Born David Llewelyn Wark Griffith, D.W. Griffith was an American filmmaker who is considered by many to be the most influential figure in the history of cinema. He began his career as a stage actor and writer in the first part of the 20th century. He took his stories to the early movie studios, landing at the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company in 1908. Until 1913 Griffith oversaw the production of almost all of Biograph's movies, more than 450 films.
He joined Reliance-
His next film, Intolerance (released in 1916), was equally ambitious but a financial disaster.
In 1915 he joined with Mack Sennett and Thomas Ince to form the Triangle Corporation, but the venture failed and Griffith left in 1917. He continued making movies, having success especially with Way Down East (1920), but most of his films during the '20s lost money, including those he made with United Artists, the studio he co-
As silent movies were replaced by talkies, Griffith's position in the film industry waned. His last feature, The Struggle (1931), was a failure. Although he was no longer making movies, he was honored in 1935 with a special Oscar.