The Mothering Heart
Encyclopedia
The Mothering Heart is a 1913
short drama film
directed by D. W. Griffith
. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art
.
) is deserted by her husband (Walter Miller
) and must give birth alone. After the baby is born, it dies. Meanwhile, the woman who the husband has an affair with (Viola Barry
), abandons him for another man. So the husband goes to look for the wife and finds her when the child is dying. After the death of her child, the wife wanders into the garden and picks off the blossoms off of a rose bush in anger. She comes back to her husband and realizes she loves him again.
1913 in film
The year 1913 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* The Squaw Man, the first Hollywood feature film, is made.* December 29, Charlie Chaplin signs a contract with Mack Sennett to begin making films at Keystone Studios.* D. W...
short drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
.
Plot
A pregnant wife (Lillian GishLillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
) is deserted by her husband (Walter Miller
Walter Miller (actor)
Walter Miller was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 248 films between 1911 and 1940.He was born in Dayton, Ohio, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack, aged 48...
) and must give birth alone. After the baby is born, it dies. Meanwhile, the woman who the husband has an affair with (Viola Barry
Viola Barry
-Biography:She was born Gladys Viola Wilson in Evanston, Illinois the daughter of Jackson Stitt Wilson. She moved with her family to Berkeley, California where her father would become the socialist mayor from 1911-1913....
), abandons him for another man. So the husband goes to look for the wife and finds her when the child is dying. After the death of her child, the wife wanders into the garden and picks off the blossoms off of a rose bush in anger. She comes back to her husband and realizes she loves him again.
Cast
- Walter MillerWalter Miller (actor)Walter Miller was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 248 films between 1911 and 1940.He was born in Dayton, Ohio, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack, aged 48...
- The Young Husband - Lillian GishLillian GishLillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
- The Young Wife - Kate BruceKate BruceKate Bruce was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 289 films between 1908 and 1931.She was born in Columbus, Indiana and died in New York, New York.-Selected filmography:* The Golden Louis...
- Young Wife's Mother - Viola BarryViola Barry-Biography:She was born Gladys Viola Wilson in Evanston, Illinois the daughter of Jackson Stitt Wilson. She moved with her family to Berkeley, California where her father would become the socialist mayor from 1911-1913....
- The 'Idle Woman' / Outside Club (as Peggy Pearce) - Charles WestCharles West (actor)Charles West was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 303 films between 1908 and 1937.He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
- The 'New Light' / Among Waiters - Adolph Lestina - The Doctor / Club Patron
- Jennie LeeJennie Lee (actor)Jennie Lee was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in fifty-eight films between 1912 and 1924, working especially under the famous directors John Ford and D.W. Griffith....
- The Wash Customer - Charles MurrayCharles Murray (actor)Charles Murray , was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 283 films between 1912 and 1938...
- Male Apache Dancer - Gertrude BambrickGertrude BambrickGertrude Bambrick was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 60 films between 1912 to 1916.-Biography:...
- Female Apache Dancer - William J. ButlerWilliam J. ButlerWilliam J. Butler was an Irish silent film actor. He appeared in 262 films between 1908 and 1917.Butler, an Irish immigrant to the United States, moved his family from Ohio to Hollywood, California, in 1908. At the age of 48, he wanted to get involved in a new industry called motion pictures. He...
- Club Patron - Christy CabanneChristy CabanneChristy Cabanne , born William Christy Cabanne, was an American film director, screenwriter and silent film actor. Christy Cabanne was, along with Sam Newfield and William Beaudine, one of the most prolific directors in the history of American film.-Biography:Cabanne graduated from the U.S...
- Outside Club - Donald CrispDonald CrispDonald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
- Undetermined Role (unconfirmed) - Josephine CrowellJosephine CrowellJosephine Crowell was a Canadian film actress of the silent film era. She appeared in 94 films between 1912 and 1929....
- Woman Collecting Ironing - Edward Dillon - Club Patron
- John T. Dillon - Club Patron
- William Elmer - Doorman
- Dell HendersonDell HendersonGeorge Delbert Henderson was a Canadian actor, director and writer in films from the early silent days.-Biography:Henderson was a frequent associate of film pioneer D.W. Griffith and, on a less prolific basis, Mack Sennett...
- Club Patron - Harry Hyde - Outside Club
- J. Jiquel Lanoe - Outside Club / Club Patron
- Charles Hill MailesCharles Hill MailesCharles Hill Mailes was a Canadian actor of the silent era. He appeared in 290 films between 1909 and 1935.He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and died in Los Angeles, California...
- Club Patron - Mae MarshMae MarshMae Marsh was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years.-Early life:...
- Undetermined Role (unconfirmed) - Joseph McDermottJoseph McDermott (actor)Joseph McDermott , was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 76 films between 1912 and 1923.He died in Los Angeles, California by committing suicide.-Selected filmography:* Perils of the Yukon...
- Among Waiters - Alfred PagetAlfred PagetAlfred Paget was an English silent film actor. He appeared in 239 films between 1908 and 1918.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
- Club Patron - Gus PixleyGus PixleyGus Pixley was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 132 films between 1910 and 1921.He died in Saranac Lake, New York.-Selected filmography:* Lord Chumley * The Mothering Heart * My Hero...
- Club Patron - W. C. RobinsonW. C. RobinsonW. C. Robinson was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 177 films between 1910 and 1932. He died in Maywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Daredevil Jack * Brute Force * Judith of Bethulia...
- Club Patron - Henry B. WalthallHenry B. WalthallHenry Brazeale Walthall was an American film actor.-Career:Walthall began his career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway in a supporting role in William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide in 1906–1908. His career in movies began in 1908, in the film Rescued from an Eagle's Nest, which also...
- Club Patron