Griffith's 20 Year Record

427 Pictures Cost $11,409,000

Covers D.W.'s Career, '08-'28-
Intolerance Most Costly, $1,600,000 -
Nation, the Highest Money Maker, $10,000,000-
Made 2-Reelers for $2,000

$54,603,000 Total Gross

During D.W. Griffith's career as a picture director, beginning in 1908, he has directed around 427 pictures at a total production cost of $11,400,000, and they have grossed in excess of $54,603,000.

Some 17 of these pictures, made during the last decade, are of outstanding nature and figures pertaining to their cost and grosses are as authentic as prevalling records can show. The remaining pictures made by Griffith for other companies, and in which he had no financial interest, are conservatively estimated from records available.

When Griffith abandoned the stage in 1908 to cast his lot with the lowly movie, he joined Biograph as an actor. When they gave him a chance to direct he increased his salary from $20 to $25 per week. He took the business seriously enough to make his work stand out until he became the first director to command box-office attention by feature billing. This, however, was not attained until Griffith had served two years at Biograph, grinding out on an average of two features a week, which at that time consisted of from 600 to 1,000 feet of film.

When Griffith first joined the Biograph company its stock was being sold at 50 cents a share. A year later it sold for $112, and when the government brought suit against it on behalf of the M.P. Patents Co., profits of the Biograph company were discovered to be 1,700 per cent. on the investment in one year.

First Two Reeler

In 1910 Griffith startled the entire picture industry, and mostly the Biograph officials, when he made the first two reeler and during '11 and '12 he collaborated with his cameraman, Billy Bitzer, to bring out new camera angles, including closeup and soft focus. This experimental work was increasing the production costs until the two reelers were around $3,000, but grossing anywhere from $25,000 to $150,000. In spite of this, Biograph officials considered Griffith was going beyond his bounds. When he threatened to make a four reeler they also threatened to fire him.

Griffith pulled stakes and joined Mutual-Reliance. He came to Hollywood early in '13 and produced a number of three and four reel features, all of which made money. The first four reel picture was Battle of the Sexes. It cost $2,500 at that time and grossed in excess of $400,000.

He remade this picture this year at a cost of around $300,000, a low record at the United Artists studio. Original cast of Battle included Lillian Gish, Donald Crisp, Mack Sennett, Owen Moore, Robert Harron and Mary Alden.

$110,000 Nation's Cost

Assured that the public was ready for multiple reel features, Griffith promoted enough capital to make the first big epic of the screen, The Birth of a Nation. This cost $110,000 including the price of 100 prints. It has since accumulated a gross of $10,000,000. This figure includes $500,000 taken in on the picture during its third reissue.

Cost and grosses of other outstanding pictures produced by Griffith after the Nation are: Broken Blossoms, made for Paramount at a cost of $115,000, grossed $1,250.000; Hearts of the World, also made for Paramount at a cost of $425,000, grossed in excess of $1,500,000.

Intolerance a Loss

Following this Griffith again broke away from studio interference and made Intolerance with his own money and some outside capital. This cost $1,600,000 and only grossed $1,750,000. Griffith took it on the chin and returned to making cheaper pictures by producing The Love Flower at a cost of $91,000. He originally made this for First National but before it was completed he cancelled the contract and released it himself. It later grossed $900,000.

First National realized that Griffith still possessed drawing power and demanded his next picture, The Idol Dancer, which was made for $93,000 and grossed $963,000.

$7,500,000 for East

D.W. again went in on his own to make Way Down East. This cost $635,000 and has grossed to date, including its third reissue, $7,500,000.

Gross on the road showing of Way Down East was around $4,000,000 and showed a net profit of $1,250,000. This is in addition to the gross of the general release of $3,500,000.

He remade Dream Street on his own capital at a cost of $337,000 and it brought $950,000. He followed this with Orphans of the Storm at a cost of $760,000 and it grossed $2,600,000.

One Exciting Night cost $362,000 and grossed $1,150,000; White Rose cost $425,000 and grossed $900,000; America cost $795,000 and grossed $1,750,000; Isn't Life Wonderful cost $260,000 and was light at $400,000; Sally of the Sawdust cost $337,000 and grossed $1,200,000.

Paramount again hired Griffith and he made That Royle Girl at a cost of $595,000. It grossed $900,000. He followed this with Sorrows of Satan for the same company at a cost of $1,050,000. It brought back $1,750,000.

Griffith then aligned with United Artists, making Drums of Love at a cost of $505,000. With but three months in release dates it has played to about $600,000. The Love Song, which he is now making, is budgeted at $750,000.

It will be noticed that wherever Griffith associated himself with other companies in the making of a picture, the costs were heavily increased.

Original article 1928.

"Griffith's 20 Year Record," Variety, September 5, 1928, pages 7, 12.

© 1997, David Pierce, on editing and revisions (if any)

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