The Sands of Dee

Robert Harron's performance from "The Sands of Dee" is showcased in Dore Schary's 1945 box office hit "The Spiral Staircase", starring Dorothy McGuire. In the film's opening, Ms. McGuire is at a nickelodeon, thrilled by Mr. Harron's desperate search for his lost love; meanwhile, a serial murderer is claiming Myra Dell. It appears as if a superior print of D.W. Griffith's "The Sands of Dee" was used in the Dore Schary-produced film; so, where is it?

Before the events projected in "The Spiral Staircase", Harron (as Bobby) is rejected by leading lady Mae Marsh (as Mary). Ms. Marsh forsakes Harron's boyish charms for sophisticated painter Edwin August, after Mr. August flatters her, and steals a kiss. Harron wanders sadly along the beach, and slumps over some rocks. Marsh is happy with her new love, but finds the fickle finger of fate pointing her toward tragedy…

Director Griffith and photographer G.W. Bitzer create beautiful seaside location images. Marsh and Harron perform expertly together; and, audiences longed to see them reunited. Charles Hill Mailes and Grace Henderson are notable, among the always dependable Griffith stable of supporting players. The poetic on-screen story is a believable adaptation of Charles Kingsley's original, simpler poem.

******** The Sands of Dee (7/22/12) D.W. Griffith ~ Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, Edwin August