His Trust Fulfilled

D. W. Griffith's sequel to His Trust is so outdated that most modern audiences fail completely to connect with it on any level. Personally, I struggle to see why all those people who complain about it's racism are so incapable of understanding and reviewing it as a product of its time. A poor film by Griffith's standards.

This sequel to "His Trust" has some good moments, but it could have been better. It probably works better as a statement of some of D.W. Griffith's personal perspectives than it does as a movie. The story is worthwhile in itself, though - it just would have benefited from more subtlety and from less simplistic characters.

In "His Trust Fulfilled", the faithful George does everything possible to fulfill his promise to his former 'owner', even when it leads him into great personal difficulties. This idea seems to have been a favorite with Griffith, and indeed one of his best short features, "The Girl And Her Trust", featured a very similar idea, but in a different and more contemporary setting.

The story really has some potential, and there are some moments when it seems about to become quite moving. But, unfortunately, the story too often goes for quick, simple resolutions of problems, and on more than one occasion it stretches the portrayal of George past the point of credibility.

Sometimes when film-makers feel too passionately about their material, they push too hard and make it less believable rather than more so, and that could be the case here. It's still probably worth seeing if you are interested in silent dramas and/or cinema history, but a slightly different approach could have made it a much better movie.

Sequels are important in today's movie industry: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings to name just a few. Many, if not most sequels are money monster machines in today's theaters. Cinema's first sequel was released in January 1911 in Biograph Studio's "His Trust Fulfilled." There is some debate whether this short 15-minute film can qualify as a true sequel since it's not a feature movie. But those who defend their application to the term for this particular movie have a strong position.

"His Trust Fulfilled" is unlike a serial or a movie series in that it continues the storyline introduced in "His Trust" by referring to events in the first movie. Although not a "feature" film sequel, this second movie does conclude the plot.

D. W. Griffith, always looking to move forward from the industry's short one-reelers, directed a two-reeler called "His Trust." Biograph executives didn't think audiences in the nickelodeon theaters had the attention span to sit through 30 minutes of a movie. Plus they felt they could double the profits by splitting Griffith's film by creating two movies and charge separate admissions to see the entire plot unfold.

Griffith would have to wait a full four years before he got his wish to produce a full-length two-hour movie. In "His Trust," he introduces a slave who, during the Civil War, honors the wish of the plantation owner who goes off to war that he promises to protect the owner's family in case he dies--which he does. Griffith, in metaphoric terms, shows how the whites in the post war South badly treated the freed slaves. George, the ex-slave, sacrifices everything to provide for the family while the whites portrayed here are an apathetic group who act callous towards the family whose patriarch died for "The Lost Cause."

Wonderful sequel is better than the original. Continuing where the first movie left half (it's regarded as both a sequel and the second half of the story), George takes care of the daughter after her mother suffers a heart attack. Acting is not on calibur par, but it still succeeds.

This sequel to D.W. Griffith's "His Trust" (1911) picks up right where the previous film left off - loyal slave Wilfred Lucas (as George) continues to be the faithful and devoted servant to his Master's family. Despite the Emancipation Proclamation, he remains slavishly devoted. He supports the ailing Claire McDowell (Mrs. Foster), and "The Little Orphan" as she grows from Gladys Egan into Dorothy West. When money runs out, he fights to avoid the temptation to steal. Ms. West is his ward until she weds a wealthy suitor. The newlyweds hardly seem grateful, as they run off to leave old slave George hobbling back to his shack, in rags! - but, he is content, with "His Trust Fulfilled".

* His Trust Fulfilled (1/19/11) D.W. Griffith ~ Wilfred Lucas, Dorothy West, Claire McDowell