human reproduction. This introduces the Joyce family story.
Jim Joyce (Turner) is an abusive father who corrupts his naturally sensitive son Larry (Harron) into cruelty. Larry contracts syphilis and seeks treatment from Dr. Von Eiden (Moore), who also becomes involved with Larry's sister May (Sweet). Von Eiden encourages May to leave her family. She does so but is unable to find stable work and becomes the companion of a wealthy senator (Lewis), while refusing marriage.
May's sister Jennie (Marsh) marries "Bull" McGee (Crisp), an abusive man. After McGee accidentally kills their infant while drunk, Jennie becomes delusional, endlessly rocking the empty cradle with a doll inside. McGee removes her from the household by selling her into prostitution. May intervenes and rescues her, but Jennie dies shortly after.
Von Eiden performs surgery that restores Larry's original sensitivity. May ends her relationship with the senator and agrees to marry Von Eiden.
The Escape was based on a play byPaul Armstrong, a prolific playwright best known for his propertiesAlias Jimmy Valentine (1909) andSalomy Jane (1907). Griffith's film version was begun first, finished second, but released third among the cycle of five films he made atReliance-Majestic Studios between his ouster atBiograph Company and the advent ofThe Birth of a Nation (1915). Filming ofThe Escape began inNew York City, but was completed inLos Angeles partly due to an illness in the cast.[1][2] There was a long delay in getting it out; althoughMutual Film finally released it on June 1, 1914, response toThe Escape was of a mixed character and the film was dumped on the States' Rights market by the end of the year.[3]
Lillian Gish recalledThe Escape as one of the finest films Griffith ever made,[4] whereas Griffith himself regarded its failure as a momentary distraction during the planning stages ofThe Birth of a Nation.[5]
Iris Barry first reportedThe Escape as a lost film in 1940[6] and despite an international search for Griffith's film output lasting the decades since,The Escape remains one among a small handful of Griffith features that have never been located.[7]