True Heart Susie

Plot

True Heart Susie tells the story of Susie (Lillian Gish), a simple country girl who is deeply in love with her childhood neighbor William Jenkins (Robert Harron). Too shy to express her feelings directly, Susie secretly works hard to help William afford college, sacrificing her own opportunities and selling her beloved cow to fund his education. While William is away at college, he becomes infatuated with the sophisticated Bettina (Clarine Seymour), a flirtatious city girl who represents everything Susie is not. When William returns home with Bettina as his fiancée, the heartbroken Susie must watch the man she loves prepare to marry another, until a series of dramatic revelations and misunderstandings lead to a dramatic confrontation where true feelings are finally exposed and the genuine love between Susie and William is ultimately recognized.

Historical Background

True Heart Susie was released in 1919, a pivotal year in American history marking the end of World War I and the beginning of the Roaring Twenties. The film reflected America's nostalgic yearning for simpler, pre-war values and rural innocence amidst rapid urbanization and social change. The silent film era was at its peak, with D.W. Griffith considered the medium's master storyteller. This period saw significant shifts in gender roles, with women having recently gained the right to vote in many states, and the film's portrayal of a strong, self-sacrificing female protagonist resonated with contemporary audiences. The film also emerged during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, which had profoundly affected American society and perhaps increased appreciation for stories of enduring love and sacrifice. The movie industry itself was transitioning from the East Coast to Hollywood, and this film was part of the establishment of California as the center of American film production.

Making Of

The production of True Heart Susie took place during a particularly creative period for D.W. Griffith, who had recently completed his epic 'Broken Blossoms' and was exploring more intimate storytelling. Griffith worked closely with cinematographer Billy Bitzer to create a soft, romantic visual style that emphasized the innocence of rural life. Lillian Gish and Robert Harron had developed a deep professional rapport through years of working together, and their natural chemistry translated powerfully to the screen. Griffith encouraged improvisation within the scene structure, allowing Gish to develop subtle gestures and expressions that became hallmarks of her performance. The production was relatively smooth by Griffith's standards, though he was known for his perfectionism and often demanded dozens of takes for emotional scenes. The rural locations presented logistical challenges, as the crew had to transport heavy equipment to remote areas, but Griffith insisted on authenticity. The film's score was composed by Griffith's regular collaborator, Joseph Carl Breil, who created themes that specifically represented Susie's innocence and William's internal conflict.

Visual Style

The cinematography by Billy Bitzer employs soft focus and careful lighting to create a romantic, dreamlike atmosphere that emphasizes Susie's innocence and purity. Griffith and Bitzer used natural light extensively for the outdoor scenes, creating a painterly quality that enhanced the rural setting. The film features innovative use of close-ups to capture subtle emotional expressions, particularly in Lillian Gish's performance. The camera work includes carefully composed medium shots that balance character intimacy with environmental context. The cinematography contrasts the warm, natural lighting of rural scenes with more artificial, harsh lighting for urban sequences, visually reinforcing the film's thematic opposition. Bitzer employed iris shots and soft focus transitions to emphasize emotional moments, techniques that were becoming hallmarks of Griffith's visual style. The film's visual language demonstrates the sophistication achieved in silent cinema by 1919, with its deliberate use of light, shadow, and composition to enhance storytelling.

Innovations

True Heart Susie demonstrated several technical achievements for its time, particularly in its use of location photography and natural lighting. The film employed advanced matte painting techniques for establishing shots of the rural landscape. Griffith's use of varying camera speeds to emphasize emotional moments was particularly innovative, slowing down footage during key romantic scenes. The production utilized portable lighting equipment that allowed for more flexible location shooting than was typical for the period. The film's editing rhythm, particularly in the climactic sequences, showed sophisticated understanding of pacing and emotional buildup. The makeup techniques used to age the characters subtly over time were advanced for the era, particularly in Lillian Gish's transformation from young girl to mature woman. The film also demonstrated improvements in film stock quality, allowing for better capture of subtle lighting variations and facial expressions.

Music

As a silent film, True Heart Susie was originally accompanied by live musical performance, typically a piano or organ in smaller theaters and a full orchestra in premier venues. The score was composed by Joseph Carl Breil, who had previously worked on Griffith's 'The Birth of a Nation' and 'Intolerance.' Breil created specific leitmotifs for the main characters: a gentle, pastoral theme for Susie, a more complex theme for William, and a sophisticated, slightly discordant theme for Bettina. The original score included popular songs of the era as well as classical adaptations, carefully chosen to enhance emotional moments. Modern restorations have been accompanied by newly composed scores by silent film specialists, who attempt to capture the spirit of Breil's original while using contemporary musical sensibilities. The music plays a crucial role in conveying the film's emotional arc, particularly in scenes where Susie's internal suffering must be communicated without dialogue.

Memorable Scenes

• The heartbreaking scene where Susie sells her beloved cow to fund William's education, her face showing both pride in her sacrifice and deep personal loss
• The moment when Susie watches William and Bettina dancing together at the country fair, her pain visible through subtle gestures and expressions
• The climactic confrontation scene where William finally realizes Susie's true love and sacrifices, featuring powerful emotional performances from both leads
• The opening scenes showing young Susie and William as children, establishing their innocent bond through carefully choreographed play
• The scene where Susie discovers William's engagement to Bettina, conveyed entirely through Gish's masterful silent performance without any intertitles

What Critics Said

Contemporary critics praised True Heart Susie for its emotional depth and Lillian Gish's sensitive performance. The New York Times called it 'a touching story of simple love and devotion' and noted Griffith's masterful handling of intimate emotions. Variety praised the film's 'sincere and moving' qualities, though some critics felt the story was overly sentimental. Modern critics have reassessed the film as one of Griffith's most accomplished smaller-scale works, with the British Film Institute describing it as 'a masterpiece of silent melodrama.' The film is now recognized for its sophisticated visual storytelling and Gish's nuanced performance, which demonstrates the emotional range possible in silent acting. Some contemporary critics have noted the film's problematic elements, particularly its idealization of rural life and traditional gender roles, but most acknowledge its artistic merits and historical importance within Griffith's filmography.

What Audiences Thought

True Heart Susie was a box office success upon its release, resonating strongly with audiences who connected with its themes of unrequited love and rural virtue. The film particularly appealed to female audiences, who identified with Susie's self-sacrifice and emotional journey. Contemporary audience reaction cards and reviews indicate that viewers were deeply moved by the story, with many reporting tears during key emotional scenes. The chemistry between Gish and Harron was widely appreciated by moviegoers, who often sent letters to the studios expressing their investment in the characters' relationship. The film's success led to increased demand for similar rural melodramas, though few matched its emotional impact. In the decades since its release, the film has maintained a reputation among silent film enthusiasts as one of the most emotionally effective melodramas of the era, regularly featured in retrospectives and classic film series.

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