In the Border States is one of the earlier occasions on which DW Griffith dealt with the Civil War, although unlike so many of his battle films from the Biograph period, this one is less about action and more significant for the acting, characterisation and handling of emotion.The opening couple of shots are perfect examples of Griffith's economy of expression. There is no opening title to set the scene – all you need is that first shot of the wife, children and younger man in uniform, and you immediately know this is a close-knit family, and the father is a Union officer. The second shot – the army column advancing round the corner, implies that the father will soon have to leave for the battle lines. The following shots of the family's varying reactions are particularly complex and carefully composed. Of extra note is the way Griffith draws our attention to young Gladys Egan by twice placing her in the centre of the frame, putting her in a darker coloured dress and putting her actions slightly out of synch with her sisters. This is a vast improvement on many earlier Griffith shorts, in which many characters tend to look and act the same.The action sequences are fairly brief. In a chase scene, there is a good selection of location shots, and some tense cross-cutting. There is one moment which looks very jarring to us today, and that is a mismatch between the directions people travel between shots. Charles West leaves one shot left to right, then enters the next frame right to left, which looks a little odd. To confuse things even more, one of the pursuing confederates fires his gun towards screen-right, and we then cut to West dodging the bullet from screen-right, as if he was facing the same way rather than being opposite. It was actually Charlie Chaplin who really addressed this problem of mismatching shots, and you can see the difference when he began directing his own pictures at Keystone.The culmination of all this is a by-now familiar claustrophobic climax, in which the hero is trapped inside a room while the door is battered down. It's a fairly well constructed one, with several different strands adding extra tension – secret dispatches that must be burned, a large group of soldiers on their way. There's also a great example of how Griffith punctuates action when the little girl fires her father's gun at the exact moment Henry Walthall breaks down the door. The gunshot serves no purpose to the story, since she misses, but it really gives the moment an extra impact.In the Border States demonstrates, in a single film, the rather ambiguous attitude Griffith had towards the war. He shows heroism and nobility exists on both sides, and even draws parallels between the experiences of West, the Union officer, and Walthall, the confederate. This even-handedness, and occasional self-contradiction runs all through Griffith's work.

During the Civil War, there were many cases of divided loyalties; obviously, many occurred "In the Border States", where North met South by happenstance of geography. From the border, young father Owen Moore goes off to join the Union Army. Shortly, Confederate soldier Henry B. Walthall, separated from his regimen, wanders onto the enemy's property, desperate for water; he finds a supply where the Unionist's young daughter Gladys Egan sits. When the Yankee soldiers track him down, Little Gladys innocently helps the Confederate hide. Later, when he returns to kill her father, the little girl's kindness is remembered. A sweet, small story from director D.W. Griffith. Location footage and humanity are lovingly displayed. ***** In the Border States (6/13/10) D.W. Griffith ~ Henry B. Walthall, Owen Moore, Gladys Egan

"In the Border States" is one of D.W. Griffith's Civil War shorts. Although filmed in the wilds of New Jersey (Delaware Water Gap), from the title the likely intended setting is western Maryland, West Virginia, or eastern Kentucky. A border state would have sent units to both armies but this short features the home of a departing union soldier. Shortly after he leaves with his regiment an unarmed Condederate arrives at the soldier's house and his youngest daughter (played by Gladys Egan-Mary Pickford has a smaller part as the older daughter) hides him from a Yankee patrol. He tries to kiss her in appreciation but the little girl is too patriotic to allow this. A few days later her wounded father stumbles home pursued by a Confederate patrol. The Confederate she saved is detailed to search the house and he returns the favor by not turning in her father. The little girl again refuses his kiss but they compromise and salute each other.This is a cute little home front story in the standard silent film style of acting, much more like stage acting than acting for the camera. Some of the scenes are captioned but it is largely unnecessary because you can follow the pantomime without any trouble. Griffith inserts a couple of then revolutionary edits (match cuts) into the film, as actors are going though a door and then coming into the room on the other side. Watch for one of the first continuity problems ever, as a solder with two chevrons on his sleeves goes into the house and in the cut to him from inside he is wearing a uniform with no chevrons. Griffith manages to incorporate some nice scenery into a couple exterior shots that are staged to take advantage of the scenic background. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This is an excellent short drama that leaves a memorable impression of the human side of war, and that makes good points about the conflict between the perceived duty to one's nation and one's higher duty to humanity. The story is about a father who leaves to fight for the Union in the Civil War, while in his absence his family also gets caught up in the terrors of the war. The plot is interesting, eventful, and thought-provoking. Given what the war was like "In The Border States", it is also quite plausible.Methods of filming at the time were very limited, with each scene using a completely fixed camera field of vision, in which all the actors had to stay for the duration of the scene. Griffith makes up for that at times with some nicely planned shots. There is a good one when the father heads off to join his unit, showing part of the town and its townspeople in the background. There is another good one later, showing a sentry on a hill with a nice view of a river beneath the hill.This is a fine film to take a look at for those interested in the history of these very old movies.