Near to Earth

Lionel Barrymore and brother Bobby Harron farm the seaside cliffs. Barrymore loves Gertrude Bambrick. However, once they are married, he seems more interested in business and wearing his hat inside the house. Gertrude feels neglected and dallies with hired man Walter Miller.

It's not one of D.W. Griffith's better Biograph shorts, where he tries to be a bit silly. Mae Marsh and other Biograph company actresses, watching Barrymore's hesitant courtship, bounce up and down like giggling schoolgirls.... but that's how Griffith seemed to view unmarried girls. Over all, Griffith seems to have used this simple tale of foolish peasant love and jealousy as an excuse for filming some scenery on one of his company's annual treks to California. It's beautiful scenery. Plus, given Griffith's practiced command of cinema and his cast and crew's ability, it's worth watching for its casual attitude.

This same situation was recently used in a Pathe offering, "Broken Hearts," which was a little better than the present in photography and in acting, and also a little more concise in reaching its climax. To such as haven't seen the other, this will be a very acceptable offering. It is like a translation of the other to fit the Italian characters. - The Moving Picture World, April 5, 1913