The story on which D. W. Griffith based Way Down East was considered hopelessly old-fashioned in 1920, with its innocent heroine seduced, abandoned and ostracized for giving birth to an illegitimate child. But the fine naturalistic acting of Lillian Gish in one of her best performances and the vigorous editing of Griffith made the film into something more; filled with highly charged, emotional moments, it was his most popular film after Birth of a Nation, and still holds up as a fascinating example of his technique. Way Down East is justifiably famous for its last-minute rescue scene, which finds Gish, having been driven from the house of her protectors when they discover her illegitimate child, and having failed in her pathetic attempt to save the child from the cold, caught on an ice floe rushing toward a waterfall. Intercutting shots of Richard Barthelmess as he jumps amid cakes of ice to save her, Griffith created a visual experience that still sends audiences into a state of anxiety. Way Down East also exemplifies Griffith's curious stance toward his heroine: while he makes her a victim, he encourages her to defend herself against a society of hypocrites.