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.
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