The Country Doctor is a short film from 1909. It's one of the few surviving Biograph Company films and is currently in the public domain.
The film takes place in Valley of Stillwater. There, a doctor lives with his wife and daughter. Soon the doctor's daughter falls ill, however he is torn between his family and his duty when another young girl requires his help. After he choses to help his poor neighbor, his own daughter succumbs to her illness, leaving him and his wife in mourning.
Directed by D. W. Griffith. A young Mary Pickford plays the Poor Mother's Elder Daughter.
The Country Doctor provides examples of:
- Bittersweet Ending: The Poor Mother's Sick Daughter survives her sickness, but the doctor's daughter Edith does not.
- Death of a Child: Edith quickly succumbs to her illness and dies in her mother's arms.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Near the end of the film Edith dies in her mother's arms after spending the entire film sick in bed.
- Nameless Narrative: As is the norm for films at the time, almost every character is unnamed. The exception is the doctor's daughter, Edith.
