Orphans of the Storm

1921

Orphans of the Storm

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

92%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 12

71%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 465
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Orphans of the Storm Photos

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Movie Info

In this film, Henriette brings her blind sister Louise to Paris, in search of a surgeon who might be able to restore her sister's sight. Henriette is kidnapped by a lascivious nobleman, leaving Louise to wander helplessly about until she too is "stolen" by a family of beggars.
  • Rating:
    NR
  • Genre:
    Drama
  • Directed By:
    D.W. Griffith
  • Written By:
    D.W. Griffith
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    United Artists

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Cast

Lillian Gish
as Henriette Girard
Dorothy Gish
as Louise Girard
Joseph Schildkraut
as Chevalier de Vaudrey
Monte Blue
as Danton
Frank Losee
as Count de Linieres
Katherine Emmett
as Countess de Linieres
Catherine Emmett
as Countess de Linieres
Morgan Wallace
as Marquis de Praille
Lucille La Verne
as Mother Frochard
Sheldon Lewis
as Jacques Frochard
Frank Puglia
as Pierre Frochard
Creighton Hale
as Picard
Leslie King
as Jacques-Forget-Not
Sidney Herbert
as Robespierre
Lee Kohlmar
as King Louis XVI
Marcia Harris
as Henriette's Landlady
Adolphe Lestina
as A Doctor
Kate Bruce
as Sister Genevieve
Flora Finch
as A Starving Peasant
Louis Wolheim
as The Executioner
Jessica Rose Smith
as Dancer
Kenny Delmar
as The Chevalier (as a boy)
Adrian D. Worker
as Doctor
Herbert Sutch
as A Meat-Carver at the Fete
Frank O'Connor
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Critic Reviews for Orphans of the Storm

All Critics (12) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (1)

  • Dorothy Gish is the blind girl, and this step from comedienne roles into a role of unlimited emotional possibilities reveals new capabilities in the less famous of the two Gish girls.

    Mar 26, 2009 | Full Review…

    Variety Staff

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • Orphans of the Storm is a stirring, gripping picture.

    Mar 25, 2006 | Full Review…
    New York Times
    Top Critic

  • While the director's handling of humour (clumsy) and pathos (heavily milked) demands some generosity from the audience, the eternal radiance of Lillian Gish shines through everything.

    Jan 26, 2006 | Full Review…

    David Thompson

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • One of the best of the director's late silent epics.

    Jan 1, 2000 | Full Review…

    Jonathan Rosenbaum

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • If some other director had produced it, it would be an astonishing picture. Perhaps it is still an astonishing picture, but the astonishment is that Griffith should be content to make success out of serving up the French Revolution as deus ex machina.

    May 30, 2019 | Full Review…

    Kenneth Macgowan

    Vanity Fair

  • Heavily sentimental and marred by Griffith's taste for unsubtle and inappropriate comedy, this isn't quite a silent masterpiece, but it is, nonetheless, visually spectacular and largely absorbing.

    Aug 12, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Robin Karney

    Radio Times
View All Critic Reviews (12)

Audience Reviews for Orphans of the Storm

  • Apr 17, 2012
    A fantastic, yet much too long, melodrama from the famous silent director D.W. Griffith. Forget about Birth of a Nation, this is the film to see. It stars the fabulous Gish sisters and they just melt your heart. The story is brilliant, the movie doesn't even look very old, it has heart and drama. I recommend it.
    Aj V Super Reviewer
  • Feb 10, 2011
    Story takes place in France before and after the Revolution. Louise (Dorothy Gish) and Henriette (Lillian Gish) are brought up together but are not really sisters--Louise was left on church steps as a baby and Henriette's parents took her in. Both are orphaned when their parents die and Louise is struck blind. Henriette takes her to Paris in hope of finding a cure. There they are separated--Louise is forced to work with villainous beggars and Henriette falls in love with Chevalier de Vaudrey (drop dead handsome Joseph Schildkraut). The story is wildly implausible with some twists that had me smirking. It's also overlong and VERY melodramatic...but it still works. It was made on a large scale with beautiful settings, costumes and a cast of hundreds. D.W. Griffith did a wonderful job of directing--especially when the peasants revolt and overthrow the government. I usually hate historical movies but I loved this one! The cast overacts wildly (especially Monte Blue as Danton) except for Schildkraut who underplays--and it works. Throroughly engrossing and highly recommended
    Cassandra M Super Reviewer
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