[[ tt0003167 ]]

Home, Sweet Home (D. W. Griffith, May 1914) cinematography by Billy Bitzer, screenplay H.E. Aitken and D.W. Griffth, with Henry B. Walthall, Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Spottiswoode Aitken (brother of Harry and Roy Aitken), Robert Harron, Miriam Cooper, James Kirkwood, Jack Pickford, Blanche Sweet and Owen Moore for Reliance / Majestic

‘A non-biographical but photo-dramatic and symbolic work. It could apply to the lives and works of many men of genius, whose failures in their private lives are more than compensated for by their great gifts to humanity. Payne, actor, poet, dramatist and critic, who had never known a home since early childhood, created this song in the midst of bitter adversity.’

‘The preparations for leaving home.’ A screen is raised and we see the interior of Payne’s home. His mother is sitting in a rocking chair. Payne leaves and says goodbye to his mother. Lillian Gish is Payne’s girlfriend and Dorothy Gish is her sister. They sit in front of a country house covered with flowers. ‘The Mother’s Prayer.’ Mother stands at the window and the screen closes in this scene. Payne arrives at Lilian and kisses her goodbye in medium-close. She says: ‘I will wait for you until the end of the world and beyond.’ Dorothy walks to Lilian, cutting at 00:03:15 and 00:03:22 in a continuous movement from total to medium close and back. Lilian says: ‘It will be a joy to wait for him.’

‘In town, at the theater, looking for work.’ ‘Payne is allowed to audition’ and is hired by Spottiswoode Aitken. ‘Payne’s religious mother finds her son’s calling terrible.’ She receives notice of this by letter and reads the letter together with Lilian: ‘He is an actor.’ ‘Mother and Lillian look for Payne at his residence in the city’ and mother is pleased to find the Bible there. But when a noisy group enters his living room, they flee to the adjacent bedroom. Payne drinks and parties with friends including Spottiswoode Aitken

‘Later in a strange land.’ The virginal, bourgeois Lilian who says: ‘I will wait for you, my dear boy’ is now contrasted in cross-cut with ‘ the woman of the world’ who seduces Payne (00:10:08). The perspective is special by placing the camera at a height of one meter. When Payne wants to take her in his arms, she pushes him away, but still surrenders to him, making a counting gesture behind his back. She’s apparently a gold digger. At home, good Lilian hopes for his return. Payne has ‘just gotten out of debtor’s prison’ ‘Setbacks come and friends leave.’ They want nothing more to do with Payne. And his ‘worldly’ girlfriend abandons him when she sees that he is in debt. Payne thinks in mental POV at 00:12:55 of Lilian who, with her sewing basket on her lap, also thinks of Payne. The picture becomes interesting because of the wind blowing through her hair, revealing an open-air studio. Lilian prays for his soon return. ‘Adversity spurs him to write a song. He sees in his mind’s eye (mental POV 00:14:09) mother and Lillian sitting in front of the house. The lyrics of the song are as follows:

‘Mid pleasures and palaces through we may roam
But it ever so humble there’s no place like home!
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek through the world, is never met with elsewhere.
Home! Home! sweet, sweet home!
There’s no place like home!
An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain!
Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!
The birds singing gayly that came at my call:
Give me them, and the peace of mind dearer than all!’

Payne wants to tear up the text, but decides to keep it anyway.

A message arrives by letter to mother: ‘Bad news about her boy.’ She is shocked and starts praying. ‘His death in a strange land.’ We see Payne lying in bed, feverish and delirious, in an Eastern country. ‘The true and the false were silent for a moment’ (on the brink of death, everything that was once meaningful becomes silent/meaningless). Lilian lies in bed like an angel.

Part II, First Episode.

In the restaurant of Apple Pie Mary (Mae Marsh) and her father (Spottiswoode Aitken), Bob (Harron) enters. Mae Marsh looks stunningly fresh and dynamic and not as poppy as Lilian Gish. The camera is located medium close, at a low viewing point. The guest wants coffee and apple pie. Under the counter, Mary unrolls her hair curlers in front of a mirror, while the guest looks for a spoon to put sugar in the coffee. She is clearly impressed by him. And ‘he goes out to dig for gold’, comes back in gold-digger’s clothes and gets a piece of apple pie from her. And then he asks her to marry him: ‘an apple pie engagement.’ He says: ‘Will you marry me?’ She does and they fall into each other’s arms over the counter. Mary’s father finds their behavior inappropriate and stamps his cane on the floor. Bob leaves with his piece of apple pie and says: ‘Home, Sweet Home! Every time I hear it I’ll think of you.’

‘A distant relative from the East comes to visit Bob.’ The relative is accompanied by a beautiful girlfriend (Miriam Cooper) who likes the prospector’s uniform. The relative has a letter for him stating that he has to go to the East (the big city) for a short visit. He says goodbye to Mary, who says: ‘I don’t have a photo that I can give you, but the image on this Christmas card looks like me.’ He doesn’t have a photo either, but ‘You can keep my glasses as a souvenir.’ All of this is filmed in medium-close, while both act very naturally. He gives her a kiss and leaves with the stagecoach.

Some time later ‘he returns to town on a business trip.’ He returns as an urban gentleman from his trip to the civilized East and his civilized acquaintances, in the rough West. Mary hangs out in the pub with a bunch of cowboys and has fun with them. Bob no longer feels at home here and his relative and the woman, who is now his fiancée, look through the window of the pub where Mary copes with the rough life. ‘The contrast between Mary and his friends from the East leads to disillusionment.’ ‘A marriage to the girl from the East means a good social position and fortune.’ One of the cowboys has seen Bob walking and informs Mary about it. Mary is delighted, fixes herself up in front of the mirror and runs to the stagecoach office. There she just sees Bob driving away in the stagecoach. His cultured friend and his fiancée take him to the big city. At the stagecoach office, Bob left a letter for Mary, saying: ‘Dear Mary. I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t think we fit together. I regret that from the bottom of my heart. Bob.’ Mary is deeply saddened. At a stagecoach station on the way to the East, a singer plays the ‘old well-known song’. In his mind’s eye, Bob sees Mary grieving (mental POV 00:26:19). Bob asks for a horse and rides away at full speed, leaving the relative and his fiancée bewildered. Bob rushes the horse back to Mary who is crying in bed and rolls out of bed onto the floor. On his return he finds her under the bed, but after some hesitation they fall into each other’s arms. She is wearing his glasses and is overjoyed. ‘Four Years Later’:

Home! Home! sweet, sweet home!
There’s no place like home!
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek through the world, is never met with elsewhere.

Mary and Bob have a happy family with two children. Close-up of the baby. Mary and Bob love each other.

Part III. Second Episode.

A mother and two sons who hate each other live on the coast. Mother’s third and younger son is a bit simple-minded (Jack Pickford) and is given a push by one of the brothers. ‘The slow-witted boy idolizes the sheriff.’ Mother tries in vain to get the two brothers to reconcile. One brother receives money and does not want the other to share in it. ‘The dormant lifelong hatred is stirred up by the refusal to hand over money.’ The frustrated brother takes a drink and wants to beat his brother to death with a stick, but he is interrupted by a passer-by. The slow boy witnesses this. The mother leaves her house on the way to the beach. And the brother who received money also goes to the beach. The frustrated brother takes a revolver from the house: ‘I’m going to finish him today’, looks forward to it and takes another drink. The slow brother sees this through the window, is shocked and ‘drives to his big friend to ask for help.’ The mother walks up from the beach while her son plays with the revolver. The slow son rushes to the sheriff on horseback while the brother who received money returns from the beach and arrives at the house where his brother is ready to shoot him dead. But first the brother outside plays with the dog. The slow brother races along the path along the beach to the sheriff, who is now coming with him. Now there is a four-way cross-cut montage (from 00:35:09): the mother who has difficulty returning from the beach, the brother playing with the gun, the boy rushing on horseback along paths and the coast who finally reaches the sheriff and brother two who returns from the coast and sits in front of the house. The frustrated brother wonders why it is taking so long and puts the revolver in his pocket for the time being. Brother two goes into the house while the slow boy and the sheriff speed along the road along the beach. The frustrated brother says: ‘I want that money.’ The other brother sees that his brother wants to draw the revolver and prevents him from doing so, and they get into a fight. Meanwhile, the sheriff and the boy race on. The revolver goes off during the brawl, but no one is hurt. The fight escalates and the brother who received money is knocked down. We follow the two riders in a wild tracking shot (00:39:25). The frustrated brother points the gun at his brother while a bard sings ‘Home Sweet Home’ outside. The frustrated brother hears this (acoustic coupling 00:39:37), he agrees with the message but shoots anyway, after which his brother collapses. The brother who shot wants to flee the house, but just then the sheriff arrives at the house. The shot brother manages to grab the revolver with the last of his strength and shoots his brother. He falls over the body of his now dead brother. The sheriff and the slow boy rush in and find the two dead men there. The grief-stricken mother has now arrived. She kneels next to her two dead sons, walks outside and picks up a knife to take her own life. The bard continues singing and through his song ‘the remnant is saved’ (00:41:22). The slow boy manages to persuade her to hand over the knife and kneels next to his mother.

Part IV. Third Episode.

We see a bride, Blanche Sweet, surrounded by flowers. The wind blows the veil from her face (00:42:24). She stands there with her husband in a sea of flowers (00:42:33). We see a violinist and his assistant, who is dusting the violinist’s clothes, in another room. When the violinist has left, the boy picks up his violin and begins to play. The bridal couple hears the music (acoustic coupling 00:43:05) and the bride approaches. ‘The rendition of the old ballad by a homesick boy.’ We see cross-cut’s between the boy playing the violin and the bridal couple listening to his music (00:43:01, 00:43:12, 00:43:19, 00:43:25, 00:43:27, 00:43:40, 00:43:43. The bride and the groom embrace and the groom says: ‘ This day we will remember forever.’ The violinist returns, discovers his assistant playing his violin and admonishes the young man.

Two years later the man leaves home for his club. A strong wind blows through the flowers and curtains (00:44:22) and points to an open-air studio. The man says goodbye to his wife and leaves. ‘A nasty visitor.’ When the man is gone, the woman’s lover (Owen Moore) comes along, to whom she has not yet surrendered: she shakes her head no. ‘The husband returns unexpectedly’, but does not enter the room where his wife and the lover are and smokes another cigar: ‘I will smoke my cigar first.’ The lover urges the wife to get closer, but she struggles with her feelings and keeps shaking her head no. The husband examines a petal that has fallen from one of the flowers (00:46:36): a sign that their love affair has withered? But no, according to him that is not the case (00:46:53). He sits down in the chair and falls asleep there. But then ‘the woman has a moment of weakness’ and is willing to give in to the lover’s wishes. Griffith continually cuts back and forth between the woman and her lover and the husband in the adjoining room: cross-cuts at 00:46:10, 00:46:17, 00:46:43, 00:47:06, 00:47:11, 00:47:23, 00:47:32, 00:47:39, 00:47:45, 00:47:49, 00:48:01. ‘Across the street’ the violinist lives in a house (with violently fluttering curtains). The maid asks him ‘to play that old ballad’. The wife hears the song blaring across the street (acoustic coupling 00:48:45) and this reminds her of the moment during her wedding when she was so happy with her husband (mental POV 00:49:06). She is disgusted by her - threatened - adultery and chases the lover, who is standing next to the sleeping husband, out the door: get out! The lover leaves and she sits down next to her husband, wakes him up and hugs him. The violinist has finished playing and gives the maid an (inappropriate) kiss. Ten years later we see a happy family with two daughters and a son, who are kept together by ‘Home Sweet Home’.

Epilogue:

‘And must we not, for the countless services like this, forgive Payne’s sins.’ We now see how people ‘fight in vain to climb out of the pit of evil.’ ‘Become a master of lustful thoughts: control carnal desire, violence and worldly (vs. religious and spiritual) interest, they pull you hard down.’ Two men with black makeup pull down a man who wants to climb out of the pit of evil. An angel with fluttering wings says: ‘I’m waiting for you, my sweet boy.’ We see the angel (Lilian Gish), floating through the cloud cover, in double exposure. The man (Walthall) climbs out of the pit after freeing himself from the forces that pulled him down and rises among the angels and ends up in the arms of Lilian Gish with whom he floats away. The blowing wind through the angel’s veils enhances the dramatic effect (00:54:15). The end.

Mental point of view:

Payne thinks (mental POV at 00:12:55) of Lilian who, with her sewing basket on her lap, also thinks of Payne. He sees in his mind’s eye (mental POV 00:14:09) mother and Lillian sitting in front of the house.

In part 2 a singer plays the ‘old well-known song’ at a stagecoach station. Bob sees Mary grieving in his mind’s eye (mental POV 00:26:19).

In part 4, the almost adulterous wife hears the song blaring across the street, which reminds her of the moment during her marriage when she was so happy with her husband (mental POV 00:49:06).

Acoustic coupling:

While Payne drinks and parties with friends in part 1, Lilian and mother respond to what they hear happening in the next room (acoustic coupling 00:06:01 – 00:07:31). ‘What disgusting language’ Mother says, while Payne and his friends can’t stop laughing. Lillian then says: ‘They are just rehearsing their parts.’

The frustrated brother points the gun at his brother while a bard sings ‘Home Sweet Home’ outside. The frustrated brother hears this (acoustic coupling 00:39:37), he agrees with the message but shoots anyway, after which his brother collapses.

The bard sings on and through his song ‘the remnant is saved’ (00:41:22). The slow boy manages to persuade her to hand over the knife and kneels next to his mother.

After the violinist leaves in part 4, the boy picks up his violin and starts playing. The bridal couple hears the music (acoustic coupling 00:43:05) and the bride approaches.

The almost adulterous wife hears the song blaring across the street (acoustic link 00:48:45) which reminds her of the moment during her marriage when she was so happy with her husband.

Cross-cut’s:

In Part 1, Payne drinks and parties with his friends. Griffith now cuts back and forth between the living room, where the party is going on, and the bedroom where Lilian and mother are anxiously listening to what’s going on in the living room (cross-cut’s 00:06:01, 00:06:09, 00:06:13, 00:06:16, 00:06:22, 00:06:25, 00:06:36, 00:06:39, 00:06:48, 00:06:52, 00:06:57, 00:07:05, 00:07:07, 00:07:13, 00:07:16, 00:07:22.

In part 3 there is a four-way cross-cut edit (from 00:35:09): the mother who has difficulty returning from the beach, the brother playing with the gun, the boy rushing along paths and coasts on horseback who finally reaches the sheriff and brother two who returns from the coast and sits in front of the house.

In part 4 we see cross-cut’s between the boy playing the violin and the bride and groom listening to his music (00:43:01, 00:43:12, 00:43:19, 00:43:25, 00:43:27, 00:43:40, 00:43:43. Griffith then continuously cuts back and forth between the woman and her lover and the husband in the adjacent room: cross-cuts at 00:46:10, 00:46:17, 00:46:43, 00:47:06, 00:47:11, 00:47:23, 00:47:32, 00:47:39, 00:47:45, 00:47:49, 00:48:01.

Relational cross-cut:

Part 1 places the virginal, civil Lilian who says: ‘I’ll wait for you, my sweet boy’ against ‘the woman of the world’ who seduces Payne (00:10:08): virginal, bourgeois and morally superior vs unhinged, worldly and gold digger.

Flowers as a sign of love:

Mother points out the Bible to Payne and Lilian gives him a flower (00:08:42) that symbolizes her love for him.

In part four we see a bride standing with her husband in a sea of flowers, as a symbol of love in marriage (00:42:33).

The husband examines a petal that has fallen from one of the flowers (00:46:36): a sign that their love affair has withered? But no, according to him that is not the case (00:46:53).

Wind and waves:

Payne thinks about Lilian (00:12:55). The picture becomes interesting because the wind blows through her hair, revealing an open-air studio.

Part 4. During the wedding scene, the wind blows the veil from the bride’s face (00:42:24).

As the husband leaves for his club, a strong wind blows through the flowers and curtains (00:44:22) and points to an open-air studio. The wind also blows strongly through the curtains in the violinist’s house (00:47:52)

An angel with fluttering wings says: ‘I’m waiting for you, my dear boy.’ The man (Walthall) climbs out of the pit after freeing himself from the forces that pulled him down and rises among the angels, ending up in the arms of Lilian Gish with whom he floats away. The blowing wind through the angel’s veils enhances the dramatic effect (00:54:15).

The film is about John Howard Payne, actor, poet, playwright and world traveler (Henry Walthall) who in 1812 wrote the song ‘Home! Sweet Home!’ The film’s moral is that the failures of great men in their personal lives are compensated by their gifts to humanity. Griffith, actor and screenwriter, may identify with Payne. The excuse that great men are allowed to have flaws could refer to the relationships that Griffith probably had with both Mae Marsh and Lilian Gish. The song ‘Home, Sweet Home’ always marks a turning point for the better in this film.

The structure of the film is made up of four short stories, which more or less stand alone. The actors are also introduced at the beginning of each story. The film is still far from a unity and was shot in fairly primitive outdoor sets. This makes the film compare negatively to Danish films of that time. But the image does show a lot of innovation. The shots are often taken in medium close in contrast to the theatrical overall shots that were the norm for the film d’Art. The editing is flashy and Griffith cuts from full to medium close and back again as the movement continues. We see this, for example, when Lilian says goodbye. What is striking is the frequent use of cross-cutting. We see this cutting back and forth between the bedroom and the room where Payne is celebrating with his friends and between the violinist and the bridal couple (in part 4). But in part 2, Griffith also shows up to four parallel actions: the mother returning from the beach, the son playing with the gun, the second son walking home, and the boy seeking help from the sheriff.

The ending is pathetic and moralizing. Griffith advocates the taming of carnal lust, but had relationships with most of his actresses. In part 1, Lilian Gish is angelic, but now we see her ascend to heaven completely as an angel. Such a high-flown ending is characteristic of Griffith: we also see it in ‘Birth of a Nation’.