Her love is so great that she sacrifices the family cow, a pet of hers, and other farm produce so that he can go to college, but the benefaction is a secret one, and he finishes his theological studies without suspecting that she aided him.

After he becomes a minister, he cruelly consults Susie about the policy of taking a wife, and almost breaks her heart when he weds gay Bettina "Betty" Hopkins (Seymour), expecting his bride to adopt herself to his colorless life.

It is one of those extraordinary moments in the cinema.”—Film historian Paul O’Dell in Griffith and the Rise of Hollywood (1970)[7] Film historian Paul O’Dell reports that “many commentators have noted the great charm of his picture, as well as moments of deep emotional intensity.”[8] Critic James Travers of French Films.org applies a number of superlatives to True Heart Suzie, noting its “authenticity” and “realism,” and praising Lillian Gish for her naturalistic portrayal of Suzie.

[9] Though filmed concurrently with Griffith’s Broken Blossoms (1919), True Heart Susie was released after the more highly acclaimed work which also starred Lillian Gish.

Susie matures into a woman during the course of the action—a recurring Griffith theme—but when William eventually proposes she lapses uncomfortably back to her girlish coyness which dominated the beginning of the film.