Rescued from an Eagle's Nest

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest
Still from the film showing its special effect of an eagle in flight carrying a child
Directed by	J. Searle Dawley
Produced by	Edison Studios The Bronx, New York
Starring	D. W. Griffith Henry B. Walthall
Cinematography	Edwin S. Porter
Distributed by	Edison Manufacturing Company
Release date	January 16, 1908 (1908-01-16)
Running time	7 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent with English intertitles

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest is a 1908 American silent action-drama film produced by Edwin S. Porter for Edison Studios and directed by J. Searle Dawley. It features the first leading screen role of the legendary American filmmaker D. W. Griffith, whose directorial debut was released just six months after he performed in this production. Griffith's casting in the Edison "photoplay" began when he found himself stranded and broke in New York City after a play he authored had failed. Desperate for money, he responded to Edison's offer to pay $15 to anyone who submitted a useable treatment or scenario based on the Puccini opera Tosca. Porter rejected Griffith's submission, but the studio executive did offer him the lead role in Rescued from an Eagle's Nest. A full print of this film survives in the extensive collection of moving images at the Museum of Modern Art.^[1] Only one other film in which Griffith appears as an actor survives.