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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 678

Orphans of the Storm

1921150 minUnited States
Drama
Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs
149:56
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · D. W. Griffith / Adolphe d'Ennery / Eugène Cormon · Public domain

Synopsis

Henriette brings her blind sister Louise to Paris in search of treatment, only for the two to be separated and placed at the mercy of strangers. Their struggle to reunite crosses the divisions between poverty and privilege. As revolution transforms the city, personal rescue becomes entangled with arrest, accusation and political violence.

Cast

DirectorsD. W. Griffith

Historical context

Griffith uses the French Revolution to argue about class conflict and the politics of his own period. The historical setting is therefore also a vehicle for his opposition to revolutionary extremism.

Inspirations

The film adapts the French stage melodrama Les Deux Orphelines. Lillian and Dorothy Gish play the sisters in the last Griffith production to feature them together.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 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
  • Dorothy Gish — Bain News Service, publisher.; This image is available from the United States Library of Congress 's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ggbain.32540 . This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing . · Public domain

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