The House with Closed Shutters (1910)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writer:

Emmett C. Hall (writer)

Release Date:

8 August 1910 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Drama

Plot:

During the Civil War a young soldier loses his nerve in battle and runs away to his home to hide; his sister puts on his uniform...

Plot Keywords:

Mother Son Relationship | Woman Dressed As Man | Death Of Sister | Family Honor | American Civil War

Cast

Henry B. Walthall	...	The Confederate soldier
Grace Henderson	...	His mother
Dorothy West	...	His sister
Joseph Graybill	...	Her suitor
Charles West	...	Her suitor
William J. Butler	...	The colored servant (as W. J. Butler)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edwin August
Verner Clarges	...	In Lee's Tent
John T. Dillon	...	On Porch / At Farewell / In Lee's Tent (as Jack Dillon)
Gladys Egan	...	On Porch / At Farewell
Frank Evans	...	In Lee's Tent
Francis J. Grandon	...	In Lee's Tent
Alfred Paget	...	On Porch / At Farewell
Mabel Van Buren	...	On Porch / At Farewell

Runtime:

16 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Coytesville, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Biograph Company

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'The Birth of a Nation' (1998) (V)

"A hardy man is needed"

This is another of DW Griffith's numerous civil war pictures, made not long after the well-crafted In the Border States. A kind of repetitive formula is starting to develop for these particular shorts, which all begin with a man bidding his family goodbye, then going to join the lines of marching men amid cheering, waving and weeping. As with In the Border States the storytelling is direct and economic, and title cards are not needed. In this case, the scene is set in the opening shot with Dorothy West sewing together a Confederate flag, while Henry B. Walthall proudly stands by her. In an instant we get the era, the setting and the family relationship.

One difference between The House with Closed Shutters and the majority of Griffith's civil war shorts, is that it actually shows large scale – albeit brief – battle sequences. The shots of the trenches and Dorothy West being gunned down with the flag in her hands are similar to the imagery from the battle in Birth of a Nation.

Despite the tightly staged opening sequence, The House with Closed Shutters is overall fairly average. With its story tending more towards melodrama than action there is unfortunately plenty of scope for pantomimey acting (the chief offender here being Grace Henderson). But it does serve as another example of Griffith's attitude to the war – that neither side in the conflict was right or wrong, but that heroism, duty and honour are important above all else, regardless of their cause.