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True Heart Susie

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True Heart Susie
Film poster
Directed byD. W. Griffith
Written byMarian Fremont
Produced byD. W. Griffith
StarringLillian Gish
CinematographyG. W. Bitzer
Edited byJames Smith
Production
company
D.W. Griffith Productions
Distributed byArtcraft Pictures Corporation
Release date
  • June 1, 1919 (1919-06-01) (U.S.)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryU.S.
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
True Heart Susie

True Heart Susie is a 1919 American melodrama film[1] directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the British Film Institute.[2] The film has seen several VHS releases as well as a DVD issue.

Plot

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True Heart Susie (Lillian Gish) lives with her aunt (Loyola O'Connor) and is deeply in love with William Jenkins (Robert Harron). In secret, she sells the family's cow and other farm goods to finance William's college education. Unaware of her support, William completes his theological studies and returns home. He has encouraged Susie to dress plainly, and she continues to do so when they go for a soft drink during his return. However, he becomes infatuated with more fashionably dressed young women and eventually marries the lively Bettina "Betty" Hopkins (Clarine Seymour). After William becomes a minister, he consults Susie about the idea of taking a wife, unaware of her feelings.

William expects Betty to adapt to his simple lifestyle. She struggles with domestic responsibilities, and William finds Susie's cooking more to his liking. The marriage proves difficult for both partners. Betty sneaks away one evening to attend a dance at a neighboring house. Caught in the rain and having lost her key, she seeks help from Susie, who shields her from suspicion.

The resulting illness from the rain proves fatal for Betty. Only after her death does William learn of her secret outing. He vows never to remarry but eventually recognizes Susie's devotion. He returns to offer her his hand in marriage.[3][4][5][6]

Cast

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Reception and critical assessment

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An outstanding performance from Lillian Gish elevates the character of Susie from the near-ridiculous to moments of the sublime...When she discovers William in the arms of Bettina, the restrained grief on her face and the tears that well up in her eyes during one long and continuous close-up contain the very essence of rejected devotion [producing] a scene which Miss Gish herself has rarely equaled. That smile, that shot, would alone justify the whole of Griffith's work, for it embodies all that is Griffith and all that is Gish, and the two talents combine to produce a perfect cinematic whole. It is one of those extraordinary moments in the cinema.

Film historian Paul O'Dell, Griffith and the Rise of Hollywood (1970)[7]

Film historian Paul O'Dell reports that "many commentators have noted the great charm of his picture, as well as moments of deep emotional intensity."[7] Critic James Travers of French Films.org applies a number of superlatives to True Heart Suzie, noting its "authenticity" and "realism," and praising Lillian Gish for her naturalistic portrayal of Suzie.[5]

Though filmed concurrently with Griffith's Broken Blossoms (1919), True Heart Susie was released after the more highly acclaimed work which also starred Lillian Gish. As such, True Heart Suzie "is not, or has not been, more highly regarded than perhaps it should have been."[8][a] TV Guide affirms the point:

True Heart Suzie, overshadowed by Broken Blossoms, is a modest little film that shows Griffith at his most Victorian, but he treats the antediluvian plot with absolute sincerity and simplicity, transcending the primitive melodramatic cliches and creating a kind of elemental emotional truth.[6]

Paul O'Dell adds:

In all of Griffith's pictures there is a certain amount of unashamed sentimentality; in True Heart Susie there is more than in most...technically, the film has few pretensions, and it is for this reason it is successful as a work of art...It is in fact the end of the film that is the weakest. Susie matures into a woman during the course of the action—a recurring Griffith theme—but when William eventually proposes she lapses uncomfortably back to her girlish coyness which dominated the beginning of the film.[9][b]

Accolades

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The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

See also

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References

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Notes
  1. ^ Travers acknowledges that Griffith's handling of the picture was "modest" in its thematic aims.[5]
  2. ^ Travers notes the work's "innocence" and "down-to-earth" qualities.[5]
Citations
  1. ^ Schatz, Thomas (1981). Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and the Studio System. New York: Random House. p. 222. ISBN 0-394-32255-X.
  2. ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: True Heart Susie". Silent Era. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
  3. ^ Harrison, Louis Reeves (June 14, 1919). "Reviews and Advertising Aids: True Heart Susie". Moving Picture World. 40 (11). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Company: 1677, 1679. Retrieved September 22, 2014. "True-Heart Susie" lives with her aunt and loves stupid William Jenkins. Her love is so deep that she sacrifices the family cow, a pet of hers, and much more of the farm product, that he may go to college, but the benefaction is a secret one, and he finishes his theological studies without a suspicion that she has aided him. He has impressed her that she must dress as plainly as possible, and she is so attired when she goes with him for a "sody" on his triumphant return from college, but his eyes wander to girls giving more attractive expression of themselves and he is married to one of them when he becomes a full-fledged minister, very cruelly consulting the girl who adores him, about the policy of taking a wife. William weds gay Betty Hopkins and expects her to adapt herself to his colorless life, almost breaking the heart of Susie. The young wife fails to satisfy her husband with her cooking, and he finds the dishes that Susie makes are much more to his taste. He begins to regret his marriage, so does his pleasure-loving wife, when she manages to escape the monotony of his household one night and attends a little dance at a neighboring house. She loses her key and gets caught in the rain on the way home. In fright she appeals to True-Heart Susie, who shields Betty from the consequences, so far as the minister is concerned, but Betty's fright and her soaking bring on fatal sickness. Not until after her death does the minister learn of her escapade. He swears never to marry again, but he finds that True-Heart Susie gave him the one opportunity of his life, so he returns to her with an offering of his hand in marriage.
  4. ^ O'Dell 1970, pp. 119–122.
  5. ^ a b c d Travers 2009.
  6. ^ a b "True Heart Susie Reviews". TV Guide. 2000. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  7. ^ a b O'Dell 1970, p. 121.
  8. ^ O'Dell 1970, pp. 122–123.
  9. ^ O'Dell 1970, p. 122.
  10. ^ "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved August 20, 2016.
Works cited
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