His Trust Fulfilled

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

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.

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."

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.

Five stars. I'm being generous. But that's all I can muster for a film in which the only thing I can find that's praise-worthy is the acting of a white guy in black-face. Because, other than Wilfred Lucas's performance, this is just ghastly. The rest of the "acting" is rubbish, even for silent-era acting. The story is dreadful, from any sort of ethical standpoint. It doesn't even have the cool pyrotechnics that His Trust did. It's just a tale of a man who sacrifices everything he has for the daughter of his former owners. Who doesn't understand this, and who views him as something like a family pet.

Something I've noticed, while watching this collection of Griffith's Civil War shorts, is that they were made before he had figured out that it's better not to break the line. These films are full of scenes in which someone approaches the door of a house, coming from (say) the left, and is then seen entering the house on the right. I've seen enough of Griffith's work that I can see the patterns of the evolution of film-making craft. This is one it looks like he didn't figure out until after 1911. But, unless you are really interested in watching that sort of technical evolution take place, you can take a pass on this one. 7 February 2025.