''The Charge of the Gauchos'' (Argentine title: ''Una nueva y gloriosa nación'') is a 1928 American-Argentine silent

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

directed by Albert H. Kelley and starring Francis X. Bushman, Jacqueline Logan and

Guido Trento Guido Trento (June 21, 1892 – July 31, 1957) was an Italian stage and film actor. Career Trento appeared in over seventy films during his career, mainly in Italy during the silent era. In 1922 he appeared in Fox's Italian-shot historical epic ...

. Bushman plays

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...

, one of the leaders of the 1810

May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...

. The film's

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

title refers to a line from the

Argentine national anthem The "Argentine National Anthem" ( es, Himno Nacional Argentino) is the national anthem of Argentina. Its lyrics were written by the Buenos Aires-born politician Vicente López y Planes and the music was composed by the Spanish musician Blas P ...

. It was made as a patriotic endeavor designed to boost the small Argentine film industry, but with enough action and romance to appeal to international audiences particularly in the UK and the United States. The film is also titled ''The Beautiful Spy''.

Plot

General Manuel Belgrano (Bushman) is leading a military campaign against Spanish rule. His sweetheart, Monica (Logan), the daughter of a Spanish loyalist, is acting as a spy and supplying information. Monica is captured and sentenced to be executed. Belgrano has to rally his supporters to free her.

Cast

* Francis X. Bushman as

* Jacqueline Logan as Monica Salazar *

as Monteros * Paul Ellis as Balcarce *

Henry Kolker Joseph Henry Kolker (November 13, 1874 ome sources 1870– July 15, 1947) was an American stage and film actor and director. Early years Kolker was born in Quincy, Illinois. Career Kolker, like fellow actors Richard Bennett and Robert Wa ...

as Viceroy Cisneros *

Charles Hill Mailes Charles Hill Mailes (25 May 1870 – 17 February 1937) was a Canadian actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1870, Mailes appeared in 290 films between 1909 and 1935. He married the actress Claire McDowell ...

as Saavedra * Jack Hopkins as Lezica *

Charles K. French Charles K. French (born Charles Ekrauss French or Charles E. Krauss; January 17, 1860 – August 2, 1952) was an American film actor, screenwriter and director who appeared in more than 240 films between 1909 and 1945. Biography French was ...

as Salazar *

Olive Hasbrouck Olive Hasbrouck (1907–1976) was an American film actress of the silent era. Hasbrouck and her mother moved from Boise to Hollywood, where Hasbrouck attended Hollywood High School. She began working in films as an extra at Universal City. When ...

as Mariana *

Mathilde Comont Mathilde Comont (9 September 1886 – 21 June 1938), credited also as Mathilda Caumont, was a French-born American actress, primarily of the silent era. Biography Born in Bordeaux, she appeared in films in her native country, particularly ...

as Aunt Rosita *

Jack Ponder Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

as George Gordon *

Lige Conley Lige Conley (born Elijah Crommie; December 5, 1897 – December 11, 1937) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 140 films between 1915 and 1938. Biography As Lige Crommie, the curly-haired young comedian joined the stock ...

as Gómez *

Gino Corrado Gino Corrado (born Gino Liserani; 9 February 1893 – 23 December 1982) was an Italian-born film actor."Obituaries." '' Variety'' (Archive: 1905-2000); Los Angeles. Vol. 309, Iss. 10, (Jan 5, 1983): 78-79. Via Proquest. He appeared in more ...

Moreno Moreno may refer to: Places Argentina *Moreno (Buenos Aires Metro), a station on Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro *Moreno, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina * Moreno Department, a depatnent of Santiago del Estero Province, ...

Frank Hagney Frank Sidney Hagney (20 March 1884 – 25 June 1973) was an Australian actor. He is known for his work on '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), ''Ride Him, Cowboy'' (1932) and '' The Sea Beast'' (1926). Early and career Born in Sydney, New So ...

as Goyeneche *

Otto Hoffman Otto F. Hoffman (May 2, 1879 – June 23, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer. Hoffman's Broadway credit ...

as Balcarce's Father *

Margaret McWade Margaret McWade (born Margaret May Fish; September 3, 1871 – April 1, 1956) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career in vaudeville in the early 1890s. Her most memorable role was as one of The Pixilated Sisters, a comedic ...

as Balcarce's Mother * James Gordon as Bishop * Serge Tatarski as Castelli *

Henry Hebert Henry Herbert (c. 1879 – 20 February 1947) was an English film, stage actor and producer, who became well known in the United States. Biography Herbert appears to have commenced his early career with Ben Greet's Company, and with Sir Fran ...

as Martin Rodriguez *

Harry Semels Harry Semels (November 20, 1887 – March 2, 1946) was an American film actor. He appeared in over 315 film between 1917 and 1946. Career Semels appeared in his first film in 1917. He began to achieve fame after arriving at Columbia Pictu ...

as Beruti *

Elmer Dewey Elmer Dewey was an actor in silent films. He was also known as Dan Danilo. Filmography *'' Girls Don't Gamble'' (1921) as Stanley Marr *''Bring Him In'' (1921) as Baptiste *''Taking Chances'' (1922) as José Borquez *'' The Escape'' (1926) as Sila ...

as French * Curt Furburg as Patriot

Production

1929 - Cameo Theaer Ad - 13 Mar MC - Allentown PA

The Spanish-born Argentine producer Julián Ajuria was unhappy with previous representations of Argentina in Hollywood films. After failing to secure Hollywood backing for his project, he raised the finances elsewhere but decided to shoot in North America with a largely American cast in order to boost the film's chances of a good release there. Bushman had been a major star during the silent era, although his career was starting to decline. Ajuria went to great lengths to recreate authentic costumes and settings of the period. During its production, the film was criticized by Argentine newspapers who felt that it would be another Hollywood-style retelling of Argentina's history, but these attitudes began to change once preview screenings were held.

Release

The film premiered on March 10, 1928 at the Cervantes Theatre in Buenos Aires. It went on release in the United States in September the same year,

distributed Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

by FBO which shortly afterwards merged into the major RKO Pictures. The running time of the film was significantly cut down, and it was generally shown as part of a

double bill The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

. It was not successful, partly due to the arrival of

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' b ...

which made silent films noncommercial. However, in Argentina it was exceptionally popular, and remained in release for two whole years. It was the most popular silent film ever released in the country. Ajuria's hope that it would stimulate the creation of an Argentinian film industry, but this not immediately happen.Finkielman p.84-85 It was for many years considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

, until its rediscovery and screening in 2013.

References

Bibliography

* Finkielman, Jorge. ''The Film Industry in Argentina: An Illustrated Cultural History''. McFarland, 2003.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charge Of The Gauchos, The 1928 films 1920s historical drama films American historical drama films American silent feature films 1920s Spanish-language films Argentine historical drama films Argentine silent feature films Films directed by Albert H. Kelley Films set in Argentina Films set in the 1810s RKO Pictures films Film Booking Offices of America films American black-and-white films 1920s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films Rediscovered Argentine films 1920s English-language films 1920s multilingual films American multilingual films Argentine multilingual films 1920s American films Silent American drama films