Orphans of the Storm

Orphans of the Storm
Orphans of the Storm
	Original theatrical poster
Directed by	D. W. Griffith
Screenplay by	D. W. Griffith
Based on	Les Deux Orphelines (play); by Adolphe d'Ennery and Eugène Cormon
Produced by	D. W. Griffith
Starring	Lillian Gish; Dorothy Gish;
Cinematography	Billy Bitzer; Hendrik Sartov; Paul Allen; Herbert Sutch;
Edited by	James Smith; Rose Smith;
Music by	Louis F. Gottschalk (original score as performed in cinemas in 1921); William P. Perry (Original piano score for 1970s showing on television.);
Production; companies	D.W. Griffith, Inc.
Distributed by	United Artists (US)
Release date	December 28, 1921 (US);
Running time	150 min.
Country	United States
Languages	Silent; English intertitles;
Budget	$760,000
Box office	$3 million (worldwide rental) or $2 million

Orphans of the Storm is a 1921 American silent melodrama film by D. W. Griffith set in late-18th-century France, before and during the French Revolution.

The last Griffith film to feature both Lillian and Dorothy Gish, it was a commercial failure compared to his earlier works, such as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Broken Blossoms (1919) and Way Down East (1920).

Griffith used historical events to comment on contemporary events, in this case the French Revolution to warn about the rise of Bolshevism. The film is about class conflict and a polemic for “inter-class understanding” and against “destructive hatred”. At one point, in front of the Committee of Public Safety, a main character pleads, "Yes I am an aristocrat, but a friend of the people."

The film is based on the 1874 French play Les Deux Orphelines by Adolphe d'Ennery and Eugène Cormon.