The Sealed Room

The Sealed Room

The Sealed Room is an eleven-minute film released in 1909. Directed by D.W. Griffith, the film's cast included Arthur V. Johnson, Marion Leonard, Henry B. Walthall, Mary Pickford, and Mack Sennett. The film was also known as The Sealed Door.^[1]

Released in split-reel with The Little Darling.

Plot

The film's theme of immurement draws inspiration from Balzac's "La Grande Bretêche",^[2] and Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado". The king constructs a cozy, windowless love-nest for himself and his concubine. However, she is not faithful to her sovereign, but consorts with the court troubadour. In fact, they use the king's new play chamber for their trysts. When the king discovers this, he sends for his masons. With the faithless duo still inside, the masons use stone and mortar to quietly seal the only door to the vault. The two lovers suffocate and the film ends.

Cast

• Arthur V. Johnson - The Count
• Marion Leonard - The Countess
• Henry B. Walthall - The Minstrel

others

• Linda Arvidson - A Lady-in-Waiting
• William J. Butler - Nobleman at Court
• Vernon Clarges - Nobleman at Court
• Owen Moore - Nobleman at Court
• George Nichols - Workman
• Anthony O'Sullivan - Workman
• Mary Pickford - A Lady-in-Waiting
• Gertrude Robinson - A Lady-in-Waiting
• Mack Sennett - A Soldier
• George Siegmann - Nobleman at Court

Notes

References

• Gunning, Tom (1994). D.W. Griffith and the origins of American narrative film: the early years at Biograph. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06366-X. 
• Langman, Larry (1998). American Film Cycles: The Silent Era. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-30657-5. 
• The Sealed Room at silentera.com

External links

• The Sealed Room at the Internet Movie Database
• The Sealed Room is available for free download at the Internet Archive
• The Sealed Room on YouTube