Lillian and Dorothy Gish made their film debut on September 9, 1912, portraying sisters in D.W. Griffith’s An Unseen Enemy. With this year marking the 101st anniversary of that debut, Fritzi of Movies, Silently decided that she wanted to bring the classic film blogging community together to share our appreciation for the Gish sisters — and so the Gish Sisters Blogathon was born!
Since Fritzi’s blog is focused on silent film and she would like to see all eras of the Gish sisters’ careers receive coverage, she has kindly invited me and my mid-century focused blog to co-host this wonderful event. Though they’re most well-known for their work in silents, the Gish sisters both went on to have incredible careers as the film industry changed and sound was introduced. Dorothy continued acting until 1963, and Lillian until 1987!
September 7 – 9, we will be celebrating the careers of both of these phenomenal actresses — and we’re inviting all of you to join us in that celebration!
Guidelines for participation:
- All bloggers are welcome to contribute!
- No movie is “taken” — you can write about any film you want, even if someone else has already chosen it! (Check out Lillian’s filmography and Dorothy’s filmography if you need some inspiration.)
- No post type is off limits: articles, reviews, biographies, pictorials… anything you feel like sharing, as long as it’s about one or both of the Gish sisters!
How to join:
Leave a comment on either of our blogs, tweet us as @MoviesSilently or @TMPLindsey, or email us with the idea for your contribution! Then, grab one of these lovely banners that Fritzi made for the blogathon:
(You can find Fritzi’s blogathon announcement, with additional banners/varied sizes, here.)
Participants:
Cinemalacrum – The Night of the Hunter
Cinematic Catharsis – Broken Blossoms
Crítica Retrô – Orphans of the Storm
Donald Mania – A video tribute to the sisters and an article on Lillian’s influence on cinema.
Don’t Upset Granny Gish – A review of His Double Life + an article on becoming a Gish fan
Falderal – Lillian Gish’s relationship with fellow screen star Mary Pickford + review of The White Sister
The Film Writer – Profiles of each sister and a video tribute
Films Worth Watching – True Heart Susie and The Battle of Elderbrush Gulch
Girls Do Film – A review of Romola
The Great Katharine Hepburn – Remodeling Her Husband
The Joy and Agony of Movies – Intolerance
The Last Drive In – Lillian on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, “The Body in the Barn”
MIB’s Instant Headache – The Birth of a Nation blu-ray review
Motion Picture Gems – ? (Topic TBD)
The Motion Pictures – The Cardinal, Sweet Liberty
Movie Classics – A review of The Scarlet Letter
The Movie Rat – An article on the Lillian and Dorothy’s film careers
Movies, Silently – The Unseen Enemy, Orphans of the Storm and Gretchen the Greenhorn
The Nitrate Diva – Way Down East and/or Hearts of the World
Nitrate Glow – Broken Blossoms review + poetry inspired by the film
Once Upon a Screen – The Musketeers of Pig Alley & a pictorial
Outspoken and Freckled – The Night of the Hunter
portraitsbyjenni – A post on The Scarlet Letter and the story of how a university theater came to be named after Lillian
The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion – A collection of newspaper clippings on both sisters
Silent Volume – Reviews of La Boheme, Mothering Heart, Birth of a Nation, Intolerance and DJ Spooky’s Rebirth of a Nation recut
Silver Screenings – Portrait of Jennie
The Soul of the Plot – Duel in the Sun
Strictly Vintage Hollywood – Nell Gwyn
They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To – The Whales of August
Thrilling Days of Yesteryear – The Wind
True Classics – Review of La Boheme
The Motion Pictures 
I’d like to write about REMODELING HER HUSBAND (1920) at thegreatkh.blogspot.com
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Wonderful! I’ll add you to the participants list. :)
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I did a project on Lillian Gish when I was in college for a classic films class. That being said, the only thing I remember from it is The Night of the Hunter. I’ll think about entering and get back to you Lindsey!
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This is the perfect opportunity for you to rediscover some of her work, then, or to discover something completely new! I look forward to seeing what you come up with if you do participate. There’s plenty of time for topic selection/preparation, so just let me know if you decide on something and I’ll add you to the list. :)
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I would love to join in this celebration of the Gish sisters! I’m thinking of writing about either Way Down East or Hearts of the World (or both!). Let me know if that’s okay. Fabulous idea and I look forward to it.
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Perfect! I’ll put you down for both for now and you can just update me if you decide to choose one over the other :)
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Hello! I would like to join but I am not sure if such an article would be ok for your blogathon. I was wondering if I could write about Mary Pickford and her relationship with Lillian Gish. While doing research about Pickford, I found tidbits about Gish in relation to Pickford that I found to be intriguing. I never knew what to do with the information that I found and while it’s small, your blogathon gave me an idea for a blog post. Since the blog post might end up being more focused on Pickford than Gish, I understand if you decline.
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Anything Gish-related is fine by us! That sounds like a really interesting post. I’ll add you to the roster.
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Great! I’m looking forward to the blogathon!
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Hey Lindsey,
In addition to the article about Pickford and Gish, I’m planning on writing about The White Sister. I’ll post the article on Pickford/Gish on the 7th and the article on The White Sister the following day. Hope that this addition is ok with you!
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Absolutely! I’ll update the list. :)
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Thanks! I also forgot to mention that it would be like a review/my thoughts about the movie :)
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Dear Fritzi, I would like to do A Portrait of Jennie, if possible…
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That sounds great! I’ll add you to the list :)
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I’ve been meaning to see Duel in the Sun for a while, this seems like a good opportunity to get to it! Is that alright?
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Absolutely! I’ll add you to the roster :)
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I will be honored to post about Dorothy and Nell Gwyn.
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Wonderful! I’ll add you to the list! :)
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I’m a lifelong fan of both sisters but in the middle of a draft. No way I’d be able to write anything, but I’d be happy to tweet about this and get the word out for you. I’d also love to read what is written by others. Is there a link you’d like me to post?
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Thanks so much for offering to help us promote it! You can just link to either this post or Fritzi’s announcement post. Once the blogathon gets going there’ll be a new post with updated links to the contributions themselves. :) What’s your twitter handle? I’ll be sure to follow you if I’m not already!
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