Silents golden for NE films

The silent film series on NE Campus continues Tuesday Feb. 24, with Way Down East, a classic film about a poor young woman who moves in with her wealthy cousins.
The 1920 film stars Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess and Lowell Sherman.
Anna Moore, played by Gish, falls under the gaze of scoundrel Lennox Sanderson, who wants her badly.
Sanderson stages a mock wedding and convinces Anna they are married so he can have his way with her.
When Anna becomes pregnant, Sanderson abandons her, and later the baby dies.
A social outcast, Anna changes her name and looks for work at the home of a wealthy and sternly religious squire.
Anna falls in love with his quiet and handsome son, but thinks she cannot love because of her past.
Anna is tormented by her past with Sanderson, who lives nearby and wants Anna to leave so his past is not discovered.
When the wealthy squire finds out about Anna’s past, he throws Anna out into a raging snowstorm to fend for herself.
The climactic closing scene is highly regarded as one of silent film’s most dramatic moments.
A discussion on the film follows viewing of the film in NFAB 1302 at 2 p.m.