D.W. Griffith's most infamous film was "Birth of a Nation". Why was it so famous for all the wrong reasons? Because this Southern director re-wrote history and in this film showed the South to be the victim in the Civil War and its aftermath--a victim of 'uppity' blacks intent on defiling white women as well as evil Yankees. Well, while "Swords and Hearts" isn't quite this bad (and doesn't feature the KKK as the heroes!), it does have many elements you'd later see in "Birth of a Nation". Slavery in this film is a good thing and blacks adore their masters. And, interestingly, the black men are played by whites in black makeup! This is possibly because no black would agree to work on such absurd projects! Still, in spite of all this, "Swords and Hearts" is a pretty good film.
The film begins with rich Master Hugh going off to fight for his beloved South in the Civil War. He's in love with Miss Irene--not realizing that the poor girl, Jenny, also loves him. What he also doesn't know is that Jenny nearly gets herself killed saving his life. Later, when the war is over, Irene proves to be evil, as she now has a Yankee boyfriend (Oh, my!!). And, Hugh finally realizes that Jenny is one hot tamale.
Well acted and with some nice action, if you can ignore all the happy 'blacks' and accept the movie on its own terms, you'll likely enjoy it.