The School Teacher and the Waif is a 1912 American silent Drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film was produced by the Biograph Company and distributed by the General Film Company. Starring Mary Pickford as the waif and Edwin August as the schoolteacher, the film was released by Biograph on June 27, 1912.
The story centers on Nora's struggles with loneliness, the hardships she faces at home, and the challenges she encounters at school, including bullying and feelings of humiliation. When a street vendor attempts to take advantage of her vulnerable situation, her teacher intervenes to help.
This film marked the second appearance of a -year-old stage actress named Ella Hall in a Biograph film. She played one of the young schoolgirls. Her part was uncredited.
This movie revolves around a young country girl named Nora, played by Mary Pickford. Nora is an unassuming girl who lives on a dilapidated farm. One day, she observes two boys teasing her pet sheep and chases them away. Shortly after, she hears her father calling her inside, where he shows her a letter from the "School Commissioners" ordering her to start attending school. Despite her objections, Nora agrees to start the next day.
On her first day at school, Nora arrives to find other children playing outside. However, they stop playing when they see her, making fun of her appearance and behavior. Then the teacher says it is time to start class, prompting everyone to head indoors.
When the first lesson ends, recess begins, and once again, the children taunt Nora. Feeling disheartened, she walks to a nearby stream and begins to cry. The teacher, sensing her distress, comes over to comfort her. Nora tells him that the other kids do not understand her. He says a few kind words, gently pats her on the head, and she happily skips down the road.
As the evening sets in, a spelling bee takes place with parents and school officials watching closely while the teacher quizzes various students. When it is Nora's turn, she has a hard time spelling any words correctly. Consequently, the teacher tells her that because of her failure, she must wear a dunce cap. Nora begs the teacher not to make her wear the cap, but the teacher must follow the Spelling Bee rules. Nora gets angry, throws the cap on the ground, and storms out of the classroom in tears as she makes her way home.
Saturday arrives with Nora's father returning home in confusion before collapsing onto his bed. Moments later, he hears someone knocking at the doorâÂÂit is Nora returning from school. Nora keeps knocking, but her dad ignores her and falls back asleep. Unable to wake him up, Nora wraps herself in an old gunny sack and leans against the door. As she falls asleep, it starts to rain.
On Sunday morning, realizing that his daughter had spent the night outside, he let her in so she could warm up and dry off.
After feeling humiliated in front of the class, Nora decides to skip school. She walks to the crossroads and sits by a fence post, pondering her future. Hearing some commotion nearby prompts her to take a brief stroll into the village.
Nora sees a medicine wagon and a snake-oil salesman hawking "Dr. Joe's Painkiller." The salesman has helpers: a banjo player and a pretty woman who were trying to lure people closer so that the drummer could sell his elixir. The huckster sees Nora and approaches her. Nora looks away at first, but then starts listening intently to what the faker is offering. He quickly realized how naïve she is and how easily she can be persuaded. He proposes marriage as part of his pitch to the young girl and asks her to think it over. She walks back to her favorite fencepost to consider the offer.
The next day, Nora returns to the fencepost located at the crossroads. The huckster sees her and walks over to see if Nora has thought about his proposal. He tells her again about his false promises of love and companionship. While they talked, the teacher passed by on his way to school. He pauses momentarily, then continues without intervening.
Later, Nora decides to accept his proposal. She heads home to pack her meager belongings and returns to the medicine wagon. Meanwhile, the teacher notices she was absent from the classroom and recalls the conversation he overheard at the fencepost. Concerned that Nora is naïve enough to believe the shyster, the teacher leaves the schoolchildren to their own devices and begins searching for Nora.
Back at the medicine wagon, the troupe is getting ready to leave. The teacher arrives just as Nora is about to board the wagon. He tells the peddler that he knows about his marriage proposal to Nora and would like to help. The teacher stated that he brought a minister who could perform the wedding immediately. Nora looked happy, but the salesman looked terrified. Suddenly, he makes a wild excuse, runs to his wagon, and quickly leaves the village. Nora stands in the middle of the road, feeling lost and deserted as the wagon disappears.
The teacher walks over to Nora and comforts her. They walk back to school together. They enter the classroom, and Nora takes her seat. After the lesson, the teacher dismissed everyone except Nora. He gently stroked and kissed her hair. They both smiled, happy to be together. When she leaves the school, Nora feels content.
The story ends with the teacher happily leaving the classroom.
The cast for this one-reel production is substantial, with 18 known actors. This number was not unusual for a Griffith-directed picture - see #Director. Ultimately, these 17 actors appeared in more than 2,000 films.
The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a leading studio during the silent era. Biograph was instrumental in the careers of both Griffith and Pickford, providing a platform for their early works
These brief casting backgrounds only display prominent players in this production.
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith D. W. Griffith, Lawrence Griffith, Larry Griffith (January 22, 1875 â July 23, 1948) was an American film director born in Floyds Fork Kentucky. Griffith was years-old when he directed this production.
In the 1890s, Griffith was working as a stage actor, touring with regional stock companies while writing a series of unsuccessful plays. In 1908, he sought employment with the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company in New York City, where they hired him as a stage extra. Midway through 1908, Biograph sought a new director and promoted Griffith to that role. His debut film, The Adventures of Dollie, proved so popular that Griffith stayed on as director. By the end of 1908, he had completed directing 48 short films. Between 1908 and 1913, Griffith made 450 films for Biograph; most were one-reel productions, averaging about 12 minutes each.
Griffith left Biograph in October 1913 to join Mutual Film Corporation after becoming dissatisfied with Biograph's refusal to raise budgets or implement onscreen film credits for filmmakers. Additionally, Biograph criticized his frequent use of too many actors in his films and rejected his proposals to begin producing feature-length films. Griffith's departure and the subsequent loss of key employees contributed to Biograph's decline and bankruptcy within just two years.
When Griffith arrived at Biograph, the studio already had a story department led by Lee Dougherty and with an in-house writer, Stanner E.V. Taylor. Although the director was empowered to buy story ideas, Griffith never had full control over the topics of Biograph movies. Note there are key differences between stories and Scenarios: a scenario is a sequence of events used for planning, while a story is a complete narrative with emotional depth that explores character motivations.
Griffith noted that the scenes' complex arrangement was kept in his head rather than following a formal script. Biograph provided its directors with scenarios, but Griffith never used them, making his approach distinct from that of other directors. According to Griffith, the dynamics of the scene informed his subsequent shots instead of following a formal script. Griffith's associates have always said he didn't use a written script, but he kept complicated shot structures entirely in his head. You can find a more comprehensive discussion of Griffith's camera work and scene construction in the book,
Various Biograph scripts are also available for download at the Library of Congress.
This motion picture venue is listed simply as "California." While the exact filming location within the state is unknown, all available sources consistently identify California as the site. Beginning in 1910, Biograph sought to establish a presence in California. Biograph aimed to position itself as a major force in Los Angeles filmmaking and played a significant role in the early establishment of Hollywood.
Film scholar Albert Fulton states in his book, , <blockquote>" . . . Griffith . . . was his own editor. It is difficult to imagine how his films could have been edited otherwise, for not only did he shoot his pictures without a prepared script, but only he knew how the parts were to be fitted together."</blockquote>
Britannica's Robert Henderson mentions in his book, , <blockquote>"Griffith had indeed been responsible for the editing of his own films, and he had also relied on improvisation from a plot outline, a synopsis or scenario, committed to memory. There was no detailed shooting script, and there was no theory of editorial process to guide the development of the production."</blockquote>
Nearly all published accounts state that this film's footage is exactly 1,000 feet, or one reel. Each reel is estimated to be 10 to 17 minutes long. Note that the video on YouTube runs for 17 minutes.
Copyright filed with Library of Congress Copyright Office.<br />
In 1912, the technical specifications for professional films were standardizing around the hand-cranked speed of approximately 16 frames per second (fps). Films were almost universally shot in black and white, were silent, and had a typical 4:3 aspect ratio
If a reader desires a comprehensive examination of the photographic methods utilized, scene by scene, by Griffith and his cameraman Billy Bitzer, they can consult the technical perspectives offered by André Gaudreault in the book
The one-reel short was released to U.S. theaters on Thursday, June 27, 1912. Biograph films were always released on Mondays or Thursdays in 1912.<br /> The film was released in the United Kingdom on August 25, 1912.
During this early period in the history of filmmaking, full-page advertisements for short films in trade journals were uncommon. A full-page ad appears in Biograph's own trade journal, but the page reads more like a statement than an ad, hoping to draw audiences to the theater. Significant publicity for films would emerge when feature movies become more the norm.
Movie reviews were critical opinions for theater owners and fans. Critiques of movies printed in different trade journals and newspapers were vital in determining whether to book or watch the movie.
Some content in this film could offend modern audiences.
According to the UCLA Film & Television Archive, a complete copy of this film exists. A 35mm duplicate negative Print exists in the Mary Pickford Institute for Film Education film collection. Another copy, 16mm preservation reduction positive, exist in the Library of Congress film archive.