
Billy Bitzer
Camera
Biography
Gottfried Wilhelm "Billy" Bitzer (April 21, 1872 – April 29, 1944) was a pioneering American cinematographer notable for his close association with D. W. Griffith. In 2003, a survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild named him one of the ten most influential cinematographers in history. Bitzer, it is said, "developed camera techniques that set the standard for all future motion pictures." Description above from the Wikipedia article Billy Bitzer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.
The Birth of a Nation

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

The love story of an abused English girl and a Chinese Buddhist in a time when London was a brutal and harsh place to live.
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl

A confirmed bachelor learns that he will inherit his late uncle's fortune only if he marries, which he does reluctantly. Shortly afterward he returns to his bachelor lifestyle but realizes he can't get his wife's face out of his thoughts.
The Awakening
Oh, the woe of simultaneous birthdays, as were Mr. and Mrs. Hardlucks', and both being of a generous nature, were seized with an insatiable desire to make on this anniversary of their nativity suitable gifts, each to the other, Hardluck has a watch, but no fob. Mrs. Hardluck has a wealth of hair, but no decorative comb for her hair. What is worse, finances are low, or rather exhausted. An idea strikes Hardluck. He will pawn his watch and buy a comb; thus surprising her. Mrs. Hardluck's mind is also illumined by a bright thought. She will sacrifice her hair, and with the money buy him a fob. This they do, of course, unknown to each other. Well, here's the situation: He had no fob for his watch, and she no comb for her hair; but now he has no watch for his fob, and she has no hair for her comb. Mack Sennett appears as an extra in this film produced by the Biograph Company.
The Sacrifice

A young man and a young woman, each unlucky in love, determine never to marry. But Cupid (and two separate bands of misinformed revelers) has other ideas.
The Newlyweds

A husband suspects his wife of an affair. The wife's cousin borrows a shawl to meet her lover in the garden. The husband spies the couple embracing, and, thinking it's his wife, he strikes the lover. The thought that he has killed a man temporarily unhinges the husband's mind until he can be convinced that the lover is still alive.
The Restoration

Rosie Nell, a woman of disreputable dance halls in early lawless California, is wrongly charged with the murder of one of her fellow entertainers. Because her daughter, who knows nothing of her mother's station in life, is to return the next day from her school in the east, Rosie is granted three days of grace to be spent in company with her daughter at a nearby cabin. The three days begin happily enough, thanks to the serenades of heroic bandit Alvarez and the poetry of romantic Randolph. But Bagley, the dance hall manager, has seen the daughter and has determined to make her his own.
Scarlet Days

When the double wedding takes two daughters away from the old man at once, the youngest, now the only one left, in outraged spirit promises never to leave her father, but soon she too is departing for a new home. Then comes a cold hard fact of life. The son-in-law claims his right to make a home alone for his wife. In his bitterness and anger, the father denies them both the house. Several years later the lonely old man meets at the gate a babe in arms. When he learns whose baby it is, heart hunger craves another sight, and sought, brings with it the only natural result.
My Baby
The boy, who is the idol of his widowed mother, returns from college with a collegiate record she is justly proud of. To mark the occasion his boyhood sweetheart and her mother come to spend a few days. The too-indulgent mother, however, is blind to the fact that the boy is spending most of his evenings in full dress, which should have told her that Bohemian society was engaging his attention. A showgirl, who learns that he will soon come into great wealth, determines to win him. Unsophisticated as he is, he is an easy prey. A friend of the family warns the mother of her boy's danger,
The Unveiling

Mrs. Kendrick borrows a jeweled necklace from a friend for an important social event. The necklace is stolen, and Mr. Kendrick goes into debt to replace it. The thief discovers it's costume jewelry, but the Kendricks never learns the truth; Husband and wife struggle for years to pay off the huge debt.
The Necklace
A printer, drinking excessively and neglectful of his family obligations, is fired from his job when he offends his wealthy employer and his employer’s guests as they tour the printworks. Seeking revenge, the dismissed employee enters his former employer’s house with the intention of shooting him. There he sees the employer and his severely disabled daughter, and recognizes the strong emotional bond between father and daughter. This convincing demonstration of affection brings the printer to his senses. He asks pardon, is reinstated in his old job, and becomes a model worker, husband, and father.
The Iconoclast

This is the story of Gato, an Italian immigrant, who lives with his wife, Marie, and his younger brother, Giuseppe, on a small truck farm in the west. Gato becomes so intent on his work that he neglects to show his wife the little attentions she demands. A foppish wandering Italian, Sandro, sees in this an opportunity to work his ends, but is prevented by the timely interference of Giuseppe.
Near To Earth

France, on the eve of the French Revolution. Henriette and Louise have been raised together as sisters. When the plague that takes their parents' lives causes Louise's blindness, they decide to travel to Paris in search of a cure, but they separate when a lustful aristocrat crosses their path.
Orphans of the Storm

A man recognizes the thief who had previously robbed him as one of the men involved in an unrelated mob shootout.
The Musketeers of Pig Alley

A wealthy young Southern aristocrat, Joseph, graduates from a seminary and, before he takes charge of his assigned parish, decides to go out and see what "the real world" is all about. He winds up in New Orleans and finds himself attracted to a poor, unsophisticated orphan girl, Bessie. One thing leads to another, and before long Bessie finds that she is pregnant with Joseph's child.
The White Rose

The story of the massacre of an Indian village, and the ensuing retaliation.
The Massacre

A naive country girl is tricked into a sham marriage by a wealthy womanizer, then must rebuild her life despite the taint of having borne a child out of wedlock.
Way Down East

It's love at first sight for the Boy, but obstacles— namely shyness, and the temerity of other suitors— place themselves in the way of his love. Unknowingly, the Boy and the young woman of his fancy both stay at the home of mutual friends— But all is not well, as robbers lurk outside the house.
So Near, Yet So Far

All the young men in the mining camp flirt with Lucy. Bud, the youngest of them, doesn't stand a chance. At a dance, Bud dresses as a woman and all the men flirt with him and abandon Lucy. When his disguise is revealed, the other men are too embarrassed to approach Lucy, and Bud dances the rest of the night with her.