The House with Closed Shutters

1910 film

August 8, 1910 (1910-08-08)

Running time

16 minutes (original length 998 feet)^[1]CountryUnited StatesLanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Play full film; runtime 00:16:31

The House with Closed Shutters is a 1910 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and released by the Biograph Company.^[2] Prints of The House with Closed Shutters exist in the film archives of the Museum of Modern Art, George Eastman House, and the Library of Congress.^[2]

Plot

During the American Civil War a young soldier loses his nerve in battle and runs away to his home to hide. There his sister puts on his uniform, takes her brother's place in the battle, and is killed. Their mother, not wanting the shameful truth to become known, closes all the shutters (hence the film's title) and keeps her son's presence a secret for many years, until two boyhood chums stumble upon the truth.

Cast

Henry B. Walthall as The Confederate soldier
Grace Henderson as His mother
Dorothy West as His sister
Joseph Graybill as Her suitor
Charles West as Her suitor
William J. Butler as The colored servant (credited as W. J. Butler)
Edwin August
Verner Clarges as In Lee's Tent
John T. Dillon as On Porch / At Farewell / In Lee's Tent (credited as Jack Dillon)
Gladys Egan as On Porch / At Farewell
Frank Evans as In Lee's Tent
Francis J. Grandon as In Lee's Tent
Alfred Paget as On Porch / At Farewell
Mabel Van Buren as On Porch / At Farewell

Production

The drama was filmed between June 25 and July 2, 1910. Interior scenes were shot at Biograph's studio at 11 East 14th Street in Manhattan, New York, and outdoor footage was taken on location in Fort Lee, New Jersey.^[2]

Commentary

Unlike the portrayal of women in film serials where they tend to be in peril and need to be saved, West's "sister" character, while dressed in her brother's uniform, was in control of her situation as she rode over the same dangerous route that her brother had taken in his flight.^[3] Her horsemanship is emphasized over the other male riders, as soon as she is on the horse she rides at full speed and she alone among the riders has her horse rear up on its hind legs.^[4]

References

^ "The House with Closed Shutters", film release list, The Nickelodeon (Chicago, Illinois), 1 September 1910, p. 143. Internet Archive, San Francisco, California. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Progressive Silent Film List: The House with Closed Shutters". silentera.com. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
^ Horak, Laura (Summer 2013). "Landscape, Vitality, and Desire: Cross-Dressed Frontier Girls in Transitional-Era American Cinema". Cinema Journal. 52 (4). University of Texas Press: 84–85. doi:10.1353/cj.2013.0041. ISSN 0009-7101. JSTOR 43653149. S2CID 191478157. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
^ Horak, p. 86-87.