''The Avenging Conscience: or "Thou Shalt Not Kill"'' is a 1914 silent horror film directed by
D. W. Griffith.
The film is based on
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
's 1843 short story "
The Tell-Tale Heart
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the n ...
" and his 1849 poem "
Annabel Lee
"Annabel Lee" is the last complete poem composed by American author Edgar Allan Poe. Like many of Poe's poems, it explores the theme of the death of a beautiful woman.Meyers, Jeffrey. ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy''. New York: Cooper Sq ...
".
Plot
A young man (
Henry B. Walthall
Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915).
Early life
Henry B. Walthall was born March 16, 1878 on a ...
) interested in the works of Edgar Allen Poe, falls in love with a beautiful woman (
Blanche Sweet
Sarah Blanche Sweet (June 18, 1896 – September 6, 1986) was an American silent film actress who began her career in the earliest days of the Hollywood motion picture film industry.
Early life
Born Sarah Blanche Sweet (though her first na ...
), but he is prevented by the uncle (
Spottiswoode Aitken
Frank Spottiswoode Aitken (16 April 1868 – 26 February 1933) was a Scottish-American actor of the silent era. He played Dr. Cameron in D. W. Griffith's epic drama ''The Birth of a Nation''.
Early years
Aitken was born 16 April 1868 in Edin ...
) that raised him since childhood from pursuing her. Tormented by
visions
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
of death and suffering and deciding that murder is the way of things, the young man kills his uncle and builds a wall to hide the body.
The young man's torment continues, this time caused by guilt over murdering his uncle that was overheard by an Italian witness, and he becomes sensitive to slight noises, like the tapping of a shoe or the crying of a bird. The ghost of his uncle begins appearing to him and, as he gradually loses his grip on reality, the police figure out what he has done and chase him down. In the ending sequence, we learn that the experience was all a dream and that his uncle is really alive. They make up and the nephew gets to marry the sweetheart.
Cast
*
Henry B. Walthall
Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915).
Early life
Henry B. Walthall was born March 16, 1878 on a ...
as the nephew
*
Blanche Sweet
Sarah Blanche Sweet (June 18, 1896 – September 6, 1986) was an American silent film actress who began her career in the earliest days of the Hollywood motion picture film industry.
Early life
Born Sarah Blanche Sweet (though her first na ...
as his sweetheart
*
Spottiswoode Aitken
Frank Spottiswoode Aitken (16 April 1868 – 26 February 1933) was a Scottish-American actor of the silent era. He played Dr. Cameron in D. W. Griffith's epic drama ''The Birth of a Nation''.
Early years
Aitken was born 16 April 1868 in Edin ...
as the uncle
*
George Siegmann
George A. Siegmann (also credited as George Seigmann; February 8, 1882 – June 22, 1928) was an American actor and film director in the silent film era. His work includes roles in notable productions such as ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915), ' ...
as the Italian
*
Ralph Lewis as the detective
*
Mae Marsh
Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years.
Early life
Mae Marsh was born Mary Wayne M ...
as the maid
*
Robert Harron
Robert Emmett Harron (April 12, 1893 – September 5, 1920) was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in over 200 films, he is possibly best recalled for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed film ...
as the grocery boy
*
George Beranger
George Beranger (27 March 1893 – 8 March 1973), also known as André Beranger, was an Australian silent film actor and director in Hollywood.Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Central ...
*
Wallace Reid - the doctor
Reception
Dennis Schwartz, labeling the film with a grade of B-, labeled it as a film with important historical value as "the first great American horror film."
References
External links
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*
1914 films
1910s horror drama films
Films directed by D. W. Griffith
American black-and-white films
Films based on The Tell-Tale Heart
American silent feature films
Articles containing video clips
Films based on multiple works
Films based on poems
American horror drama films
1914 drama films
1914 horror films
1910s American films
Silent American drama films
Silent horror films
1910s English-language films
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