The Girl Who Stayed at Home

At the end of the U.S. Civil War, the well-named "Monsieur France" (Adolph Lestina) moved to his father's home in France, rather than submit to the Yankees. Boasting he is "the only citizen of the Confederate States of America," he sits by his old Confederate flag, dreaming of a time gone with the wind. Mr. Lestina lives with his exuberant granddaughter Carol Dempster (as Atoline France). Ms. Dempster catches the eye of Richard Barthelmess (as Ralph Grey), the older brother of a school chum; but, Mr. Barthelmess is too late in his courting -- and, so, Dempster gets herself betrothed to Syn De Conde (as the Count de Brissac). Then, Dempster goes to visit the "Grey" family in New York.

In New York, Dempster meets Barthelmess' younger brother, Robert Harron (as James Grey). Mr. Harron is more interested in continuing a partying lifestyle than settling down; he gives Dempster the once over, but finds singer-dancer Clarine Seymour (as Cutie Beautiful) more fetching. Ms. Seymour shares Harron's interest in youthful Ragtime fun. Although their father is against the Great War (aka World War I), Barthelmess and Harron eventually join in the fighting. Will the two brothers get out of the war alive, and return to the women they left behind?

Harron effortlessly steals the film, with his portrayal of the slouching, partying brother who becomes a war hero; Seymour is also delightful as his 31st conquest, and true love. That Harron's performance so outdistances the other players may be why director D.W. Griffith, as the film progresses, devotes more screen time Harron's character. In hindsight, a re-titled, re-edited "The Girl Who Stayed at Home" would have been improved by scenes from Harron's college days, and his contrasting relationship with brother Barthelmess. Old Confederate rebel Lestina's final acceptance of the United States of America is a nice touch.

******** The Girl Who Stayed at Home (3/23/19) D.W. Griffith ~ Carol Dempster, Richard Barthelmess, Robert Harron, Clarine Seymour

The Girl Who Stayed Behind is one of Griffith's minor works. A programmer that he hoped would raise some money after the financial disaster of Intolerance. It was part of a group of films that were made with some original footage and some left over footage from Hearts of the World. The main plot is quite predictable. The scenes of the lost patrol holding on despite hunger and thirst are poorly done to the point of embarrassment. Mixed with actual war footage the Griffith took when he was in France, the staged scened look rather - staged, and badly staged at that. They fail to convince.

But even a poor Griffith film has its surprises and rewards. In this case the sub-plot with Robert Harron and Clairine Seymour is quite good. Although they both start out as stereotypical young characters from the beginning of the jazz age, they both develop outside their shallow types into real and unique individuals.

The real problem is not so much the plot, Griffith's plots were often very predictable, it is the main actors. Richard Barthelmess never develops a real presence in the film. But Griffith does not give him much to work with so I can't really blame him. However, Carol Dempster has no such excuse. In this film she acts very woodenly and although she learned to act well in some of her later films ("Isn't Life Wonderful" for example) she never had the screen presence needed to be a star, even in her best roles. Her performance here is flat and lackluster, almost like a department store dummy. On the other hand, Robert Harron and Clairine Seymour both had presence to burn. They command the screen and they invest their roles with life. It is a pity that Robert Harron and Clairine Seymour did not live to become the legends that they could have. The film rates a 5 for their performances.

Girl Who Stayed at Home, The (1919)

** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith film about a couple American's, living in France, who join the army so that they can destroy Germany. Both men leave women behind who they love and who are the main reasons for them wanting to get back home. This was one of four pictures Griffith made for Artcraft, a foreign company wanting films centered around WW1. It's also the first film to star Griffith's then 17-year-old mistress Carol Dempster, who would prove to be one of his biggest downfalls. The film runs just over sixty-minutes and it's quite confussing all the way through. The biggest problem is that the second leads (Robert Harron/Clairine Seymour) is a lot more interesting than the actual leads and that includes Dempster who just can't reach the emotions needed for the role. The cinematography by Bitzer is great, the direction is good and tight but the film still doesn't work. Another strange note is that Harron committed suicide the night before the premiere of Griffith's Way Down East (apparently over Griffith not giving him a part) and Harron would die on an operating table after signing a $2 million contract. Part of the battle scenes used here are leftovers from Hearts of the World, which had actually WW1 footage shot by Griffith.

The Girl Who Stayed At Home (1919) : Brief Review -

DW Griffith's homage to the War heroes and the girls who stayed home waiting for them is a well-made contemporary drama. Watching Griffith's films having a simple storyline isn't as exciting as watching his controversial amd hard-hitting films but still it's a Griffith Film afterall. You just can't ignore it. You have to give it a chance for the better understanding of Non-Griffith contemporary flicks. It reminds you how simple yet watchable films others were making and if Griffith made the same stuff once in a while, then it's not a big thing to scream at. From the title i thought The Girl Who Stayed At Home will be about a girl or girls but it isn't just about them. The film is about two brothers who go to War and their sweethearts (not one actually) who wait at home. The one who is not sweetheart yet is attacked by Germans while second one, a bar singer, isn't bothered much except for one marriage proposal which she eventually rejects to remain faithful to the man who has gone to war. Maybe that elder brother's love story could have been better as it didn't look much convincing from the start only. The war scenes are surely worthy and it wasn't a new thing for DW Griffith. It was quite like going for a morning walk to him. And yes it is great indeed. The performances are good. Some supporting characters are surprisingly well written. You see that propaganda touch there and also confederate nature. At last, it's all about America's pride and that's perfectly fine for a Hollywood movie. Moreover, it's about patriotism and family values attached to it so it can relate to anybody. Overall, The Girl Who Stayed At Home is a nice American War Saga made by the greatest director from the country and how can he go wrong even with his simple one. That's still greater than what others did in entire career.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

D.W. Griffith places his 17-year-old mistress, Carol Dempster, in the leading female role for this somewhat overlooked 1919 film, opposite sturdy Richard Barthelmess, although both are outshined by the secondary leads, Robert Harron and Clarine Seymour, as Griffith is providing his customary surfeit of sub-plots during the telling of a romantic drama concerning the Great War, just concluded at the time of filming. Griffith's systematic skills with flashbacks, montage and editing, along with the as ever creative camerawork of his loyal cinematographer, Billy Bitzer, combine to produce a very tightly-made film, with no loose ends in evidence after its fast-moving 60 minutes. The scenario involves, among so many other elements, the experiences of two brothers, portrayed by Barthelmess and Harron, who are drafted into the United States Army, experience combat in France, each stimulated by a left-behind love affair founded upon, and developing for the most part from, hope alone. A dark aspect of the work stems from the deaths not long after its completion of Harron (a freak gun accident at 27) and Seymour (intestinal illness at 21) with the petite actress who made only a handful of films just having signed a four year contract for two million dollars, an enormous sum at the time; she was that good, and Harron was an actor whose humanity and subtle comic skills were as fine as could be found.