The Country Doctor (1909)

While caring for his sick daughter, a doctor is called away to the sickbed of a neighbor. He finds the neighbor gravely ill, and ignores his wife's pleas to come home and care for his own daughter, who has taken a turn for the worse.

Stars:

Kate Bruce, Adele DeGarde, Gladys Egan

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Kate Bruce	...	Poor Mother (uncredited)
Adele DeGarde	...	Poor Mother's Sick Daughter (uncredited)
Gladys Egan	...	Edith Harcourt - Daughter (uncredited)
Rose King	...	Maid (uncredited)
Florence Lawrence	...	Mrs.Harcourt (uncredited)
Mary Pickford	...	Poor Mother's Elder Daughter (uncredited)
Frank Powell	...	Doctor Harcourt (uncredited)

Storyline

While caring for his sick daughter, a doctor is called away to the sickbed of a neighbor. He finds the neighbor gravely ill, and ignores his wife's pleas to come home and care for his own daughter, who has taken a turn for the worse.

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Plot Keywords:

neighbor | doctor | maid | illness | diptheria | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 July 1909 (USA)

Also Known As:

Il medico di campagna

Filming Locations:

Biograph Studio, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograph Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

14 min 14 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is thought that the final pan shot across the landscape was originally tinted blue, but as yet, no restoration has included the technique.

User Reviews

Still Quite Effective

This somber D.W. Griffith drama is still quite effective in grabbing hold of your emotions and making you anguish over the dilemmas facing its characters. It's hard to see how even today anyone could significantly improve on the way that it gets the most out of the material.

Griffith chose to open the story with a long panning shot of a beautiful countryside, before introducing "The Country Doctor" and his family. This opening is very effective in establishing the setting, and in fact the first few minutes are taken up with that shot and with some light-hearted scenes of the family outdoors. When the more serious part of the story is suddenly introduced, it is that much more effective for the contrast that has been established.

The main story is based on a simple but powerful premise, as the doctor must make agonizing decisions between his duty as a physician and his loyalty to his own family. Many things work together to make it so effective. The cast (which includes early audience favorite Florence Lawrence as the doctor's wife, and Mary Pickford in a smaller role) is pretty good, and the technique is quite refined for 1909. The cross-cutting at crucial points is particularly effective, as is the careful setup of several significant parallels.

Although many other film-makers of the era deserve to share the credit with Griffith for introducing and experimenting with the kinds of techniques that would soon become standard, this feature is a good example of why Griffith attained the kind of reputation that he had. It's very carefully done, and it works well enough to remain effective even today.