Advertising for D.W. Griffith's 'The Lonedale Operator (1911)' proudly exclaimed the words "This is without doubt the most thrilling picture ever produced!" Well, it probably wasn't, but the marketing firms have to earn their commissions somehow. Though it is often celebrated for its pioneering use of editing and suspense, this 17-minute Biograph is not all that different in style from Edwin S. Porter's 'The Great Train Robbery (1903),' which I can certainly remember being even more exciting than this, though perhaps hindsight has clouded my memory. By 1911, Griffith had been experimenting with cross-cutting for several years – notably, in 'A Corner in Wheat (1909)' for thematic effect, and in 'The Sealed Room (1909)' for some excellent suspense. Filmed over four days in late January and early February, 1911, 'The Lonedale Operator' doesn't quite live up to its reputation as "the most thrilling picture ever produced," but it does have its charms. Furthermore, by cutting rhythmically between the trapped heroine, her two assailants and her eventual rescuers, Griffith manages to keep the tempo tense.<br /><br />Fifteen-year-old Blanche Sweet plays the daughter of a train station operator, who takes her father's place when he falls ill. Unlike many of Griffith's other leading women, such as Mary Pickford and Lilian Gish, who were generally innocent and helpless souls, Sweet plays her character with strength and conviction. Even when accosted by two men who could easily overpower her, she uses her resourcefulness to outwit the two rather dim-witted thugs, holding them off for just long enough to accommodate the arrival of her rescuer and male suitor (Francis J. Grandon). Of course, no woman could be expected to endure such an ordeal without responding in the appropriate fashion, and, as all heroines do under stress, Sweet takes the opportunity to pass out for a period of time. A little tame by today's standards, and perhaps too brief to produce the maximum level of excitement, this is nonetheless an interesting and likable short film. As for Griffith, he apparently liked 'The Lonedale Operator' so much that he promptly remade it the following year, as 'The Girl and Her Trust (1912).'