Isn't Life Wonderful
About Isn't Life Wonderful
After the war, Polish orphan Inga lives in Berlin with a professor, his sister, the grandmother, and the son Theodor. Food is down to a potato or horse turnips. The professor corrects papers. Theodor waits tables. Paul, the professor’s other son and Inga’s sweetheart, comes home weakened from the front. He builds a hut and plants potatoes enough for the winter. On the road at harvest, hungry workers take the whole crop. Inga tells him they still have each other.
Cast & crew
More about Isn't Life Wonderful
Griffith directed, produced, and wrote the adaptation of Geoffrey Moss’s story “Isn’t Life Wonderful?” from the book Defeat. AFI cites the New York edition of 1924. United Artists distributed it. Wikipedia dates the release 23 November 1924 and lists 120 minutes. AFI catalogs 1 December 1924, 8,600 feet, nine reels, and a United Artists copyright of 1 February 1925 (LP21265). The working title was The Dawn. An alternate title is Dawn. Most scenes were shot in Germany and Austria, one of them at the New York studio. Moving Picture World of 12 July 1924 reported the German exteriors.
Themes
Background
The story is set in Berlin during the German inflation, among Polish refugees who had been pushed west by the war.
Making
The company worked on location in Germany and Austria. A single scene was made at the New York studio.
Audiences
Wikipedia reports a box-office failure and Griffith’s departure from United Artists shortly after the run.
Look
Hendrik Sartov and Harold S. Sintzenich photographed it, including the German exteriors.
Technique
Film Daily reported in July 1924 that Griffith shot with a no-heat lighting system developed in Europe.
Music
Louis Silvers and Cesare Sodero are credited with the music.
Notes
- Carol Dempster plays Inga. Neil Hamilton plays Paul. Erville Alderson plays the professor. Helen Lowell the grandmother. Marcia Harris the aunt. Frank Puglia plays Theodor.
- Hans Adalbert Schlettow leads the workers who take the potatoes. Lupino Lane plays Rudolph. Louis Wolheim is in the cast.
- Film Daily of 18 July 1924 reported that Griffith used a no-heat lighting system developed in Europe.
- Wikipedia says the film failed commercially and that Griffith left United Artists soon after.
Scenes
- Hungry workers stop the cart and take the winter potatoes.
- Inga tells Paul, after the theft, that they still have each other.
Influenced by
- Geoffrey Moss’s story in Defeat
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Isn't Life Wonderful (1924).webm)
