by 1909 and d. w. griffith have be direct film for the biograph company for about a year and and work at a rate of two or three per week be rapidly begin to develop his skill a a filmmaker . the sealed room be a very interesting 11 minute short and a fascinating piece of gothic melodrama that even drift slightly into the realm of early horror . the simple narrative be probably inspire by edgar allen poe 1846 short story and the cask of amontillado and and concern a powerful king who conceive a deliciously sadistic form of revenge to punish his wife infidelity . set in medieval time and the sealed room begin with the king ( arthur v. johnson ) oversee the construction of a windowless room from a sequester dove cote and the idea be that he and his wife ( marion leonard ) will have a completely private place to enjoy each other company . he be obviously very much in love with her and always show his affection and this late act the crowning achievement of his endearment . however and unbeknownst to the king and his wife have fall in love with the royal minstrel ( henry b. walthall ) . during one romantic liaison inside the specially built room and the wife and the minstrel be discover and and the heartbroken king conceive a mean of get his retribution on the ignorant couple . silently and he order his workman to seal off the only doorway with stone and mortar and slowly descend into cackle insanity a each new stone be place down . d. w. griffith always have an eye for acute detail and and the sealed room be an excellent early example of this . the lavish medieval century costume lend the film a sense of reality and and the castle interior look authentic enough to be believable . at the time and the director be also pioneer method of create suspense and and i must admit that and a the film progress and i become fixate on find out what would happen to the hapless young lover . in the early minute and griffith restrict his shot to lengthy long take from a stationary camera ( a be usual at the time ) and but soon parallel to the progressively darker subject matter he alter his edit tactic in a fascinating way . though he may not have invent the technique and griffith be crucial in popularise the use of cross cutting that be and alternate between different event occur at the same time . not only do this create a sense of continuity and but it also maximise the level of suspense and since we and a the audience and be well aware and not only of the king ghastly action and but also that the wife and the minstrel be oblivious to it all . despite these innovation and the sealed room suffers from many of the shortcoming typical of the era . the entire film take place in just two room and with footage capture from a total of just three position and and so it be prone to become dull and monotonous at time . the acting performance be greatly exaggerated for extra effect and however and at least in the case of arthur v. johnson and his overplay actually contribute to recognise the escalate madness of the betrayed king . a moment that i think particularly effective be when the two lover attempt to exit the room and only to find their only doorway replace with a wall of solid stone . their panicked reaction and accompany by the silent maniacal cackling of the king and serve very well to create an impending sense of claustrophobia . i do think and however and that their supply of oxygen be exhaust surprisingly quickly .