Drama,Action,Romance
United States of America
Way Down East is a silent film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film is set in the late 19th century and tells the story of Anna Moore (played by Lillian Gish), a young woman who is orphaned and travels to the city to find work as a servant. She is taken in by a wealthy family, but is tricked into a fake marriage by the wealthy womanizer Lennox Sanderson (played by Lowell Sherman).
After discovering she is pregnant, Anna is cast out of the Sanderson house and must fend for herself and her newborn baby. She eventually finds refuge with a kind farmer, David Bartlett (played by Richard Barthelmess), who falls in love with her. However, social conventions of the time prevent David from pursuing a relationship with Anna due to the taint of her having borne a child out of wedlock.
The film culminates in a thrilling climax when Anna is trapped on a block of ice floating down a river and David rushes to save her. The themes of love, betrayal, and redemption run throughout the film and it is considered a classic of the silent era.
