Silents are Golden: A Closer Look At: True Heart Susie (1919)

A Closer Look At: True Heart Susie (1919)

Some of the best films of the silent era
weren’t necessarily grand epics, experimental dramas, or high-budget
adventures. Some were simple, quiet stories, focusing on just a few
carefully-sketched characters. One film that always comes to my mind right away
is True Heart Susie (1919), a sweet
melodrama by D.W. Griffith that was later described by its star Lillian Gish as
a “rural poem.”

This was one of several nostalgic melodramas
Griffith directed in the late 1910s in between more prestigious projects like Hearts of the World (1918) and Broken Blossoms (1919). Starring Lillian
Gish, Robert Harron and Clarine Seymour, its intimate story and country setting
are infused with nostalgia for times gone by. Today, there’s an added charm in
knowing that when True Heart Susie
was made in 1919, much of that “old-fashioned” world still existed in a sense.

The story revolves around the sweet and naive
Susie (Lillian Gish), a “plain girl” who lives with her aunt in a little house
in the country. Young William Jenkins (Robert Harron), who Susie secretly
loves, lives across the street. He dreams of going to college to become a
minister, but can’t afford the expense. Susie wants William to achieve his
dreams and decides to sell her beloved pet cow and give him the money
anonymously. William is overjoyed, believing the money came from a wealthy
benefactor he’d met in town.

William completes his studies and returns home
a full-fledged minister, much to Susie’s joy. At the local soda fountain he
talks earnestly with her about how young men want to be “plain and simple”
girls, not “painted and powdered” types. Susie is sure that her dream of marrying William will soon come
true–until one fateful day when she sees him with the fun-loving and decidedly
painted-and-powdered Betty Hopkins (Clarine Seymour).

At the time of True Heart Susie Gish had worked in films for eight years. From her
first role with her sister Dorothy in the short Biograph drama An Unseen Enemy (1912) to appearances in
prestige pictures like Intolerance (1916),
her delicate, emotional performances had made her one of Hollywood’s finest
talents. In her autobiography she recalled that by the time of True Heart Susie D.W. Griffith often
welcomed her suggestions for her characters. While a “quaint,” quiet character
like Susie can be a challenge to bring to life, Gish rose to the occasion. She
seemed to understand Susie almost instinctively, using a slightly stilted way
of walking to emphasize her character’s naivete and adding little flashes of
humor at just the right moments. The majority of Gish’s costumes involved
pinafores, slightly out-of-date–dresses, and funny little hats. She’s a deeply
sympathetic figure, and the audience feels for her throughout her various ups
and downs.

Robert Harron is also excellent as the bashful
William. An Irish Catholic lad from New York City, Harron had joined Biograph
in 1908 as an errand boy and soon started appearing on screen in bit parts.
Thanks to his hardworking, genial nature he became one of the studio’s most
reliable actors. As his career progressed under D.W. Griffith’s tutelage he
began to show astonishing versatility, his finest role arguably being “The Boy”
in Intolerance. In True Heart Susie he’s convincing as both
a gawky young boy and a self-assured minister, and he and Gish have a winsome
chemistry.

Clarine Seymour was a relative newcomer to the
Griffith studio. Born in Brooklyn, she started acting in Thanhouser films to
help support her family and soon hopped over to Pathé and then to the Rolin Film Company. Her first
film for Griffith was The Girl Who Stayed
at Home (1919), where she played “Cutie Beautiful” and was charmingly
paired with Robert Harron. Small and spunky with big saucer eyes, she was very
much a “flapper type” just before flappers would start dominating the theater
screens. She makes a strong impression as the flighty, fun-loving Betty who
unknowingly becomes Susie’s romantic rival.

With its warm, homey cinematography and
sentimental storytelling that never feels overdone, True Heart Susie’s reputation has aged like fine wine throughout
the years. It was filmed not long after the debut of United Artists, which
Griffith helped found alongside Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas
Fairbanks. It was also released right on the heels of Griffith’s much-admired Broken Blossoms (1919), which is still
considered an artistic masterpiece today. Perhaps inevitably, True Heart Susie was a bit overshadowed
by Broken Blossom’s success. But
today it’s a much-admired highlight in Griffith’s filmography, with particular
praise going toward Gish’s performance

Griffith would pair Gish and Harron one more
time in The Greatest Question (1919),
another melodrama with a rural setting. Seymour starred in The Idol Dancer (1920), a drama of the South Seas co-starring
Richard Barthetlmess. And Harron would be loaned to Metro to be the star of
what was supposed to be a four-picture deal.

Unfortunately, neither Harron nor Seymour
would live to see their careers progress through the impending Jazz Age.
Seymour would fall ill and pass away from an intestinal obstruction during the
filming of Griffith’s Way Down East (1920).
Harron’s life was claimed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound (thought to be
accidental). Only one film had been completed for his deal with Metro, a light
comedy called Coincidence (1920).
Gish alone would go on to have a very lengthy and legendary career on both
screen and stage. To the end of her life she spoke fondly of her time at the
Griffith studio, proud of her work and a bit wistful for an era long gone by.

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–Lea Stans for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Lea’s Silents are Golden articles here.

Lea Stans is a born-and-raised Minnesotan with a degree in English and an obsessive interest in the silent film era (which she largely blames on Buster Keaton). In addition to blogging about her passion at her site Silent-ology, she is a columnist for the Silent Film Quarterly and has also written for The Keaton Chronicle.