The Country Doctor (1909)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Writers:

Release Date:

8 July 1909 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Drama

Plot:

While caring for his sick daughter, a doctor is called away to the sickbed of a neighbor. He finds the neighbor gravely ill, and ignores his wife's pleas to come home and care for his own daughter, who has taken a turn for the worse. |

Plot Keywords:

Neighbor | Doctor | Illness | Duty | Diptheria

Cast

Kate Bruce	...	Poor Mother (uncredited)
Adele DeGarde	...	Poor Mother's Sick Daughter (uncredited)
Gladys Egan	...	Edith Harcourt - Daughter (uncredited)
Rose King	...	Maid (uncredited)
Florence Lawrence	...	Mrs.Harcourt (uncredited)
Mary Pickford	...	Poor Mother's Elder Daughter (uncredited)
Frank Powell	...	Doctor Harcourt (uncredited)

Runtime:

14 min | 14 min (18 fps)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Biograph Studio, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Biograph Company

Trivia:

Music for the DVD release on "More Treasures From American Film Archives 1894-1931" lists as follows: "Pastorle", 1920 by George West (who was a noted silent film composer), "My Faith Up to Thee" by Lowell Mason (fragment only), "Nearer My God to Thee" (fragment only), "There Is A Happy Land" by Lowell Mason. Scene music by composers J.S. Zamecnik and Harry Norton.

Starts slow, but builds to an effective denouement.

With exteriors filmed in pastoral Cunnecticut and an excellent cast of Griffith's top actors (Florence Lawrence, Mary Pickford, Kate Bruce, baby Gladys Egan), The Country Doctor is still an effective dramatic work, showing a doctor's moral and emotional struggle over treating a young patient while his own daughter lies dying at home.

The family's happiness at the beginning of the film is emphasized with very long takes of the happy threesome walking down their garden path, stopping in a field to pick flowers, smiling and stretching their arms skyward with contentment. Miz Larwence chews the scenery somewhat in these first shots, her gesturing breaking the serenity of the landscape. Once the film goes indoors and she trades her white summer gown for a sober black dress, she is much more controlled. The doctor/father, Frank Powell, also uses some dated indication techniques throughout the film. The real laurels go to the two children of the film, Gladys Egan and Adele DeGarde, who both play their sick-little-girl roles superbly, with subtle, realistic emotion.

There is especially lovely cinematography and scenery in this film. Billy Bitzer's opening and closing panoramic shots of the valley are stunning. Well worth seeing for many reasons, and definitely accessible to modern viewers.