Starring: Frank Powell, Florence Lawrence, Kate Bruce, Gladys Egan, Rose King, Mary Pickford, and Adele DeGarde
Director: D.W. Griffith
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
A country doctor (Powell) makes a fateful choice when his daughter (Egan) and another girl (DeGarde) are both struck with the same deadly illness at the same time.
"The Country Doctor" is another early and excellent short film from D.W. Griffith. Once again, he delivers a swiftly moving flick with not a second wasted and where we are treated to all actors giving their best performances. With many dramatic films of this vintage, the difference in film acting styles from what was common in 1909 (which were stagey and overly emotive) and the more natural-seeming approaches today can make them difficult to watch at times. Not so with films from Griffith... yes, there's big gestures and a certain degree of posing and posturing, but it doesn't seem quite as over-the-top as it does elsewhere, and it's almost always balanced with genuine-seeming facial expressions and more subtle body language. I might even go so far to say that if you're among those who avoid silent films because of the acting, you might still want to check this one out. Because it's clear from this film why Florence Lawrence, Frank Powell, and Mary Pickford were big stars in their day.
As is often the case, I am giving everyone the opportunity to watch the film I'm reviewing, but I'm dropping it here, in the middle of the review rather than at the end. This is because, while I liked almost everything about this film--from it's bright, airy opening scenes, to the cross-cutting between two locations as the story unfolds, to the excellent performances by the actors--the issues I do have relate to elements that can be considered spoilers.
So... please watch "The Country Doctor". Then, you can continue to read my comments below. (By the way, the version I've embedded has no soundtrack music. I found that the 2010 remaster of Mike Oldfield's "Hergest Ridge Pt. 1" works amazingly well for most of this film, except at the very end where the music becomes a little too upbeat. (Well, maybe. See below. And you can click here to open "Hergest Ridge Pt. 1" in a different window to play while watching the film.)
As much as I enjoyed this film, there was one thing I found it to be a head-scratcher that the film announces itself to carry a spiritual message--do the moral thing and you'll be rewarded in the afterlife--but then doesn't quite ever deliver on that promise. While the titular Country Doctor is very much self-sacrificing and obviously the sort of man who puts community above himself and even his family (given he prioritizes treating another patient over own sick daughter), there's no sense that he will be rewarded in the end. In fact, the final intertitle of the film seems to imply the opposite, both for the doctor, his family, and perhaps the entire community. (This strange disconnect between the film's opening and closing moments made a difference between me giving it a rating of Seven instead of Eight.)
With said that... what do you think? Am I putting too much weight on an element that isn't even really part of the film itself? Did I steer you wrong when I praised the pacing and acting of this great little drama? Leave a comment below!
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