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After not having much luck at selling his screenplays to the new movie industry during the first decade of the 20th Century, in 1908 playwright D.W. Griffith got the job that would make him a legend: he was hired by the Biograph Company as a director of movies. It wasn't really what Griffith had expected when he decided to enter the movie business, but he accepted the job, and in less than a year he became Biograph's most successful director thanks to his original approach to film-making and the wild inventive of his narrative. Many years later, he would direct "The Birth of a Nation" in 1915, the movie that would revolutionize film-making and make him one of cinema's first recognized authors; however, a lot of what would make him a great filmmaker can be found in the many short films he made for Biograph Company in the early years of his career. 1909's "The Sealed Room" is one of those, and also one of the few horror movies of that very first decade of the 20th Century.

"The Sealed Room" is a story set in the 16th Century in which a Count (Arhtur V. Johnson) has built a windowless room in his castle. It is a small yet nice and very cozy room, as it is meant to be used to enjoy the love and company of his wife, the Countess (Marion Leonard) in a more private way. However, the Count doesn't know that his wife is not exactly faithful, as she is infatuated with the Minstrel (Henry B. Walthall) at Court, with whom she is having an affair. As soon as the Count gets busy with his own business, the Countess calls the Minstrel and both lovers go to enjoy the Count's new room. When the Count returns, he discovers she is missing and begins to suspect, finally discovering the two lovers in his room; but instead of making a scene, he prefers to remain hidden as he decides that there is a better punishment for his unfaithful wife: to seal the windowless room with the couple inside.

Written by Griffiths' regular collaborator Frank E. Woods, "The Sealed Room" takes elements from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" and mainly Honoré De Balzac's "La Grande Breteche" to create a haunting Gothic melodrama based on the themes of treachery and sadism. Despite having a runtime of 11 minutes, Woods' screenplay develops the story in a very good way, and plays remarkably well with the horror elements of the story. While a melodrama at heart, Woods focus on the character of the Count and his sadism creates one of the best horror characters of these early era. "The Sealed Room" is definitely a very simple and basic story, but Woods handling of the dark and morbid thematic of its plot makes the story a very entertaining film that was very different than most Griffith's melodramas.

In "The Sealed Room", Griffith uses his talents to experiment with tension and suspense in a different way than his usual. While he often played with editing to create thrillers that excited his audience, in this movie his focus was to create desperation and horror, playing with the inherent feeling of claustrophobia that the source stories had. It is interesting how the story starts as another of his melodramas and slowly the pacing becomes faster as the horror themes begin to dominate the plot, culminating in his great use of editing for the final scenes. Not being a movie where camera tricks are essential, what shines the most in "The Sealed Room" is Griffith's talent to direct his actors, as the legendary filmmaker manages to bring the best out of his cast with his usual natural style far removed from the staginess that was the norm in his day.

As usual, the cast was comprised of usual collaborators of Griffith, starting with Arthur V. Johnson as the Count. Johnson gives a great performance and truly conveys the character's transition from loving husband to sadistic monster. His performance is not without a touch of overacting, but actually that adds realism to the character's exaggerated personality. As the Countess, Marion Leonard looks very good and is also very effective in her acting, conveying a natural charm that makes hard not to sympathize with her in her treachery. Finally, the legendary Henry B. Walthall appears as the handsome Minstrel, and while far from being one of his best performances, he manages to give a proficient acting that also adds a nice touch of comedy to the film. While not of real importance to the plot, it's nice to see other members of Griffith's stock company in the background, like his wife Linda Arvidson and a young Mary Pickford as nobles at Court.

While not exactly a masterpiece, "The Sealed Room" is a notable exercise of editing to create suspense and tension like Griffith used to do in those days. The movie has very good set design and while of a very low budget, Griffith's care for details makes it look very convincing and works perfectly along with his directing style. The change of focus to horror makes it to stand out among other of his films from that era, and Johnson's performance as the sadistic Count makes it worth a watch. While Griffith will always be remembered for his highly influential (and controversial) "The Birth of a Nation", the early short films he made before it really give a good idea of the development of the techniques and the style that would make him a legend. Simple yet elegant, "The Sealed Room" is a fun movie to watch and one of the few horrors of the first decade of the 20th Century. 7/10

There are enough positives to this short feature to make it a decent rendering of the idea of "The Sealed Room", familiar from a number of horror stories. The leading performers all give plenty of energy to their performances, and for the most part they are believable. Among its best aspects are the scenery and the costumes, which make the general atmosphere convincing. The physical limitations of the sets and the fixed camera field do, though, somewhat hinder how well the "sealed room" effect can work.

The story is simple, and at one or two points its plausibility is rather strained. But it is the kind of macabre tale that holds your attention in spite of yourself. There have probably been other versions that were more effective, but this one tells the story clearly and efficiently, and it works reasonably well.

When viewing this short film remember that this is 1909, the infancy of movie making, where they filmed most films in two days with one set camera. The movie making industry is about to boom and by 1915 this film will look ancient compared to the way the movie will be made in just a few years.

In this short and simple film, a king sets out to make a private room for him and his queen to have private time from everyone. It was a room that was constructed in the corner of a hall with no windows and only one entrance. But it seems that the queen has eyes for the court minstrel and when the king accidentally finds them in the private room being sweet on each other he sets up on sealing the only entrance to the room.

While watching there will be things you have to take for 'film-sake'- like when the wall is being sealed yet the queen and her lover seem not to hear the commotion that is only a few feet away or when they fall to the floor and they go out of sight due to the fix camera shot. These are all part of 1909 regular film making. Watch the film for the historic value and also see the progress movies made in just a few short years. A well preserved film, by D W Griffith, that will not disappoint.

This period melodrama is one of Griffith's earliest claustrophobic films. Characters trapped within a room are prevalent throughout his work and, as time went by, he would become increasingly adept at portraying their helplessness and involving the audience in their terror. In the bluntly titled Sealed Room there is one major difference to the normal plot line, in that there truly is no escape.

Griffith achieves the claustrophobic effect here in two ways. First is his use of space. While the typical Biograph short might utilise a dozen or more sets, The Sealed Room features only two adjoining rooms – the king's court and the dove cote that becomes the eponymous tomb. The set design in these shorts is rarely referenced, but here it is crucial. The court is a large interior, with a backdrop hinting at greater depth and showing us a window and a staircase. Actors enter and leave from various directions, suggesting the room is not only spacious but also free and open. By contrast the dove cote's back wall is very close to the camera, and the angles in it suggesting a hexagonal or octagonal shape make it seem even more confined.

The second technique on display here is the cross-cutting. Anyone with an interest in Griffith's work will probably know about his heavy use and development of cross-cutting to build excitement or tension. Many will also know that strictly speaking it wasn't his invention. However what makes Griffith's cross-cuts so effective is the way he paces the opposing images so they complement each other. The Sealed Room contains a good example of what I mean. The shots of the masons shifting the heavy bricks have a slow, step-by-step pace to them, with tension building as the wall gets higher. This movement is matched by the shots of the blissfully unaware lovers, in which Marion Leonard tears off flower petals one-by-one. As the couple realise their predicament, their rising panic is complemented by the opposing shot of the king madly thrashing his sword against the wall.

At this point, Griffith was yet to realise that the action could be heightened further by introducing a third strand to the cross-cut. The dramatic "ride-to-the-rescue", here absent, was later to become a standard climax to Griffith's pictures.

One of Griffith's early Biograph films about a king who becomes enraged upon seeing his lover with another in her room. Clever, and mostly interesting for its historical value, this short film is quite entertaining and should not be passed over if you a get a chance to see it.

This is quote an enjoyable early Griffith film in which he once more makes good use of cross-cutting to create an escalating feeling of tension. Based on an Edgar Allan Poe story, the film efficiently sets the scene as we see a deliriously happy king having all but one of the doors to his love nest sealed so that only his beloved can gain entrance. However, all is not quite as blissful between the king and his beloved as we might expect. Just look at the way the minstrel's lute playing becomes increasingly frenetic each time the king and his squeeze embrace. Sure enough, the moment he's out of the room, his girl and the minstrel are in each others arms.

It's quite interesting to chart the increasing sophistication of films as the 20th Century approached the end of its first decade. The sets are still stagy, but they are more realistic than only a few years before, and the costumes in this period piece are surprisingly realistic. Future stars are also beginning to make an appearance: Arthur V. Johnson, who plays the King here, was one of Griffith's first, and Mary Pickford, who has a bit part in this film, would soon replace Florence Lawrence as the Biograph Girl.

I found it interesting that two very famous silent film stars, actress Mary Pickford and director Mack Sennett, had supporting roles in this D. W. Griffith silent film. To add another famous name to the mix, the screenplay was based on an Edgar Allen Poe novel.

Yes, this short film looks creaky but it's one year short of being 100 years old, so you can't expect much as far as a big-budget film. It's hard to relate to much at all, actually, because movies were only 10-20 minutes long at that time anyway, and since there was no sound, the actors acted more like mimes.

Since "talkies" were still almost two decades away, even the silent actors hadn't quite got their acts down yet. You can see the result: insane overacting and wild, crazy facial expressions - actually laughable at times. But, hey, it was 1909. I find it amazing we still have the opportunity to look at a movie this old, and appreciate the fact it's available.

The king constructs a windowless love nest for himself and his mistress only to discover her there with the court minstrel.

Based on a novel by Edgar Alan Poe and directed by D. W. Griffith, this short has an interesting pedigree. Add in an early uncredited appearance by the teenage Mary Pickford, if you can spot her, and an uncredited appearance by Mack Sennett and it's worth spending 11 minutes watching it.

Early film directed by D.W. Griffith; it features a gloriously happy King (Arthur V. Johnson) and his Queen (Marion Leonard) - but, wait! When the King leaves the scene, his Queen makes music with the palace's Minstrel (Henry B. Walthall). When the King discovers the lovers, he decides to enact a horrific Edgar Allen Poe-type revenge. It's difficult to believe the lovers can't hear those plotting against them; although the actors are trying to look alternately noisy (the lovers) and quiet (the cement mixers). The sets make "The Sealed Room" look very staged. The performances are okay, and the story is easy to follow.

*** The Sealed Room (9/2/09) D.W. Griffith ~ Arthur V. Johnson, Henry B. Walthall, Marion Leonard

This early Biograph short was so much fun to watch. The second on disc one of D.W. Griffith's "Years of Discovery" DVD set (highly recommended) it features three excellent performances by the main leads, and interesting to see Henry B. Walthall (The Little Colonel, Birth of a Nation) as a campy musician giving a Countess the eye (and other things).

The Countess' husband goes berserk at his wife's betrayal and has her walled into a little room with her paramour. It's kind of incredible that they wouldn't hear the wall going up, but hey, maybe the wine had something to do with it. Here Mr. Johnson (father of silent player Raymond Hackett) gesticulates wildly and this adds to the melodrama, but in an unexpectedly comical way. The best moment comes at the end. As the lady passes out from shock and fear, once she realizes she's doomed, Henry picks up his instrument and "fans" it over her. The way he did it was so unexpected and in a strange way kind of sexy, and I just lost it, and laughed my head off. The expression on his face! From that moment I was charmed by Henry B. Walthall.

I loved this movie, and I loved Arthur V. Johnson's performance in it. I have seen him in several movies, and he was always excellent in them. He is described as a "pioneer actor and director of the early American silent film era", but an even better description would be "the first great actor in silent films", and he was certainly great in this movie! I do not think he over-acted: he was required to play a man outraged by his woman's infidelity, and that is how he acted it. Much credit should be given to director D.W. Griffith, and to co-stars Marion Leonard and Henry B. Walthall, who both turned in excellent performances. Considering this movie was made in 1909, I would say it is a superior movie, and I definitely recommend it!

Sealed Room, The (1909)

*** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith's version of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado' has a King learning that his wife is cheating on him so he seals her and her lover behind a brick wall. This short film manages to have some nice suspense as well as some very good direction from Griffith who gets everything he can out of the story in such a short running time. The ending is wonderfully wicked as well.

You've got several options when viewing this title. Image, Kino, Grapevine and a couple public domain companies have released it.

Just the perfect example of an old DW Griffith movie of a king and everything and it returns to add movie history and then you scratch yourself and you wonder what is your doll about the time Billy it's beautiful and things everything done the magnificent behind scenes and you think it's somewhere else adjusting a small thing but you don't know where the king who is listening to music and all those things and it's play It's a wonderful but his great thing that the camera work is wonderful even though it doesn't move much and you still have your alarm and set in dynasty but at the same time you have this is Royal all great things and then the acting is great and wonderful gives the image of a king and all these beautiful things how they should behave and how they behave in all these things to do it intentionally Rita Thorne and all of a sudden we don't know and then all of a sudden of course it is so incredible what we are seeing here right now and then the lack of music makes you want to scream but then for the rest is definitely so that you love your child in the flipping coin of Medusa near so why didn't you don't know if them people making love on this movie and of course and you said what is going on indefinitely and then you have all the intrigue and everything that the great ew Griffith maiden DW Griffith in the town of champion and champion and DW Griffith you don't know they ever play together. The point is of course it's beautiful how this all different kinds of layers work together then of course you can tell it's gone clue that it's a beautiful things with birds flying outside and all this beautiful to set up vendor the props and and all this beautiful about this movie and of course then you come to the conclusion that it is just playing radius in sha Allah Allahu Akbar