The Greatest Question

Greatest Question, The (1919)

**** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith film that throws in every genre he ever worked in and although the thing turns way too sappy there's still enough here to make this one of the best and most overlooked silents I've seen. After her parents die, an orphan (Lillian Gish) is offered room and love by some poor farmers and their two sons. One of the sons goes off to fight in WW1 but the other (Robert Harron) soon starts a relationship with the orphan. When the other brother is killed, the family is close to losing the farm so the orphan goes to stay with another couple and work for them. This evil couple holds a secret from the orphan's past but in present times they also abuse her any way they can. This was one of four films Griffith made for First National and even he admits that he rushed through all of them because he didn't want to make any for this studio. Even with that said this is certainly one of the best films of his career with all the elements of previous classics. The film has high suspense, terrific drama, romance and pretty much everything else. The ending with the orphan about to lose her life to the abusive farmers contains the suspense. There's terrific comedy in one scene where the girl and the son walk past a graveyard. There's a wonderful romantic scene where the brother first tries to kiss the girl. Not to mention some very dark elements including the farmer trying to rape the girl. As you can tell, everything's here and it's perfectly captured with terrific direction and editing from Griffith. Then, of course, there's Gish who turns in a beautiful performance. The rest of the cast does too but this is Gish's show all the way. She's got one of the most beautiful and emotional faces, which is certainly important here with all the stages she has to play.

Actor Bobby Harron was facing a great future in cinema. After his association with director D. W. Griffith for 10 years, he was beginning a four-movie package with Metro Pictures. He traveled to New York City on September 1, 1920 to attend the premier of Griffith's 'Way Down East' when he began unpacking his clothes in a hotel room. A gun he had tucked into his suitcase fell to the floor and discharged, sending a bullet into his chest. He was immediately rushed to the hospital. On the road to recovery, Harron suddenly died four days later at the young age of 27.

Harron's last surviving movie was December 1919's "The Greatest Question," directed by Griffith and co-starring Lillian Gish. He had just finished his first movie for Metro, 'Coincidence,' which was previewed the same evening as 'Way Down East' in New York. 'Coincidence' is considered lost. The irony of "The Greatest Question" is the film deals with death and spirituality, a spooky ending for a career that began for Harron at 14 as an errand boy for Biograph Studios. Griffith, the primary director for Biograph, noticed the boy when he appeared in a few shorts, and gave him a role in 1909's 'The Lonely Villa.'

Harron had acting parts in three of Griffith's most ambitious films, 1914's 'Judith of Bethulia,' 1915's 'Birth of a Nation,' and his most prominent role in 1916's 'Intolerance.' Throughout his career he was protrayed on screen as a naive or sensitive boy, eliciting from viewers sympathetic feelings.

Critics peg Harron's finest role in his later movies in June 1919's "True Heart Susie," also directed by Griffith with Lillian Gish as his secret romantic heartthrob. Harron was cast as a simple boy who, after gratuating from theology college, marries the wrong woman instead of childhood friend Lillian. His acting showed a maturity that struck an emotional chord with his female audience.

Such rave reviews were practically guaranteeing Harron a very promising future. But because, as Harron described, he tried to keep his gun away from his "hard to handle" younger brother by packing it into his suitcase, he paid the ultimate price dying from an accidental gunshot.

The Greatest Question is one of the best of Griffith's "unknown" or "forgotten" films. It was made right after Griffith's masterpiece, "Broken Blossoms." Griffith had contracted with First National to make three films. According to Lillian Gish, all three were made in a rush, so Griffith could not take the care with them that he did with his special projects. It stars Lillian Gish and Robert Harron. These two starred in several films together during this period, and they always played well to each other. They would contrast each other in masculine and feminine ways, but they would also sharing a fine sensibility and chemistry. Watching them in this film it is clear that if Robert had lived they could have been a famous screen couple. This is one of their best roles together.

The plot, like many Griffith films, is that of an old fashioned melodrama with a family in distress, a motherless child, a boy lost in the war and so on. Melodrama is somewhat ridiculed today, but in Griffith's hands it often becomes a sincere story, for after all - aren't the lives of most people made up of melodrama? Here, Griffith hits the mark about 85% of the time. Only one scene stands out as poorly done. There is a bit too much weight put on the ghostly appearance of a dead boy to save the day. With more time, care and better editing, Griffith might have made this work, but if anything shows the that the film was rushed it is this scene.

But there are so many good things to make up for this. Lillian's fright over breaking a dish, and knowing she will get a beating for it; the death of her mother; moments when she is cornered in the attic by a rapist; her many moments of flirting with Robert Haron; these are all played with skill and subtly.

Robert Herron had some excellent moments as well. His innocent and playful flirting with Lillian; his youthful willingness to take a man's role when he isn't ready for it; these all ring so true they almost hurt. The rest of the cast also put in some wonderful moments. The father's bitterness over what seems to be a Godless world, and the mothers frantic effort to maintain her faith - these are also unforgettable moments.

Overall, the film is well put together, the story is tight with no waisted moments. The photography by Billy Bitzer is excellent. There are things that Bitzer did which Hollywood has yet to catch up to. One reviewer complained of a bad video copy. Mine was excellent, so they are out there if you look.

The film is not in the first rank of Griffith films, but still, as Griffith himself used to say when he was pleased, "That was very fine!"

In the valley of Silver Waters, a peddler family has parked their wagon. "Little Nellie" ventures out into the woods, and unexpectedly witnesses a horrific crime - Martin Cain and his wife (George Nichols and Josephine Crowell) are raging against a poor immigrant woman they have obviously employed; and, they inadvertently kill the woman. The violent act becomes a repressed memory for little Nellie. Ten years later, Lillian Gish (as the grown up Nellie Jarvis) is, once again, traveling through Silver Waters, with her ailing, widowed mother. After her mother dies ("A life flowing out to mysterious uncharted seas."), Ms. Gish meets Robert Harron (as Jimmie Hilton), who lives nearby, with his poverty-stricken family. Mr. Harron's family helps Gish bury her mother; and, with nowhere to go, she accepts their invitation to stay…

Harron is attracted to Gish; and, they become inseparable. Harron's father George Fawcett (as Robert Hilton) is unable to work, due to disability. Precognizant mother Eugenie Besserer (as Mrs. Hilton) sees her favorite son Ralph Graves (as John Hilton) off to war, believing she will never see him again. To help out her financially strapped surrogate family, Gish seeks employment with Mr. and Mrs. Cain; the memory of their evil deed is still repressed. Harron kisses Gish goodbye; then, she moves in with the wicked Cains…

"The Greatest Question" is most notable as Robert Harron's last film; he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on September 5, 1920. When Harron died ("A life flowing out to mysterious uncharted seas."), this film was still being widely exhibited. And, it's a representative role - the "boy next door" he played so well for director D.W. Griffith. Harron is charming and natural, in the role of Jimmie Hilton. His reflective look at Gish's departure, from behind his fence, is just what Gish was longing for in "True Heart Susie" (1919).

Robert Harron was one of the finest actor of his time; his record of performances, and acting style, portended a great career in the coming decades. In hindsight, he looks like one of the few silent performers certain to make a natural transition to sound film performances. At the time of his death, Harron had signed with Metro, where he worked on an unavailable film. There seems to be some controversy about whether or not Harron committed suicide; if so, it could not have been due to an ongoing rivalry with actor Richard Barthelmess, over roles offered by director D.W. Griffith. By the time Harron died, both actors had left Griffith's company; and, they remained friendly enough to attend the New York première of "Way Down East" (1920). Ironically, "The Greatest Question" is about death; and, Harron had a relatively unknown friend in New York, at that time, to attend the same "Way Down East" premiere - the soon famous, and also short-lived, Rudolph Valentino.

********* The Greatest Question (12/28/19) D.W. Griffith ~ Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Ralph Graves, Eugenie Besserer

In the mid-1910s, D.W. Griffith was a HUGE name in Hollywood and was considered one of the top talents in the industry. By the time he made this film, however, his cache had started to fade a bit. And, by 1930, he was all but unemployable. What happened with this outstanding film pioneer? Well, I think there were two serious problems. First, he didn't change with the times. His saccharine and very old fashioned types of stories worked just fine in 1915 but by the 1920s, they seemed dated. Second, the films were often very, very moralistic--with messages that lacked subtlety. In the case of this film, it's especially apparent with the intertitle cards. Instead of conveying the action or explaining what was occurring, too often they were filled with long-winded prose and preachy sentimentality. And, in typical Griffith fashion, the black man in the film is not only a negative stereotype but is played by a white guy using burnt cork to darken his features! It seems that Griffith just disliked blacks but needed SOMEONE to make them look awful, so he used some white guy! Top that off with some seriously dumb plot problems and you might understand why I scored this film so low.

Nellie is a little girl and witnesses a pair of maniacs murdering a lady. She tells her parents and they totally ignore her. This happens in the film but in real life, only certifiably insane parents would ignore her. A decade passes. Now Nellie's parents have died and she wanders back to the same country where the murder occurred years ago. Why would she move there of all places and how could she forget about the killing? What's worse, eventually she goes to work for the murderers and has no recollection that they were the killers!!! If any of this makes sense to you (and it shouldn't), then there's the plot involving the son killed in WWI and the stupid way that this is handled (with mom, thousands of miles away, INSTANTLY knowing he's dead and receiving visions of his!). Please...give me a break! This is all stupid and sentimental claptrap....and I never bought any of it. Had this been made in 1905 or so, I could have accepted it. But for more discerning and sophisticated audiences of 1919, it must have been a hard-sell. For me today, it was an impossible sell though I must admit that the cinematography was quite lovely.