First off, I didn’t spell Poe’s name wrong in the title above. That’s how it’s spelled for the movie. Second, what did I just watch?
Don’t get me wrong- I normally like most silent films. MOST.
This is only 7 minutes long. However, it is directed by D.W. Griffith (deep sigh of despair due to history connected with him) so that 7 minutes is filled to the brim with melodrama. It opens with Virginia Clemm Poe (Linda Arvidson) tossing her hands around to show the audience how tormented by illness she is. Edgar Allan Poe (Barry O’Moore) comes in, also throwing his hands in the air a bunch, puts her to bed, then writes “The Raven” based on a conveniently placed taxidermy bird in their disheveled and under-furnished home. I’m not kidding. Virginia’s bed looks like a table with a blanket. Upon completion, he keeps pushing the poem into his wife’s dying face for her approval, then goes to find someone willing to pay for his work.
The remainder of this short film is Poe trying to convince editors and poets that he needs to get published (which he does without putting on a coat first - no wonder they didn’t take him seriously).
SPOILER ALERT: Poe sells the poem. He uses the proceeds to buy a warm blanket for Virginia, but comes home only seconds after she’s kicked the bucket. And that’s it. That’s the whole film. Thanks for nothing, Griffith. Your legacy lives on.
