Hearts of the World (1918)

Young lovers in a French village are torn apart with the coming of the Great War.

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

D.W. Griffith (English translation) (as Capt. Victor Marier), D.W. Griffith (scenario) (as M. Gaston de Tolignac)

Stars:

Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Robert Harron

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lillian Gish	...	The Girl - Marie Stephenson
Robert Harron	...	The Boy - Douglas Gordon Hamilton
Dorothy Gish	...	The Little Disturber
Adolph Lestina	...	The Grandfather
Josephine Crowell	...	The Mother
Jack Cosgrave	...	The Father of the Boy
Kate Bruce	...	The Mother of the Boy
Ben Alexander	...	The Boy's Littlest Brother
Marion Emmons	...	The Boy's Other Brother (as M. Emmons)
Francis Marion	...	The Boy's Other Brother (as F. Marion)
Robert Anderson	...	Monsieur Cuckoo
George Fawcett	...	The Village Carpenter
George Siegmann	...	Von Strohm
Fay Holderness	...	The Innkeeper
L. Lowry	...	A Deaf and Blind Musician

Storyline

A group of youngsters grow up and love in a peaceful French village. But war intrudes and peace is shattered. The German army invades and occupies village, bringing both destruction and torture. The young people of the village resist, some successfully, others tragically, until French troops retake the town.

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Plot Keywords:

village | army | rural setting | war crime | rescue | 

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Taglines:

The Sweetest Love Story ever told (original poster)

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1918 (UK)

Also Known As:

Love's Struggle

Filming Locations:

Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

D.W. Griffith Productions, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, War Office Committee

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

D.W. Griffith (I) bought footage of the German army from an Austrian-American officer named Kleinschmit, who had been arrested in the US for espionage, and incorporated the footage into this film.

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Goofs

A letter sent to The Boy from the Academie des Concourts is dated "7-30-1914." Europeans write dates with the day first and the month secondly. The letter from Paris should be dated "30-7-1914."

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Alternate Versions

An expanded version, "Peace Edition", was released after the end of World War I.

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Connections

Featured in The Moving Picture Boys in the Great War (1975)

User Reviews

Good

Hearts of the World (1917)

*** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith's WW1 epic has two Americans (Robert Harron, Lillian Gish) living in France and falling in love. When the German's attack the man goes off to fight, which ends with devastating results. The actual making of this film is somewhat more interesting than the final product, although the movie is still good but several notches below The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. After that epic 1916 film Griffith wanted to try something bigger and found that the British government was willing to give him full access to anything he wanted. Griffith wanted to shoot real battle scenes and that's what he did for the film and he nearly once again was killed doing so. The British paid for the film to be made in hopes that it would inspire America to join the war effert. As for the film, it has some brilliant moments but sadly the love story really brings things down, which was somewhat surprising since Griffith is usually good with the melodrama. Harron is decent in his role but not strong enough to carry the film. Gish on the other hands is terrific as usual as is her sister Dorothy. Erich von Stroheim plays one of the German's in charge. The battle scenes, a lot of them real WW1 footage, is the highlight of the film and like Griffith's previous two films, it's rather amazing to see everything play out. This is certainly some of the greatest battlefield scenes I've ever watched. There's also another terrific scene where Gish, fearing her love is dead, tries to find him in the trenches. Gish's walk mixed with the beautiful cinematography makes this an unforgettable scene. In the end the film is certainly flawed but the battle scenes make it worth at least one viewing.