American Cinematographer - November 1998 - 72

Great

Relationships
camera

loggerheads with his bosses. One

and D. W. Griffith

ican

bone of contention

Beyond a doubt, the most cele¬
brated
director-cinematographer

the first movies of an American pres¬
ident (McKinley) and covered the

that of

Spanish-American War.
Having seen Griffith's acting,
Bitzer figured he couldn't "direct a
flock of geese," but he quickly
became Griffith's right-hand man,
initiating him into the rudiments of
filmmaking. He was amazed at the

of the silent

team

screen was

D. W. Griffith and G. W.

"Billy"
period of 16 years, this
remarkable pair made more than
1,000 movies together. Among these
films, which ranged from half-reels
Bitzer. Over

to

a

15-minute one-reelers to 14-reel

spectaculars,

innovative ideas that

contributed

pupil. Their first picture together, A
Calamitous Elopement, was released
in August. "With this picture, the

are
many
that
significantly to the
growing art of motion pictures.

David Wark Griffith (1875-

1948) hailed from

team

went to New York

contract,

name

in 1904. Under the

Lawrence Carter,

he continued

write and appeared in several
plays. Theatrical and literary people
of the day were contemptuous of the
primitive pictures being made by
pioneering producers, but in 1907

came

of Griffith-Bitzer

Kentucky family
by the Civil
War. The epitome of threadbare
gentility, he became a theater critic,
magazine writer, playwright and
stage actor in Louisville before he
a

which had been ruined

from his

into

came

existence," Bitzer said in his autobi¬

ography, Billy Bitzer: His Story. "In all
worked together, even
left Biograph with Mr.

the years we
after I finally

Griffith, there
trust

only

written

was never a

a

handshake and

our

in each other."
Most historians have

to

given

Griffith and Bitzer credit for invent¬

make

ers

His Trust and Enoch Arden in

In 1913 Griffith told
Bitzer, "We are just grinding out
sausages, Billy, and will continue to
do so as long as we remain here."
Griffith resigned in September
and contracted to produce and direct

"In all the years we
worked together, even

after I

finally left
Biograph with Mr.

Griffith, there
a
a

trust in each other."

down but hired its author as the lead¬

ward. Edwin Porter used

ing actor of Rescued From

an

Eagle's

an

film

Train

His first directorial effort

was

The

Adventures ofDolly,

photographed by
the great Arthur Marvin.
During the making of Dolly,
Griffith sought advice from a
seasoned Biograph cameraman from
Roxbury, Massachusetts - Gottfried

The
after¬

as was

cross¬

cutting as early as 1902 in The Life of

Nest. Griffith continued his efforts in

writing and acting until July
1909, when he was given a chance to
write and direct at Biograph Studio.

close-up,

American Firemen and The Great

Robbery (1903), which ended
with a hand-colored close-up of the
robber chief firing his revolver into
the camera. It is arguable, however,
that Griffith was the finest director of
his

era,

utilizing the most sophisti¬
filmmaking with

cated methods of

the best results, and Bitzer

was never

written contract, only
handshake and our

Bitzer

was a

one-

reel segments.

for the

(1894)

to

-

-

Edison's first movie, Fred Ott's Sneeze

Kiss, which followed shortly

his wish

later called
features
such as were already
being done in France and Australia.
Biograph wanted only one-reelers.
Biograph released his 1911 two-reel-

script of Tosca to Edwin S. Porter, the
leading director/cinematographer of
the time. Porter turned the script

a

was

longer pictures

ing almost every technique that
followed: close-ups, cross-cutting for
suspense, panning, dolly shots, hand¬
coloring, and much more. Actually,

"Lawrence Griffith" tried to sell

-

Billy Bitzer

Reliance-Majestic program.
joined him, as did most
of the leading players from Biograph,
including Lillian Gish, Bobby
Harron, Mae Marsh, Donald Crisp,
Blanche Sweet, Henry B. Walthall
soon

and others. The Griffith-Bitzer
had

made

about

team

450

Biograph
productions. Included were several

two-reelers and the four-reel Biblical

epic, Judith of Bethulia, all of which
Biograph had refused to release.
Ironically, they finally saw release in
1914.

the

During that same year, Griffith
and Bitzer filmed the five-reel Battle

(1872-1944). A
of German immigrants,

perfect man to bring his ideas to life.
Critics and exhibitors argued about
their work, which in the Biograph
period was done anonymously.

the ex-silversmith had begun work in

Some found excitement in its fresh¬

Wilhelm

sturdy
1894

The

Bitzer

son
as

a

mechanic-electrician

at

Magic Introduction Company,

forerunner

of

the

American

Biograph Company. Soon he was
assisting his idol, W. K. L. Dickson,
co-inventor of the first Edison movie

70 November 1998

and probably the first Amer¬
cinematographer. They made

Billy Bitzer

ness,

others

were

irritated

was

or even

angered by its departures from the
familiar. More discerning patrons

recognized that Biograph had a supe¬
rior product.
Griffith eventually got at

of the Sexes in New York, then moved
to

the West Coast

reel The

to

finish the

seven-

Escape. These were followed
by two features, Home, Sweet Home
and The Avenging Conscience, and
the finest picture of its time, The
Birth of a Nation. Released in 12 reels
in 1915, the great drama of the Civil
War, personally produced by Grif¬
fith's own company, stirred contro-
American Cinematographer - November 1998

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