Home, Sweet Home

The idea of joining together four different narratives with the theme of "Home, Sweet Home" works fairly well in this early full-length D.W. Griffith feature. The account of composer John Howard Payne's own life is interesting for the way that it puts his well-known song in context. The other three stories vary in quality, but all are at least worth seeing. The format seems to have been a hedge against the possibility that releasing the whole thing as one picture might be unsuccessful. But Griffith and others would soon make better use of the multiple narrative idea, making this feature of some interest historically.

Of the three fictional stories, one is mostly routine (the young married couple), one is pretty good (the young man heading out west), and one is somewhat interesting but heavy-handed and unconvincing (the two brothers). All of them are similar to familiar kinds of one-reel dramas from the era. None of the stories are particularly memorable, but they're not bad either. As a whole, the idea and the material are good enough to make it worth watching.