Her Terrible Ordeal

Her Terrible Ordeal (1910)

** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith film about a woman who goes to see her boyfriend at work but while he's gone a burglar breaks in and throws the woman into a vault. Now it's a race against time for someone to find her before she suffocates. Griffith made countless "race against time" pictures but this one here isn't among his best. The two leads are rather boring and Griffith's direction never really pays off. The ending contains a little suspense but not enough to make the film memorable.

This is available through Grapevine in part of their D.W. Griffith: The Director series.

There is absolutely no heart in this film whatsoever. You could have a talented director, a well-developed script, a good cast, superb locations and advanced technical skills, but unless there is heart and soul in the film it is a dead loss. I was bored to tears watching this. What on earth was Griffith thinking of when he filmed it? He doesn't inspire me in the least. One or two of his projects may be okay, but the vast body of his work is somewhat to be desired. I rate this 3 out of 10 and that's being generous. I think the title is apt: it was a terrible ordeal to watch it. You can't produce a conveyor belt of creativity. A film is a work of art and needs to be an expression of the soul.