''The House with Closed Shutters'' is a 1910 American silent

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 and released by the

Biograph Company The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, ...

. Prints of ''The House with Closed Shutters'' exist in the film archives 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 ...

George Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...

, and the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Plot

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

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 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 The Confederate soldier *

Grace Henderson Grace C. F. Roth Henderson (January 1860 – October 30, 1944) was an American stage actress and prolific performer in silent motion pictures. Biography Henderson was born Grace C. F. Roth in Ann Arbor, Michigan in January 1860. Her fath ...

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 Edwin August Phillip von der Butz (November 10, 1883 – March 4, 1964) was an American actor, director, and screenwriter of the silent era. August was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated from Christian Brothers College there. He ac ...

Verner Clarges Verner Clarges (January 9, 1846 – August 11, 1911) was a stage actor who later appeared in silent films. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1909 and 1911. Clarges was born in Bath, Somerset, England, and came to America in 1883 as ...

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 Francis J. Grandon (1879 – July 11, 1929) was an American silent film actor and director who acted in almost 100 films and directed over 100. Frank Grandon's obituary, printed in newspapers from coast-to- coast, called him "the father of mov ...

as In Lee's Tent * Alfred Paget as On Porch / At Farewell *

Mabel Van Buren Mabel Van Buren (born Mabel Brown Southard; July 17, 1878 – November 4, 1947) was an American stage and screen actress. Biography As a theatrical performer she played the leading lady in both ''The Virginian'' and ''The Squaw Man'' (190 ...

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 Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, and outdoor footage was taken on location in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, t ...

Commentary

Unlike the portrayal of women in

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

s 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. 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.Horak, p. 86-87.

References

External links