Lillian Gish
The Eternal Motherhood
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Synopsis
Four stories unfold across ancient Babylon, biblical Judea, sixteenth-century France and modern America. Their characters face persecution, conflict and the consequences of others' certainty. Parallel editing invites the viewer to compare distant lives through recurring forms of intolerance.
Cast
DirectorsD. W. Griffith
Historical context
The film combines reconstructed historical episodes with a contemporary melodrama. Its large-scale sets and interwoven timelines make it an important experiment in silent cinema's ability to organise space and centuries within one narrative.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 10, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Lillian Gish — Bain News Service; Uploaded by Calliopejen ; Edited by jjron . · Public domain
- Mae Marsh — Unknown author · Public domain
- Robert Harron — Fred Hartsook (1876–1930). · Public domain
- Howard Gaye — Unknown author · Public domain
