 Because of the lax accounting methods of its distributors, it was  difficult to determine how much the film actually made at the box  office. As a result, those connected with its making ludicrously  exaggerated its box office take (Lillian Gish (qv) wrote in her  autobiography that it made over a hundred million dollars). Its  actual take is now estimated to be about ten million dollars, a  fantastic sum for its time.