The Lonedale Operator

This film, nicely preserved with tints, is part of the "Treasures" 4-disc DVD set from the American Film Archives. It captures DW Griffith in the middle of his stint at American Biograph, and it demonstrates his developing skill with montage. I'm fond of Lonedale because it captures day-to-day life in a bygone era (for example, the secretary operating an early typewriter and the operation of steam locomotives).

The performances are by necessity done in broad strokes. Blanche Sweet, then a very mature-looking 15-year-old plays the story's heroine who bluffs her way out of a sticky situation.

This film is one of the highlights of the Treasures DVD set.

Wow. It's hard to believe that Miss Blanche Sweet was fifteen when she was directed by the great D.W. Griffith in this Biograph production from 1911. Blanche, at such an early age, was not only extremely mature in terms her physique and baring, she was a remarkably accomplished actress. Her naturalistic acting translates well with modern audiences (at leased with all my friends to whom I've shown this movie). This film is a good one, suspenceful and atmospheric, but it's definatly not the best of Griffith's Biographs. It ranks pretty highly with the other work of his that I've seen. It is certainly aided by Sweet's performance, and also helpful the exemplary early use of "montage" which Griffith had been putting to use in his films as early as 1909. For a peak at what a great man like Griffith was doing before he made The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916) and Way Down East (1920), this is certainly one to take a good look or two at, just to get a peak at what the future had in store for cinema history.

This D. W. Griffith short involves a young woman whose father is the telegraph operator in a relatively remote place. Her boyfriend is a railroad engineer. When she takes over the key (the telegraph key), she becomes responsible for a large payroll shipment. Unfortunately, a couple of no-goods want the money and they are going to break into the telegraph shack and steal it from her. The plots revolves around how long she can forestall these men until her engineer boyfriend can bring the train back and rescue her. There is an interesting twist that is pretty satisfying.

The Lonedale Operator, which is about a young daughter of a rail operator (not on the train, at the nearby station) and how she has to fill in for her sick father (this after an opening where she, uh, flirts with some guy or something, I'm not sure), a couple of thieves plot to steal from the train and so she has to defend herself, albeit fainting for part of the time while the train has to deal with no operator.

It gets good in the second half, when the story actually fully kicks in and Blanche Sweet's fill-in train operator has to fend off a couple of thieves trying to break in (once again with Griffith, like the Lonely Villa and some other shorts he did with this theme of invasion). Sweet's wonderful, but the pacing felt off for me. Not one of the best nor worst, The Lonedale Operator, which features some fine color-tinting for some shots, is OKAY.

If you were curious about train stations circa 1911, then "The Lonedale Operator" gives us a glimpse. "The Lonedale Operator" had love, technology, crime, and heroism.

The two lovebirds and stars were the Operator's Daughter (Blanche Sweet) and the Engineer (Francis J. Grandon). The Operator's Daughter had to take over operating duties for her sick father. Operating a train station, as was shown in this movie, was sending and receiving telegraphs and exchanging incoming and outgoing packages with the train.

The Operator's Daughter found herself in trouble when two thieves had her trapped and were attempting to break in and steal payroll money from the mining company. It was suspense and drama in the Lonedale train station.

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