Biograph Company

Seamen Enoch Arden (Alfred Paget) returns home after a long absence marooned on a desert island. At home he finds his wife (Lillian Gish) married to another (Wallace Reid), and though he loves her, he cannot bear to disrupt her current happiness.

In 1916 the Biograph film company signed black comedian Bert Williams to write, produce, direct and star in two comedies. Williams created "A Natural Born Gambler" and "Fish." While hardly a breakthrough in shattering racial stereotypes (Williams was required by the studio to wear "darkie" makeup), a black production with a black cast was unprecedented. The response was tepid and Williams did not appear in any movies after Fish. Gambler borrows from Williams' Vaudeville skits.

Subscribe to RSS - Biograph Company