When Knighthood Was in Flower

You can see the 33 year old D.W. Griffith uncomfortable with being directed in this film. Despite the fact that he wrote the piece, he is indirectly saying to the director that he could do a better job than him, and it was only a matter of weeks before that aspiration was fully realised. Griffith did actually clash with McCutcheon on the set, complaining that the director was spoiling the rhythm of his work. He hated the stop and start of filmmaking as opposed to the linear acting that he was used to on the stage. He wanted a constant flow of scenes running in and out of each other. Being directed by someone else jarred with his training, and he wanted to liberate himself from the shackles of another director in order to express his ideas freely.