Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916)

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

D.W. Griffith (scenario)
Anita Loos (titles)
(more)

Release Date:

5 September 1916 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

The Cruel Hand of Intolerance

Plot:

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Plot Keywords:

Intolerance | Judea | Jesus Christ | Massacre | Reformer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Mae Marsh	...	The Dear One (Modern Story)
Robert Harron	...	The Boy (Modern Story)
F.A. Turner	...	The Girl's Father (Modern Story) (as Fred Turner)
Sam De Grasse	...	Arthur Jenkins (Modern Story)
Vera Lewis	...	Mary T. Jenkins (Modern Story)
Mary Alden	...	Self-Styled Uplifter (Modern Story)
Eleanor Washington	...	Self-Styled Uplifter (Modern Story)
Pearl Elmore	...	Self-Styled Uplifter (Modern Story)
Lucille Browne	...	Self-Styled Uplifter (Modern Story)
Julia Mackley	...	Self-Styled Uplifter (Modern Story) (as Mrs. Arthur Mackley)
Miriam Cooper	...	The Friendless One (Modern Story)
Walter Long	...	The Musketeer of the Slums (Modern Story) / Uncredited Babylonian Warrior (Babylonian Story)
Tom Wilson	...	The Kindly Policeman (Modern Story)
Ralph Lewis	...	Governor (Modern Story)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Judge of the Court (Modern Story)
A.W. McClure	...	Father Fathley (Modern Story)
John P. McCarthy	...	Prison Guard (Modern Story) (as J.P. McCarthy)
Dore Davidson	...	Friendly Neighbor (Modern Story)
Monte Blue	...	Strike Leader (Modern Story)
Marguerite Marsh	...	Debutante (Modern Story)
Edward Dillon	...	Another crook (Modern Story)
Billy Quirk	...	Bartender Modern Story)
Howard Gaye	...	Christ (Judean Story) / Cardinal Lorraine (Medieval Story)
Lillian Langdon	...	Mary, the Mother (Judean Story)
Olga Grey	...	Mary Magdalene (Judean Story)
Erich von Ritzau	...	First Pharisee (Judean Story) (as Gunther von Ritzau)
Bessie Love	...	The Bride of Cana (Judean Story)
William H. Brown	...	Father of Bride of Cana (Judean Story) / Warden (Modern Story) (as William Brown)
George Walsh	...	Bridegroom of Cana (Judean Story)
W.S. Van Dyke	...	Wedding Guest (Judean Story)
Margery Wilson	...	Brown Eyes (French Story)
Eugene Pallette	...	Prosper Latour (French Story)
Spottiswoode Aitken	...	Brown Eyes' Father (French Story) (as Spottiswoode Aitkin)
Ruth Handforth	...	Brown Eyes' Mother (French Story)
Allan Sears	...	The Mercenary (French Story) (as A.D. Sears)
Frank Bennett	...	Charles IX, King of France (French Story)
Maxfield Stanley	...	Duc d'Anjou (Monsieur La France) (Medieval Story)
Josephine Crowell	...	Catherine de Medici (French Story)
Constance Talmadge	...	Marguerite de Valois (French Story) / The Mountain Girl (Babylonian Story) (as Georgia Pearce)
W.E. Lawrence	...	Henry of Navarre (French Story)
Joseph Henabery	...	Admiral Coligny (French Story) / Deffendent (Babylonian Story)
Chandler House	...	Page (French Story)
Elmer Clifton	...	The Rhapsode (Babylonian Story)
Alfred Paget	...	Prince Belshazzar (Babylonian Story)
Seena Owen	...	Princess Beloved (Attarea) (Babylonian Story)
Carl Stockdale	...	King Nabonidus (Babylonian Story)
Tully Marshall	...	The High Priest of Bel (Babylonian Story) / Uncredited Friend of the Musketeer (Modern Story)
Lillian Gish	...	The Woman Who Rocks the Cradle / The Eternal Mother
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Morris Levy	...	Duc de Guise (French Story) (scenes deleted)
Mazie Radford	...	Dancing girl in Babylon feast scene
Sylvia Ashton	...	Woman at Worker's Dance (uncredited)
George Beranger	...	Second Priest of Bel (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Barney Bernard	...	Attorney for the Boy (Modern Story) (uncredited)
Frank Borzage	...	Extra (uncredited)
Kitty Bradbury	...	Jenkins Party Guest (Modern Story) (uncredited)
John Bragdon	...	Counselor of the King (uncredited)
Tod Browning	...	A Crook (Modern Story) (uncredited)
Karl Brown	...	Extra (uncredited)
Frank Brownlee	...	The Girl's Brother (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Kate Bruce	...	Old Babylonian Mother (Babylonian Story) / The City Mother (Modern Story) (uncredited)
Edward Burns	...	Charioteer of the Priest of Bel (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
James Burns	...	Charioteer of the Second Priest of Bel (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
David Butler	...	Babylonian soldier (uncredited)
Ernest Butterworth	...	Extra (uncredited)
Frank Campeau	...	Extra (uncredited)
Jewel Carmen	...	Favorite of the Harem (Babylonian Story) / Dancer / Handmaiden (uncredited)
Francis Carpenter	...	Child (Epilogue) (uncredited)
Peggy Cartwright	...	Little Girl (uncredited)
William E. Cassidy	...	Extra (uncredited)
Hazel Childers	...	Jenkins Party Guest (Modern Story) (uncredited)
Lotta Clifton	...	Second Dancer of Tammuz (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Dark Cloud	...	Ethiopian Chieftan (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Constance Collier	...	Extra (uncredited)
Virginia Lee Corbin	...	Child (Epilogue) (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	The Runner (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Jack Cosgrave	...	Chief Eunuch (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
William Courtright	...	Second Pharisee (Judean Story) (uncredited)
Donald Crisp	...	Extra (uncredited)
James Curley	...	The Charioteer of Cyrus (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Ruth Darling	...	Girl of the Marriage Market (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Max Davidson	...	Kindly Neighbor (Modern Story) (uncredited)
Nigel De Brulier	...	Extra (uncredited)
Carol Dempster	...	Favorite of the Harem (Babylonian Story) / Dancer / Handmaiden (uncredited)
The Denishawn Dancers	...	Dancers (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Ted Duncan	...	Captain of the Gate (Babylonian Story) / Bodyguard to the Princess (uncredited)
Charles Eagle Eye	...	Barbarian Chieftain (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Douglas Fairbanks	...	Man on White Horse (French Story) (uncredited)
George Fawcett	...	Judge (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Clarence Geldart	...	Extra (uncredited)
Mildred Harris	...	Favorite of the Harem (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Dell Henderson	...	Extra (uncredited)
Russell Hicks	...	Extra (uncredited)
Clyde E. Hopkins	...	Jenkins' Secretary (Modern Story) (uncredited)
DeWolf Hopper Sr.	...	Extra (uncredited)
Luray Huntley	...	Self-Styled Uplifter (uncredited)
George James	...	Councellor of the King (French Story) (uncredited)
Daisy Jefferson	...	Favorite of the Harem / Dancer / Handmaiden (uncredited)
Noble Johnson	...	Babylonian soldier (uncredited)
Martin Landry	...	Auctioneer (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Robert Lawler	...	Judge (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Alberta Lee	...	Wife of the Kindly Neighbor (Modern Story) (uncredited)
Jennie Lee	...	Woman at Jenkins' Employees Dance (uncredited)
Elmo Lincoln	...	Belshazzar's Bodyguard, 'The Mighty Man of Valor' (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Extra (uncredited)
Francis McDonald	...	Extra (uncredited)
Arthur Meyer	...	Brother of the Girl (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Felix Modjeska	...	Bodyguard to the Princess (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Margaret Mooney	...	Girl of the Marriage Market (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Owen Moore	...	Extra (uncredited)
Carmel Myers	...	Favorite of the Harem (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Loyola O'Connor	...	Attarea's Slave (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Vester Pegg	...	Extra (uncredited)
Wallace Reid	...	Boy Killed in the Fighting (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Louis Ritz	...	Counselor of the King (uncredited)
Louis Romaine	...	A Catholic Priest (French Story) (uncredited)
Alma Rubens	...	Girl of the Marriage Market (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Howard Scott	...	A Babylonian Dandy (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Ted Shawn	...	Dancer (co-founder of Denishawn Dancers with Ruth St. Denis) (uncredited)
George Siegmann	...	Cyrus (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Ah Singh	...	First Priest of Nergel (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Ranji Singh	...	Second Priest of Nergel (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Eve Southern	...	Favorite of the Harem / Dancer / Handmaiden (uncredited)
Pauline Starke	...	Favorite of the Harem (uncredited)
Ruth St. Denis	...	Solo Dancer (co-founder of Denishawn Dancers with Ted Shawn) (uncredited)
Madame Sul-Te-Wan	...	Girl at Marriage Market (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Herbert Sutch	...	Extra (uncredited)
Natalie Talmadge	...	Favorite of the Harem / Dancer / Handmaiden (uncredited)
Ethel Grey Terry	...	Favorite of the Harem / Dancer / Handmaiden (uncredited)
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree	...	Extra (uncredited)
Charles Van Courtlandt	...	Gobyras, Lieutenant of Cyrus (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
King Vidor	...	Extra (uncredited)
Erich von Stroheim	...	Second Pharisee (Judean Story) (uncredited)
Anna Mae Walthall	...	Favorite of the Harem / Dancer / Handmaiden (uncredited)
Raymond Wells	...	Counselor of the King (uncredited)
Winifred Westover	...	The Favorite of Egibi (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Grace Wilson	...	First Dancer of Tammuz (Babylonian Story) (uncredited)
Hal Wilson	...	Extra (uncredited)
Tammany Young	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
D.W. Griffith

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Hettie Grey Baker		titles (uncredited)
Tod Browning		uncredited
D.W. Griffith		scenario
D.W. Griffith		titles (uncredited)
Anita Loos		titles
Mary H. O'Connor		titles (uncredited)
Walt Whitman		poem "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" (uncredited)
Frank E. Woods		titles (uncredited)

Produced by
D.W. Griffith	....	producer

Original Music by
Carl Davis		(1989)

Cinematography by
G.W. Bitzer

Film Editing by
D.W. Griffith		(uncredited)
James Smith		(uncredited)
Rose Smith		(uncredited)

Production Design by
D.W. Griffith		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Walter L. Hall		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
D.W. Griffith		(uncredited)
Clare West		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Robert Anderson	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)
D.W. Griffith	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Frank E. Woods	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herbert Sutch	....	assistant director (as Bert Sutch)
Arthur Berthelet	....	second assistant director: French story (uncredited)
Monte Blue	....	second assistant director: Modern story (uncredited)
Tod Browning	....	second assistant director: Modern story (uncredited)
Christy Cabanne	....	second assistant director: Babylon story (uncredited)
Elmer Clifton	....	first assistant director: Babylon story (uncredited)
Jack Conway	....	second assistant director: Babylon story (uncredited)
Edward Dillon	....	second assistant director: Modern Story (uncredited)
Allan Dwan	....	second assistant director: Babylon story (uncredited)
Victor Fleming	....	second assistant director: Babylon story (uncredited)
Sidney Franklin	....	second unit director: Babylon sequence (uncredited)
Joseph Henabery	....	first assistant director: Babylon story (uncredited)
Joseph Henabery	....	second unit director: New York (uncredited)
George W. Hill	....	second assistant director: Babylon story (uncredited)
Lloyd Ingraham	....	second assistant director: Modern story (uncredited)
George Nichols Jr.	....	second assistant director: Babylon story (uncredited)
Mike Siebert	....	second assistant director: Babylon story (uncredited)
George Siegmann	....	first assistant director: Los Angeles (uncredited)
W.S. Van Dyke	....	second assistant director: Judean story (uncredited)

Art Department
Frank Wortman	....	set builder (as Frank 'Huck' Wortman)
Martin Aguerre	....	construction supervisor: gallows (uncredited)
Ralph M. DeLacy	....	property master (uncredited)
Shorty English	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Walter L. Hall	....	set designer (uncredited)
Jim Newman	....	assistant carpenter (uncredited)
Joseph Stringer	....	set builder (uncredited)
Hal Sullivan	....	assistant property master (uncredited)
R. Ellis Wales	....	set designer (uncredited)
Frank Wortman	....	set designer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Hal Sullivan	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Leo Nomis	....	stunts
Charles Eagle Eye	....	stunt double: Miriam Cooper (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Karl Brown	....	associate photographer
Louis Bitzer	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Allan Dwan	....	camera elevator engineer (uncredited)
Allan Dwan	....	dolly grip (uncredited)
James G. Woodbury	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
R. Ellis Wales	....	costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Joe Aller	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Louis F. Gottschalk	....	conductor (1916)
Joseph Carl Breil	....	music arranger (uncredited)
D.W. Griffith	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Colin Matthews	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
David Matthews	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
D.W. Griffith	....	presenter
Martin Aguerre	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Robert Anderson	....	technical director (uncredited)
Gertrude Bambrick	....	choreographer (uncredited)
J.A. Barry	....	executive assistant: D.W. Griffith (uncredited)
Neal Dodd	....	religious advisor (uncredited)
Lillian Gish	....	research assistant (uncredited)
Joseph Henabery	....	research assistant (uncredited)
Wilbur Higby	....	crewman (uncredited)
Rabbi Myers	....	religious advisor (uncredited)
Abe Scholtz	....	laboratory technician (uncredited)
Ruth St. Denis	....	choreographer (uncredited)
Erich von Stroheim	....	production assistant: Babylon sequence (uncredited)
R. Ellis Wales	....	chief technologist (uncredited)
R. Ellis Wales	....	historical advisor (uncredited)
B.F. Zeidman	....	publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Triangle Film Corporation
• Wark Producing

Distributors

• Triangle Distributing Corporation (1916) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Expedition (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2005) (worldwide) (TV)
• SBP (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• SBP (2006) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Colossal Productions (1916) (UK) (theatrical)
• Killiam Shows (????) (USA) (theatrical)
• Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, The (????) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sfinks (1922) (Poland) (theatrical)
• Fil à Film (????) (France) (VHS)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Kino Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• LS Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Punto Zero (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• VTI Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Western Costume Company  costumes (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Intolerance (USA) (short title)
Intolerance: A Sun-Play of the Ages (USA) (copyright title)
The Mother and the Law (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

163 min | UK:178 min (2000 video release) | USA:197 min | Spain:197 min (DVD version) | Spain:123 min (TV version) | Argentina:175 min

Country:

USA

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | South Korea:12 (2003) | Australia:PG | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Triangle Film Corporation

Trivia:

D.W. Griffith was forced to re-shoot the sequence of the crucifixion because certain organizations were saying that Griffith shot too many Jewish extras around the cross, and not enough Romans. Griffith then burned the footage and re-shot the scene with more Roman extras.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As the Jenkin's factory militia goes to attack the striking workers, the shadows of a camera and two cameramen, one on either side, are cast onto the ground in front.

Quotes:

The Boy: Nothing doing on the good night stuff, I always go inside to see my girls.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Passion: Films, Faith & Fury (2006) (TV)

The Greatest Movie of all time... almost

I first saw this picture as a teenager some thirty years ago. I had no idea what to expect; all I knew was the famous still of Belshazzar's feast which has become one of the best known icons depicting the extravagance of crazy old Hollywood. But I was astounded and bowled over by what I saw. I will make no attempt at a plot synopsis here, since several other reviewers on this site have done so. Most readers already know that Griffith set out to tell four separate stories, laid in four widely spaced historical periods, and that he intercut freely between them, increasing the tempo as the film proceeded, and attempted to bring all four to a climax simultaneously. Clearly he bit off more than he, or anybody, could chew; but the fact that the limits of what cinema could do were being pushed so hard so early is what fascinated me then, and still fascinates me now. I wish to heaven that college film courses would just blow off "Birth of a Nation" and consign it to the oblivion it largely deserves, and show "Intolerance" instead, for this indeed is Griffith's monument, despite its poor state of repair; and at the risk of being technical I would like to address this. I have noticed that the one negative comment running most consistently through the reviews posted on this website is the relative lack of weight given to the French and Judaean sequences relative to the Modern and Babylonian narratives. This is largely the fault of the movie's checkered preservation history. When "Intolerance" failed to make huge sums at the box office, Griffith released the Babylonian and Modern stories as individual features in 1919, reshooting some scenes along the way. He cut up the original negative (gasp!) to do this, and by the time he decided to reassemble the whole movie in 1926, it turned out that all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't quite put Humpty Dumpty back together again. There was never a shooting script, or a written continuity; Griffith kept the whole thing in his head, and moreover could never stop tinkering with it while it was in release! Consequently, while the Babylonian and Modern stories have survived largely intact, the French and Judaean episodes were depleted by about half. So when we see it now we must recognize that we are viewing a broken sculpture. The movie is a restorer's nightmare; almost a third of its 2000- plus shots exist in variant versions, and the captions were rewritten more than once. But, broken as it is, it's still magnificent. There has never been, and will never again be, anything like it. It has all of Griffith's inconsistencies: subtle and naturalistic acting from Mae Marsh and Robert Harron as the luckless couple in the Modern Story are seen cheek by jowl with outrageous mugging by Walter Long as the Musketeer of the Slums, or Josephine Crowell's Catherine de Medici in France; but no masterpiece on this scale is ever consistent, after all. I love Connie Talmadge's Mountain Girl from Babylon; smart, funny and crazy. Other favorites: Tully Marshall as the villainous Priest of Bel; Seena Owen as the Princess beloved, my personal nomination for Most Fabulous Body of the Hollywood 1910s, never mind the deranged costumes; Alfred Paget as a genuinely humane Belshazzar; Howard Gaye as a believable and totally unforced Jesus. Everything the silent screen of 1916 could do, good, bad, subtle, overblown, crazy or glorious is embodied here; and Griffith never rode so high again. The most satisfactory version currently available, in my opinion, is the Kino on Video edition on vhs and dvd, the one illustrated when you first call the picture up on this site. There are some problems and a few missing bits that I take exception to, but overall this is the version that first time viewers should try.