Thanks to the efforts of a non-profit preservation organization, the films of the Thanhouser Company have been well represented on home video relative to the releases of other silent era production studios. This film, "The Marble Heart", features three of the company's most prolific stars: Marguerite Snow, Florence La Badie and would-be director James Cruze. La Badie doesn't have a part of much interest in this adaptation, although they could've further developed the love triangle to make her part more interesting; yet, the other two have rather significant roles for the two-reeler. Cruze plays a sculptor who's in love with his model played by Snow, but she doesn't reciprocate this love—she has a "marble heart" and seems only interested in wealth. It's slightly interesting to see three of the studio's talents together for one production, but the film is mostly a throwaway melodrama ripe for some overacting. And, it's made poorly, using a style where title cards tell us what happens before we see it. That was becoming dated even by 1913. It also would've been better if the film did more with its subject of art by becoming a piece of art itself.
There's an odd dream sequence where the sculptor imagines himself in Ancient Rome, with a story that's analogous to the outer narrative. Additionally, in the dream, the sculpture briefly takes on lifelike movement.
There's an odd dream sequence where the sculptor imagines himself in Ancient Rome, with a story that's analogous to the outer narrative. Additionally, in the dream, the sculpture briefly takes on lifelike movement.
