Film Forum

U.S., 1926
Directed by Victor Sjöström
Starring Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Henry B. Walthall
Based on the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne
In English
Approx. 115 min. 35mm.

In this stunning adaptation of Hawthorne’s tale of adultery in 17th century Boston, Lillian Gish’s Hester Prynne is “one of the most beautifully sustained performances in screen history” (Pauline Kael).

Reviews

“Though by no means the first to play Hester Prynne … Lillian Gish managed to shape the 75 year old classic’s protagonist into the image of her own star persona.”
– Bob Davis, Senses of Cinema