The House of Discord

The House of Discord
Directed by James Kirkwood, Sr.
Produced by Marc Klaw
Abraham Erlanger
Written by A. Clayton Harris
F. E. Woods
William C. deMille (play)
Starring Blanche Sweet
Lionel Barrymore
Dorothy Gish
Cinematography William T. Crespinel
Distributed by Biograph Company
General Film Company
Release dates
  • December 13, 1913 (1913-12-13)
Running time
20 minutes (2 reels)
Country United States
Language Silent film
English intertitles

The House of Discord (1913) is a silent American drama film directed by James Kirkwood, Sr., written by F. E. Woods and A. Clayton Harris from a play by William C. deMille. The film stars Lionel Barrymore and marked the theatrical film debut of actor Jack Mulhall.

Plot

A mother attempts to save her daughter from making a social mistake after she finds it similar to one she had once faced herself.[1]

Cast

Production

The House of Discord was directed by James Kirkwood, Sr. The film stars Lionel Barrymore. In addition to Barrymore, it also stars Blanche Sweet, Dorothy Gish, Marshall Neilan, Antonio Moreno, and Jack Mulhall.[2] This was Mulhall's first theatrical film role; he portrayed a juvenile character which the titular discord centered on.[3][4] The film was produced by Klaw & Erlanger and Biograph Company.[5]

The screenplay was written by F. E. Woods from a play by William C. deMille,[3] and was produced by Marc Klaw and Abraham Erlanger.[6] The film is a silent two-reeler.[3] Cinematographer Tony Gaudio was nearly fired during production after he attempted to reproduce the glow cast from a fireplace, rather than employing the fixed, flat lighting that was accepted practice at the time.[7]

Release

The film was released theatrically on December 13, 1913[8] by the General Film Company.[6] A reviewer for The Moving Picture World wrote that it "will be readily appreciated by women" and that it is a "woman's story" which "reaches its most effective emotional passages in showing the influence of a mother over a daughter who is on the verge of making a serious mistake."[9]

Preservation status

The House of Discord is now in the public domain. A print of the film survives at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.[6]

References

  1. Films in Review, Volume 18. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. 1967. p. 336.
  2. Photoplay – Volume 17, Issue 1. Macfadden Publications. 1920. p. 64.
  3. 1 2 3 Katchmer, George A. (1991). Eighty Silent Film Stars: Biographies and Filmographies of the Obscure to the Well Known. McFarland & Company. p. 672.
  4. Wing, Ruth (1923). The Blue book of the screen. p. 176.
  5. The Barrymores: the royal family in Hollywood. Crown Publishing Group. 1981. p. 339.
  6. 1 2 3 "The House of Discord (1913)". SilentEra.com. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  7. Gaudio, G. (1937). "Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers": 160.
  8. Tillmany, Jack (2006). Theatres of Oakland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 106.
  9. The Moving Picture World, Volume 29. World Photographic Publishing Company. 1916. p. 470.

External links

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