True Heart Susie (1919)

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writer:

Marian Fremont (writer)

Release Date:

1 June 1919 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Susie, a plain young country girl, secretly loves a neighbor boy, William. She believes in him and sacrifices...

Plot Keywords:

Small Town Americana | Self Sacrifice | Unrequited Love

Cast

Lillian Gish	...	True Heart Susie
Robert Harron	...	William Jenkins
Wilbur Higby	...	William's father
Loyola O'Connor	...	Susie's aunt
George Fawcett	...	The Stranger
Clarine Seymour	...	Bettina Hopkins
Kate Bruce	...	Bettina's aunt
Carol Dempster	...	Bettina's friend
Raymond Cannon	...	Sporty Malone

Also Known As:

The Story of a Plain Girl (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

86 min | 61 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

D.W. Griffith Productions

Trivia:

Released under Paramount Pictures' prestigious Artcraft label. In 1919 Adolph Zukor devised a three-tiered brand system - the Artcraft division for its high-end, A-list product (ones that could command higher roadshow admissions in major cities) and Realart on the opposite end. The middle tier, which comprised the bulk of the studio's mainstream releases, was the Paramount banner. This quality classification existed for five years.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Love Goddesses (1965)

Sentimental Impressions

The rural life represented in 'True Heart Susie' isn't so much a reflection of real life, as claimed in the film, but rather, has the mark of D.W. Griffith's sentimental impressions on rural life, with the addition of narrative conventions. The film is contrived and rushed at times, but it is also sweet. The sentimentalism isn't for everyone, and it's lade on rather heavy here, but I was affected. I saw the film years ago, and I barely remembered anything from it before watching it again; the one thing I remember distinctly, however, was coming away from it contented and somewhat heartened. That is, I remembered the feelings it invoked.

'True Heart Susie' is competently made, as one expects from Griffith, including some brisk editing and crosscutting cued by the plot. The scene dissection is fluent and motile, exemplary of 1919 Hollywood film-making, which Griffith helped develop. As well, Lillian Gish and Robert Harron are great, especially as humorously simpleminded, awkward teenagers. The transfer I saw was jittery and of poor quality, but the simple yet effective imagery of the film was still readily evident. 'True Heart Susie' is a film about idealized rural simplicity and naivety, of which contains superior virtues over the sins of the cities, and it's also simply a love story with all the expected but still affecting conventions and sentimentality.