The Unchanging Sea
About The Unchanging Sea
In a fishing village a husband sails with two other men. The wives wait. Three bodies come ashore. He is the one still alive, but he has no memory of home. His wife raises their daughter. The girl, grown, marries a young fisherman. On another voyage the familiar work and the shore bring the husband's memory back. He lands at his own village on the day of the wedding and finds his wife aged. They recognize each other only when they embrace.
Cast & crew
More about The Unchanging Sea
D. W. Griffith directed for Biograph, from Charles Kingsley's poem The Three Fishers. G. W. Bitzer photographed it in Santa Monica, then a fishing village. Released 5 May 1910. Copyright 7 May 1910, J141155. One reel, 952 feet. Running time 14 minutes at 18 frames a second. A Moving Picture World advertisement of 7 May 1910 billed it as suggested by the poem.
Themes
Making
Biograph shot the fishing-village scenes at Santa Monica and used two actresses so the daughter could grow up inside one reel.
Look
G. W. Bitzer photographed the Santa Monica beach, the wreck, and the return.
Preservation
A print survives in the Library of Congress film archive. A copy is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- Arthur V. Johnson plays the husband. Linda Arvidson, Griffith's wife, plays the wife.
- Gladys Egan plays the daughter as a child. Mary Pickford plays her as a young woman. Charles West plays the daughter's sweetheart.
- Dell Henderson plays the rescuer. Also cast: Kate Bruce, George Nichols, Frank Opperman, Alfred Paget, and Dorothy West.
- The titles quote Kingsley's lines, including "For men must work and women must weep.
- Wikidata lists Robert Israel under music. He is a later silent-film composer; AFI does not credit a 1910 score.
- A print is at the Library of Congress, and an Internet Archive copy is filed as TheUnchangingSea.
Scenes
- Three bodies are brought in from the sand. Only the husband is alive, and he does not know his name.
- He comes ashore on his daughter's wedding day and embraces his wife.
Influenced by
- Charles Kingsley's poem The Three Fishers
Also available
- Internet Archive (TheUnchangingSea)
Quotes
For men must work and women must weep.
