Broken Blossoms (also called
The Chink and the Child,
Scarlet Blossoms and
The Yellow Man and the Girl) is a
1919 film which tells the story of a Chinese man who goes to England to enlighten Christians about the teachings of Buddha. Battered by intolerance, he opens a small shop. When he takes in a brutalized English girl and takes care of her, the racism of his English neighbors turns violent. It stars
Lillian Gish,
Richard Barthelmess and
Donald Crisp[?].
The movie was directed by David Wark Griffith, and adapted by Griffith from a story by Thomas Burke[?].
The approval of peaceful race relations as presented in this film stands in sharp contrast to Griffith's earlier The Birth of a Nation.
The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.