Dollys Abenteuer

Adventures of Dollie, The (1908)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

The first (of 400+) film directed D.W. Griffith is about a pair of gypsies who kidnap a three-year-old girl. When the girl's parents come looking for her the gypsies hide her in a barrel, which they accidentally drop in the river. Griffith's skill is certainly in full display here as his use of editing is right on the mark as he builds suspense of the girl going down the river. A wicked sense of humor is also on display here.

Those Awful Hats (1909)

*** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith comedy about a movie crowd getting angry because the women's large hats are blocking the screen. This is shorter than most of the shorts from this period but it's a very funny little gem.

The Adventures of Dollie (1908) : Brief Review -

This is where the Legacy of The Father Of The Cinema Begun. A quintessential human drama of historical importance. D W Griffith, the father of cinema, who established so many dramatic genres and sub-genres in Cinema World begin his unbeatable career with this short. In the same year he shot 48 shorts for a studio but for historical notes, The Adventures of Dollie stands as a highly important film. The film tells the story of a young girl who, after being kidnapped by a gypsy peddler, ends up trapped in a barrel as it floats downriver toward a waterfall. Within 13 minutes, Griffiths closes on deal with so many substances such as family, emotions, gypsy, thrill and happy ending. That scene when the gypsy tries to rob the woman, he does, the woman fights back, the small girl also throws her hand at him and the husband comes from behind and beats the bad guy. This all happens within 15 Seconds, yes that's the thing to notice. Its not the end but even the later part builds a strong story of commonalty, which, certainly wasn't common for 1908. Griffith's editing also packs a great punch while telling this quintessential storyline in thrilling manners. Well, 1908 wasn't the time where one would have given solid acting performance as the motion pictures were just started learning to take a breath so let's not talk about that and to be frank i couldn't even recognise their faces as there were no close-up shots. It is hard to rate the films made before 'Birth Of A Nation' (1915) because everything was at learning stage then. So, don't take the rating much seriously as i just had to rate it something, somehow. It's a primary schooling for us Movie Buffs where acknowledging and understanding cinema matters more than the Grades.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

It's not anything new to say the early works of D. W. Griffith weren't anything spectacular. In fact, films like "The Adventures of Dollie" are what the majority of his output consists of: short, 10-15 minute film dramas often featuring a simple story that is told through the standard monotonous long shots that each film consisted of back in the day. This early on, there's absolutely no hint whatsoever of the suspenseful sort of storytelling later films, such as the brilliant "Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance" would feature. However, considering the rest of the movies during this time looked the exact same in technique as this one, there's really no reason to complain.

"The Adventures of Dollie" is about a little girl who is kidnapped by gypsies and ends up going on a crazy ride in a barrel. There's really little else to it than that, although there is some nice cinematography involved and the story works for what it is. That being said, the film is really only worth seeing for historical reasons as it doesn't contain the excitement and buildup of his later material, and it would take until 1912 or so before Griffith would begin shooting more advanced, better crafted shorts.

After 6 months in front of the camera, D. W. Griffith, 33, was given a shot to direct a movie for Biograph Studios in July 1908. The studio's previous go-to director, veteran Wallace McCutcheon, Sr., became ill and his son didn't work out. G.W. Bitzer, Biograph's primary cameraman, recommended Griffith because the actor was always asking questions about the details of moviemaking. Given the assignment at directing, his first film was "The Adventures of Dollie."

The movie was a success, to which Biograph assigned him as its main director. The film itself is quite pedestrian, but it does show Griffith's understanding of that day's cinematic language. A few clipped scenes reflects his desire not to stretch out segments so in vogue in the early 1900's. (Yet the lingering sequence of the barrel traveling downstream shows he hadn't quite grasped future film pacing) Griffith's use of depth-of-field, however reflects a knowledge of departing from stage-bound right-to-left movements and captures the actors moving towards and away from the camera.

D.W. Griffith's inaugural voyage into filmmaking, after he approached Biograph Company searching for a job as an actor. One can definitely see how Griffith's skills as a director progressed in such a short period of time, but 'The Adventures Of Dollie' still appears thrilling to me, by modern standards, although the story is extremely simple-minded.

There is a public domain version of this film, along with many others by Griffith, available to view over at the Internet Archive. I am going to vote a 9 out of 10 for this one, partly due to it's historical value as the first film by one of the greatest directors of the silent era, and also because I thought it was really great! =)

THE ADVENTURES OF DOLLIE ----- 9/10.