Silent Film: The Wind

Running time: 110 mins

STARRING LILLIAN GISH With Dennis James At The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ The Wind is a masterpiece of American silent cinema. Lillian Gish plays a sensitive young woman who moves out west to live with her cousin and his family. When she is forced from their household, she accepts the marriage proposal of a nearby rancher. Life at the barren ranch is lonely; her new husband is crude (although kind) and he is often absent, leaving her alone with nothing but the incessant wind. Lillian Gish is brilliant as the young wife slowly being driven mad by her isolation and the constant howling, whipping wind. Indeed, Gish’s performance is nothing short of astonishing. Summary by Cyndi Mortensen, The Stanford Theatre Foundation