''The Mothering Heart'' is a 1913 American short

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by D. W. Griffith. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

Plot

The film opens by showing a young woman ( Lillian Gish) in a garden. She is tender hearted, demonstrated by her appreciation of the flowers and the rescuing of a puppy. A melancholic young man ( Walter Miller) woos her and she is foolishly swayed more by his pain of rejection than her love for him and eventually agrees to marry. Later in their new home together she takes in washing to help support them when her new husband has little income. Things change when he finds some success in a well paid job. He insists they celebrate at a restaurant where there is an Apache dance cabaret. He wears a new suit but she her plain street clothes. Her husband's eye is caught by a sophisticated single woman (

Viola Barry Viola Barry ( – April 2, 1964) was an American silent film actress who starred in a number of films during the 1910s. Early years Gladys Viola Wilson was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Rev. J. Stitt Wilson, a Methodist minister. ...

) at the next table. Later, encouraged by the woman, the husband begins to deceive his wife and have clandestine meetings with her. She is rich and has a chauffeur-driven car at her disposal. The wife, now pregnant, as evidenced by her interest in baby clothes, discovers a glove in her husband's coat pocket. She follows him and uncovers his deceit. After confronting her husband she leaves him and returns to the home of her mother (played by

Kate Bruce Kate Bruce (February 17, 1860 – April 2, 1946) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 280 films between 1908 and 1931. She was born in Columbus, Indiana and died in New York City. In 1885, Bruce left Boone, I ...

) where the baby is born. We now see the husband being dropped by the sophisticated woman for a new richer male companion ( Charles West). The dejected husband sitting alone at home receives a letter from the wife telling him of the birth. He resolves to make it up with her. We learn next that the baby has become ill and is attended by a doctor (

Adolph Lestina Adolph Lestina (1861– August 23, 1923) was an American stage and film actor who was a member of D. W. Griffith's stock company of film actors. Career He received positive notice for his performance in Justin McCarthy's ''If I Were King'' and ...

). The husband arrives at the wife's mother's house and she allows him to see the wife and child. However the wife wants none of him and angrily rejects him. While the husband sits dejected in the garden the baby dies. The wife vents her anger on the bushes in the part of the garden in which the film opened. She returns to find her husband bent in grief over the crib. He is tenderly holding the baby's dummy. Their hands touch and the husband sees she is still wearing her wedding ring. They are reunited in an embrace and the film ends.

Cast

* Walter Miller as Joe - the Young Husband * Lillian Gish as The Young Wife *

as Young Wife's Mother *

as The 'Idle Woman' / Outside Club (as Peggy Pearce) * Charles West as The 'New Light' / Among Waiters *

as The Doctor / Club Patron * Jennie Lee as The Wash Customer *

Charles Murray Charles Murray may refer to: Politicians *Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore (1661–1710), British peer *Charles Murray (author and diplomat) (1806–1895), British author and diplomat *Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore (1841–1907), Scotti ...

as Male Apache Dancer *

Gertrude Bambrick Gertrude Bambrick (August 24, 1897 – January 10, 1974) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 60 films between 1912 and 1916. Biography Bambrick was married twice. Her first marriage to early film director Marshall Ne ...

as Female Apache Dancer * William J. Butler as Club Patron * Christy Cabanne as Outside Club *

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

as Undetermined Role (unconfirmed) *

Josephine Crowell Josephine Boneparte Crowell (January 11, 1859 – July 27, 1932) was a Canadian film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 90 films between 1912 and 1929. Biography Crowell was born in Nova Scotia. Crowell debuted in the ...

as Woman Collecting Ironing * Edward Dillon as Club Patron * John T. Dillon as Club Patron * William Elmer as Doorman * Dell Henderson as Club Patron * Harry Hyde as Outside Club * J. Jiquel Lanoe as Outside Club / Club Patron *

Charles Hill Mailes Charles Hill Mailes (25 May 1870 – 17 February 1937) was a Canadian actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1870, Mailes appeared in 290 films between 1909 and 1935. He married the actress Claire McDowell ...

as Club Patron *

Mae Marsh Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Mae Marsh was born Mary Wayne M ...

as Undetermined Role (unconfirmed) * Joseph McDermott as Among Waiters * Alfred Paget as Club Patron *

Gus Pixley Gus Pixley (1864 – June 2, 1923) was an American actor-singer and comic on the theatre stage, and an actor of the silent era. He appeared in burlesque, vaudeville, and minstrelsy with "America's greatest female impersonator," Burton Sta ...

as Club Patron * W. C. Robinson as Club Patron *

Henry B. Walthall Henry Brazeale Walthall (March 16, 1878 – June 17, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared as the Little Colonel in D. W. Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915). Early life Henry B. Walthall was born March 16, 1878 on a ...

as Club Patron

References

External links

*
''The Mothering Heart''
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mothering Heart, The 1913 films 1913 drama films 1913 short films Silent American drama films American silent short films American black-and-white films Articles containing video clips Films directed by D. W. Griffith 1910s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links