THE HEART OF HUMANITY
starring Dorothy Phillips, Robert Anderson, Erich Von Stroheim
MOTION PICTURE MAGAZINE
March, 1919
The reason that I gave this war picture first place in my month's list of reviews is because, altho we have seen the same identical incidents depicted time without number, this picturization of them has a distinctly individual atmosphere which will make it interesting to the most bored audience. The story encompasses the lives of two young Canadian lovers from the time that war is declared until peace comes. They are married; the husband does his share by enlisting in the army, the wife by going with the Red Cross. It is, however, in the beautiful breadth of photographic shots of the country that director Allan Holubar has done his finest work. His handling of the battle scenes is better than most, in fact almost up to Griffith's standard. Dorothy Phillips, who is the star of the piece, does some remarkable emotional work; especially excellent is her transition from terror to insanity when attacked by a German. Later on she somewhat weakens this impression by "Lillian-Gish-ing" but soon gets back into her own strong characterization. Robert Anderson's distinct screen personality has a great deal to do with getting this piece across. He plays the part of a younger brother, but makes the small part stand out distinctly.