Isn't Life Wonderful is a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith for his company D. W. Griffith Productions, and distributed by United Artists. It was based on the short story "Isn’t Life Wonderful?" in the 1923 book Defeat by Geoffrey Moss, and it was released under the alternative title Dawn. [2] Plot [ edit ] The often-criticized actress Carol Dempster, a favorite of Griffith after Lillian Gish left his fold, has been particularly praised here as showcasing a credible performance as the orphan Inga. Her fictitious character had grown up with the Polish family before their immigration to Germany. Griffith changed the citizenship of the film's central figures from German to Polish, knowing American viewers would be more apt to sympathize with them than the German populace. This thematically beautiful film was said to be Griffith's apology for his ostensibly pro-War and necessarily anti-German "Hearts of the World" (1918, with Harron and Gish). But, Griffith apologists should have looked at "Hearts" more closely, and beat a hasty retreat; because, the turnaround began within that film. Like a war weary world, Griffith foresaw a pacifist mood. He knew how to be both ahead of the curve and behind the times; pulling no punches, "Isn't Life Wonderful" serves up blistering pessimistic optimism.

Isn't Life Wonderful" is a masterpiece, a film that has the usual Griffith story subjects ( of course there's an orphan) and is impeccably directed.ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL is often considered director DW Griffith's last "great" film, and the last one he made as an independent producer. It is a simple tale of a family struggling to survive in post-WWI Germany, despite food shortages, rampant inflation, and general despair. Through it all, they do their best to find the simple joys in life. Following is my review. The film tells the story of a family of Polish refugees in Germany in the hard times of the aftermath of the WWI. It was a struggle to survive and make a living as there was unemployment, hunger, a financial disaster dominated by uncontrollable inflation and terrible social conditions. Herr Griffith depicts these tragedies perfectly. In spite of facing a gloomy future, the couple that stars in the film, Dame Inga ( Dame Carol Dempster in a moving performance ) and Herr Paul ( Neil Hamilton ) try to bear these troublesome times with some optimism, a complicated task in itself given that disease almost kills Herr Paul and one can hardly forget that hunger makes turnips the German national food par excellence. Nevertheless, Inga and Paul face those problems with inner strength and unconditional love. The achievement's description may be a reference to the 1993 movie Jurassic Park, in which the character Dr. Malcolm says the quote "life finds a way." To make a film about such difficult times and striking the right balance between realism and a larger than life love story that intertwines sadness and hope is a task only a few of the great silent film masters could accomplish and to this German aristocrat, forgetting old rivalries, it must said that Herr D. W. Griffith was one of those.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must avoid the financial crisis of his Teutonic heiresses. After "The Great War" (later called "World War I"), unfortunately orphaned Carol Dempster (as Inga) goes to Germany, with an also-on-the-move homeless Polish family. There, she waits for handsome soldier Neil Hamilton (as Paul), childhood sweetheart from her "adopted" family. So, living virtuously must have been difficult for the couple, since they grew up together. Presently, Ms. Dempster and Mr. Hamilton find their changes for happiness averted by devastating post-war conditions…Absent collaborators G.W. Bitzer, Robert Harron, and Lillian Gish might have given director D.W. Griffith another masterpiece with "Isn't Life Wonderful". His closest film-making partner was, by now, protégée Dempster. One of the problems with Dempster is evident herein - note the scene where she forces herself to "smile" while Mr. Hamilton is bedridden; this acting business is swiped from Ms. Gish's "smile" in "Broken Blossoms" (1919); and, Hamilton is directed to act like Mr. Harron. But fortunately there is always an exception that proves the rule, a film that plays to the strengths of the director and will even impress a German count who has his own standards. There are a lot of essential and distinguished silent film pioneers who contributed greatly to film history with their mastery of cinema art but they do not always appeal to all of the world's silent film fans. It is a question of personal preference that does not deny their important merits, natürlich!!. For example there is a strained relationship between this German count and Herr D. W. Griffith. Herr Griffith handles the story in a realistic way, without moralizing and avoiding the tearful aspects of the story ( an important aspect that this German count appreciates very much ) or demonizing people. After all everyone suffered the social and financial crises in their own way. This is a down to earth film that shows a harsh reality tempered by hope and contains beautiful scenes that broke the heart of a heartless German count. There are outstanding scenes, particularly the one where Inga and Paul are chased through the woods by hungry and unemployed workers, an excellent example of classic Herr Griffith editing. Just as Dempster is freed of having to be Gish, the plot is freed of having to be another THE BIRTH OF A NATION or BROKEN BLOSSOMS. Gone are the rapacious villains and races to the rescue. Instead, suspense comes from the family not having enough to eat or Paul suffering from the aftereffects of a lungful of mustard gas during the war. In fact, the movie's most intense sequence occurs in a butcher shop line stretching into the street. Inga waits her turn, only to watch with despair as the price of meat keeps increasing on the chalk board outside, reflecting the rapid inflation of postwar Germany. Griffith makes room for beautiful moments too though. The family dinners and communal dancing are touching moments, giving the viewer relief after long stretches of stress and anxiety.

So now Griffith gets the credit for neorealism too? As if American films like Regeneration and European films like The Outlaw and His Wife (not to mention plenty of Griffith's Biograph shorts) hadn't been shooting grim reality for years? Perhaps he did encourage Germans to film their own urban reality, but if so, they soon surpassed this film. This doesn't mean Dempster and Hamilton aren't adequate in the parts - but one of Mr. Griffith's problems was pigeonholing an actress like Dempster into something she was not. Griffith directed a "type" - the old lady, the mother, the virginal heroine, the suitor, etc. Herein, he is obviously directing his cast to act like the "types" co-created with performers like Gish and Harron; and, he incorrectly assumes one performer (Dempster) is able to deliver the same kind of performance as another (Gish). Most of the scenes were filmed in Germany and Austria. Only one was filmed in New York at the studio. The film stars Carol Dempster and Neil Hamilton. The film was a failure at the box office, and it led to Griffith leaving United Artists shortly after its run in theaters. [4] Reception [ edit ] D. W. Griffith was a man of contradictions. A pioneering 20th century filmmaker who was at heart a Victorian. A philanderer with a sentimental view of women and marriage. A man who condemned racial prejudice in BROKEN BLOSSOMS after vehemently affirming it in THE BIRTH OF A NATION. These contradictions make him frustrating yet fascinating, both as a biographical subject and as an artist, and perhaps his greatest contradiction-- being the "father of film" yet growing eclipsed the moment Hollywood began its rise as a mega-power-- is embodied in his 1920s work. ACTING: Carol Dempster and Neil Hamilton as Inga and Paul lead the cast. After years of intermittent success in her roles and miscasting, Carol Dempster gives a superbly moving and beautifully measured performance that finally displays the depth and range of her talents. She is wonderfully touching and charming as Inga, using her penetrating brown eyes and impish smile to great effect in some scenes. With her hauntingly frail appearance and bent posture, she really embodies the character well. Seeing her in this role makes me wish so much that Dempster had continued acting; she really had potential for greatness.

Contributors

As great as the film is, "Isn't Life Wonderful" had a difficult time finding an audience. The public just wasn't interested in seeing a Polish refugee family painfully trying to exist in an economically dysfunctional Germany. The postwar country was experiencing an inflationary monetary system never seen before, with its marks currency escalating literally by the minute. Fatigue, hunger and crime greeted its citizens after its defeat against the Allied countries, especially France, demanding Germany keep up with its reparations for its invasion in 1914. Griffith, reading Geoffrey Moss' account of the German's life in his series of 1923 short stories, decided to produce a movie based on one of them. To make his production appear even more authentic, he took his crew and actors to film in Germany and Austria .