Back to the collection

OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1291

The House with Closed Shutters

Synopsis

A frightened Civil War soldier hides at home while his sister takes his uniform and returns to battle in his place. Her death leads their mother to conceal the substitution, turning the house into a prison for the surviving son.

Watch the film ↓
Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
16:31
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · D. W. Griffith · Public domain

Cast

Behind the scenes

Biograph combined studio interiors in Manhattan with exterior filming in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The shuttered house makes the family's effort to preserve its reputation a visible part of the drama.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 16, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Audience rating

Loading ratings…