Sadly Over-hyped

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

What a beautiful movie, and as the familiar expression goes, they don't make them like this, anymore! Lillian Gish is True Heart Susie, a plain young woman devotedly in love with her neighbor, portrayed by Robert Harron, who, in turn, is attracted to a more flashier type of woman, portrayed by Clarine Seymour. He is totally unaware of True Heart Susie's love, devotion, and sacrifice for him, as she deprives herself to help him get ahead in his profession. All ends well, and true love wins out in the end! As always, Lillian Gish was excellent. She may have been plain, but her heartfelt expressions made her a beautiful woman, in my opinion. Robert Harron and Clarine Seymour were both excellent, and it is so sad to note that both of them died very young soon after this movie. The direction by D.W. Griffith was excellent.

Lillian Gish stars as the title character in TRUE HEART SUSIE (1919), a bucolic romance directed by DW Griffith. Susie loves William (Robert Harron), but he doesn't fully commit himself to her. Susie makes sacrifices so that William can go to college and become successful. He comes back to town as a minister, and Susie expects that they will marry, but Bettina, a vibrant and modern city girl (Clarine Seymour) sets her sights on the hapless William.TRUE HEART SUSIE is a quite charming film, a portrait of a different era with different values. Susie typifies domesticity, constancy and self- sacrifice, simple country values. Bettina and her friends, the "paint and powder brigade", represent the city life – fast-paced and artificial, enticing men with "suggestive clothing" and heavy use of makeup to emphasize the physical and superficial. Susie becomes insecure because of her appearance and determines to entice William with the same "paint and powder" and flashy dress as Bettina, and her aunt says that she looks like a "Jezebel"! So Susie changes her clothes and goes back to her normal simple look. It's pretty obvious which side will win out in the end, but William and Bettina's marriage proves an unexpected roadblock for Susie. Griffith could lay it on thick with his title cards in many films, driving home the moral of the story with sledgehammer force, but in this film he is comparatively restrained.Lillian Gish again shows her acting prowess as Susie, a simple girl who shows herself to be very resourceful and self-sacrificing. Gish was one of the great screen beauties of her time, but she is quite convincing as the plain heroine. Gish is superbly expressive, nuanced and naturalistic, the only off moment being a bit of jumpiness that Griffith liked to induce in his leading ladies for some very strange reason. Robert Harron is also quite good as William, who is oblivious at first to Susie's affections, but then comes to realize his mistakes. Clarine Seymour is charismatic as the scheming Bettina, full of energy and mischief. Future Griffith leading lady Carol Dempster is effective in a small but important role as Bettina's best friend.Longtime Griffith cinematographer Billy Bitzer again shows his mastery of the camera. The film has a warm, tranquil feel throughout, taking advantage of the beautiful country scenery and using different tints for day, night, and indoor and outdoor scenes. Overall, TRUE HEART SUSIE is a charming film, a "small" film in Griffith's repertoire, but in its modest way, one of his most artistically successful. It features fine acting, a moving story, and it's lovely to look at. SCORE: 9/10

I enjoyed True Heart Susie. Despite some slightly outdated points of view, like the fact that Susie just waits around for a man and gives everything she has to be with him, and the fact that Bettina is scandalous for dancing, all in all it was a pretty sweet story. It was sad how William would never kiss Susie, although he had no problem kissing her Aunt. I also found it peculiar that the only way William could end it with Bettina was that she had to die. Even though he suspected her of foul play and was starting to discover that he really loved Susie, to end it with her would have been scandalous. Now days in a movie, he would probably discover her in the act of cheating and divorce her. One of the most interesting things about this movie to me was the title cards. I didn't realize this until after the movie was over and we were discussing it in class the next day but an explanation for the title cards being the way they were was that they were describing the characters from their own perspectives. So when it calls Susie plain, that is because that is how Susie sees herself. Another example of this was when the title describes Bettina as "a little unfaithful." During the movie I was a little confused by this, because the whole movie had been portraying Bettina as an evil harlot, and then all of the sudden she is just "a little unfaithful." The explanation that the title card is her image of herself makes a lot more sense. An other part of the movie that I found funny, was the cooking scene when Bettina overcooks the meat that looks disgusting, and Susie makes the amazing meal. That is the beginning of when William begins to develop feelings for Susie.

In line with The Supremes and Phil Collins, this film shows that indeed, one can't hurry love. In True Heart Susie you will witness an awkward love triangle filled with jealousy, confusion, foolishness, deceit, and a yearning for love that burns, burns, and burns Miss Susie's pure, one track heart. While the aforementioned description may seem like something along the lines of Fatal Attraction, True Heart Susie is not that kind of "romantic thriller." While other critics may chastise this reviewer's characterization of True Heart Susie as a "romantic thriller," it is indeed that.Susie's love for William puts an entirely unique and personal touch to the idea of a romantic film so much so that Susie's emotionally intense close-ups may even elicit the viewer to recall their own personal moments of unrequited love, romantic frustration, and blossoming passion (thus making this movie a "romantic thriller" for its sometimes "too close to home" personal feel. Indeed, no other scene in the film is as powerful as when Susie witnesses that her beloved William has engaged her rival Bettina (a capricious, party loving, insincere, and unfaithful milliner from Chicago with the dress and appearance akin to a 1920s flapper indulgent in the decadence of the nightlife). Upon the realization that her love has chosen the wrong woman, poor Susie sulks in gut-wrenching despair so powerful that Susie hunches as her stomach recoils in emotional exhaustion. Any person who has witnessed an unrequited love in the embrace of another knows this feeling and Susie aptly displays the true emotions of a hopeless romantic frustrated with the cold reality that can be "love." As awful as all this may sound, know that the story does end in a somewhat positive regard as William is enlightened to Susie's endearing support and Bettina's unfaithfulness. While you won't regard this movie as the "BEST ROMANTIC MOVIE OF ALL TIME" you will indeed respect the film for it's simplicity, personal feel, charm, and coy wit. It is indeed one of D.W. Griffith's finest films.