The Country Doctor

One of D.W. Griffith's most interesting Biograph short films, with one of his favorite settings being in the countryside, you won't find much cinematic melodrama from 1909 under a quarter-hour better than "The Country Doctor." There's a repurposing of the crosscutting common of last-minute-rescue pictures, of which Griffith made many, such as the same year's "The Lonely Villa," for the dramatic tension of a character's dilemma (the doctor trying to treat two young patients, one his daughter, in separate locations). Another technical innovation is the framing of the story by two panning shots, from cinematographer Billy Bitzer, at the beginning and end. The first shot is a pan right--like the meandering stream in the frame or film reel unwinding the frame--demonstrating the bucolic nature of the rather ironically named, as it turns out, "Valley of Stillwater" where the drama will proceed. A pan left resolves our intrusion on the tragedy by escorting us out of it at the end. For a short that largely takes place in two rooms (complete with Biograph logos on the walls to protect against bootlegs), these framing pans along with some idyllic rural photography of the doctor's family enjoying the outdoors early on make for a pictorially lovely early film.

There are at least a couple other historically interesting things about this one. I reviewed it because it's an early cinematic depiction of a doctor and an apparent outbreak of disease (which, although unmentioned in the picture, appears to be diphtheria). Although the doctor's dilemma in which sick child to treat is effective drama, I'm not sure his treatment matters much--seeming to consist at most of applying a wet rag to relieve fever symptoms--but, I suppose, they wouldn't necessarily know any better back then. It seems somewhat odd, too, that despite the image we may have of the early 20th century as given to more widespread contagious diseases, our pandemic of 2020 aside, there don't seem to be many films that deal with such epidemic subjects. When they do, it tends to be to give one main character an illness for dramatic purposes. But, then again, this was long before disaster movie formulas were a thing, and most silent films are lost and only a few of those that survive are available for someone like me to view them.

The other thing is the acting, which isn't bad for its time--part of the evolution of the style of Griffith players adopting a system of gestures more in line with cinematic expression than broad theatricality. Sure, the doctor goes from that goofy, happy-go-lucky face to deathly concern twice and just as abruptly as the last, but that his change in demeanor is so readily apparent at its slightest alteration on screen points to the effectiveness of the acting. Additionally, there's the "Biograph Girl" (later, "IMP Girl"), Florence Lawrence, reportedly one of America's first movie stars, in the cast as the doctor's wife. Future mega-star Mary Pickford has a bit part, too. There doesn't appear to be much of Lawrence's early work widely available anymore, at least not in as good of shape as the prints for this one, so her prominent role here is a nice opportunity. She's fine is the introductory serene moments, but there's certainly some dated arm waving and flailing about later. Even that, though, may get a pass considering the era the film was made and that her daughter is dying in the picture, and I don't think it severely detracts from what is, overall, an exemplary 1909 short, technically and dramatically.

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.

Frank Powell (as Dr. Harcourt), Florence Lawrence (as Mrs. Harcourt) and little Gladys Egan (as Edith Harcourt) are the perfect country family; however, tragedy strikes their idyllic world when little Gladys becomes gravely ill. Fortunately, wealthy Harcourt is also "The Country Doctor", and can sit by his daughter's bedside as she struggles to regain her health. Unfortunately, poor mother Kate Bruce and daughter Mary Pickford need Dr. Harcourt's services as Adele DeGarde, the girl in their family, is likewise bedridden. The good doctor is torn between his little girl and his responsibility as the town's doctor.

G.W. Bitzer's Greenwich, Connecticut location footage is generous, and this film's highlight; though, you'll wish it was better preserved. The story, dealing with a doctor's responsibility, is a good one. Both Mr. Powell and Ms. Lawrence go too far over-the-top in their portrayals this time around, however. Ms. Bruce and Ms. Pickford are more restrained, but little daughters Egan and DeGarde absolutely steal the show with their deadpan bedside manners, especially little Gladys!

**** The Country Doctor (7/8/09) D.W. Griffith ~ Frank Powell, Florence Lawrence, Gladys Egan, Mary Pickford

You might have noticed opening shots in movies when they appear after the titles. These are called establishing shots, and they set in motion the locale, time (current or in the past) and the mood of the film. The first such cinematic shot appearing in film took place in July 1909 with the release of D. W. Griffith's "The Country Doctor." The establishing shot in this film is a panning opening (camera moves left to right). Most establishing shots are a series of wide static shots. Griffith's opening takes a deliberate view of the countryside, which was filmed in Greenwich, CT. The sequence lingers over the warm plush scenery until ending at the front door of the doctor's house. This opening establishes the bucolic nature of the residing family which the plot revolves around, who are seen in the following sequence running through a field of flowers. The opening shot also becomes symbolic to nature's role in the subsequent action as well as to the contradictory irony that nature plays in everyone's lives (see linked article). Appearing as the sick child's mother is actress Florence Lawrence, who was becoming a familiar face to Biograph Studio Production audiences. Yet the studio still refused to identify the name of this actress to the public. Griffith's opening served as a template for future movies in cinema, weighing the importance in that initial shot of films going forward.

This Griffith short is relatively straightforward, on the surface anyway: a country doctor has to tend to two girls who are bedridden and may be dying at the same time. One may live and one... well, you should watch it to find out that part. What stands out of course is the parallel editing, and the ending is somber and melodramatic, but the actors play the emotion without ever going over the top. I didn't get the 'metaphysical' panning shot part of it, showing the valley where the doctor lives at the start and the beginning. It doesn't add much to the drama of the story, and is Griffith's way of jamming in something spiritual, but the shots look exactly the same from the opening to the closing. We also don't get any sense of the doctor's family life before these two girls become sick, it just jumps right into this conflict of the story: will the doctor be able to save both girls. That makes for a good subject, and again the actors are all solid, but it's not great. There isn't much room for anything as far as changing up shots, it's all static and this only works to the benefit of near the end (to cut away from that would be unthinkable).