''America'', also called ''Love and Sacrifice'', is a 1924 American silent historical war

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

. It describes the heroic story of the events during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, in which filmmaker D. W. Griffith created a film adaptation of

Robert W. Chambers Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled '' The King in Yellow'', published in 1895. Life Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, t ...

' 1905 novel ''The Reckoning''. The plot mainly centers itself on the Northern theatre of the war in New York, with romance spliced into the individual movie scenes.

Plot

The story shifts between the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in Northern New York, and the colonial patriots in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Much later in the film in New York, a little remembered sub-plot takes place. British Captain Walter Butler ( Lionel Barrymore), a ruthless Loyalist, leads the Iroquois Native Americans in viciously barraging attacks against the settlers, including the massacre of women and children, who are siding with the Revolution. In

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...

, Nathan Holden ( Neil Hamilton) works as an express rider and minute man for the Boston Committee of Public Safety. At a mission to deliver a dispatch to the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

, he meets Nancy Montague (

Carol Dempster Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent film era. She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with D. W. Griffith extensively. Early years Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dempster was ...

) and falls in love with her, but her father Justice Montague (Erville Alderson), a Loyalist judge, is not impressed with the rider. Captain Butler tries unsuccessfully to court Nancy. Nathan and Nancy declare that regardless of which side he fights for, they will always love each other. While visiting in Massachusetts, Justice Montague is accidentally shot by Nathan Holden. Nancy Montague's brother, Charles Montague (

Charles Emmett Mack Charles Emmett Mack (November 25, 1900 – March 17, 1927), was an American film actor during the silent film era. He appeared in 17 films between 1916 and 1927. Biography Born Charles Emmett McNerney in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to an Irish f ...

), is influenced by George Washington's heroism and decides that he wants to support the colonists. However, he dies shortly after being wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Nancy hides the truth from her father when she tells him that her brother died fighting for the crown. Nancy and her father travel to Mohawk Valley New York to the home of her Uncle Ashleigh Montague while Holden visits

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

( Arthur Dewey) at

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the ...

. He gets sent to New York with Morgan's raiders to settle down the Native American attacks up north. Butler occupies the Montague estate. His men kill Montague's brother and he arrests Montague and takes Nancy prisoner. Holden arrives to spy on Butler and overhears his plans for a massacre attack. He leaves to sound the alarm, reluctantly leaving Nancy behind with Butler. Butler plans to force himself on Nancy, but the Native Americans decide to attack immediately and Butler is compelled to join them. Nancy escapes when Butler leaves for the battle, and she and Montague reach the fort safely before the attack. The attackers mount ruthless attack on the fort, ultimately breaching the walls and killing many settlers. The Morgan's raiders arrive and liberate the fort, saving the lives of Montague and Nancy. A separate group of militia and Native Americans chase down and kill Butler, putting a stop to his plan. Montague believes in Holden's worth, and allows him and Nancy to be together. The film concludes with the surrender of

General Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

at the Battle of Yorktown and the presidential inauguration of George Washington.

Cast

Production

In 1923, the Daughters of the American Revolution petitioned Motion Picture Production Association President Will H. Hays to make a historical epic about the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, and Hays convinced D.W. Griffith to direct the film. Griffith prepared for the film by visiting historic battlefields and meeting with historical societies such as the DAR, the Sons of the Revolution, the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, the New York Public Library, the

Lexington Historical Society The Lexington Historical Society, founded in 1886 in Lexington, Massachusetts, preserves and celebrates Lexington's history, with a special emphasis on the town's important role in the beginning of the American Revolution. The Society presents e ...

, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, and the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Casting

Griffith used many popular movie actors at the time, but he felt that there was no need for them to play the roles in his films, and could not afford most of them anyway, after they began to consume nearly all of his money in expensive productions. As a result, Lillian Gish, who acted in a well known film of his, ''

Orphans of the Storm ''Orphans of the Storm'' is a 1921 American silent drama film by D. W. Griffith set in late-18th-century France, before and during the French Revolution. The last Griffith film to feature both Lillian and Dorothy Gish, it was a commercial failu ...

'', departed him after he could not pay any more for her services, and left him with Carol Dempster, who had far less appeal than Gish. She showed very little on-camera allure with Neil Hamilton, and only good with reaction scenes and had limited facial expressions. Additionally

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

personnel were used as extras.

Filming

Filming took place at Richmond, Virginia and

Somers, New York Somers is a town located in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 20,434. The nearby Metro-North Commuter Railroad provides service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan with ...

. During filming, a soldier's arm was blown off. As Charles Emmett Mack recalled, "Neil Hamilton and I went to neighboring towns and raised a fund for him—I doing a song and dance and Neil collecting a coin."

Reception

Box office

The film was screened to President Calvin Coolidge before its release, and the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

used it for recruitment purposes. However, ''America'' did not receive as large an audience as Griffith's previous films did. It is possible that the director had trouble differentiating between the colonists and British, since they both held origins to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. The audience is not clearly shown who are the antagonists and the protagonists. In addition, the movie's time frame was not rational. The film's time period made for a very long romance for Nancy and Holden before they could actually be together, since the first scenes were in 1775, but concluded in 1789. Its failure was perplexing, despite heavy promotion, considering Griffith spent over a million dollars on the production.

Criticism

The film's climax was very original and thrilling, as in most other Griffith films, complete with action and exciting stunts in the rescue scenes. However, film critics described the motion picture as lacking in modernity of the time. The movie was unlike the other films of the time, at its original release. The story did not quite fit together as a whole and the order of which scenes were presented in was very confusing to follow, but was rather effective in individual scenes. The usage of title captions was also criticized. There would be a block of text explaining motifs and character relationships rather than having the characters display them through their acting, which is not made clear on screen. The film was not completely useless to Griffith, but he was still in debt with massive amounts of money and did not receive that boost of attention he was hoping for.

References

External links

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America
part 1) available for free download fro
Internet ArchiveAmerica
part 2) available for free download fro
Internet Archive
{{Robert W. Chambers 1924 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1924 romantic drama films Films directed by D. W. Griffith Films shot in Massachusetts Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in Virginia American Revolutionary War films Films based on American novels Films based on historical novels Films based on works by Robert W. Chambers American historical romance films 1924 war films American war films Cultural depictions of George Washington Cultural depictions of Thomas Jefferson Cultural depictions of George III Cultural depictions of Samuel Adams Cultural depictions of John Hancock Cultural depictions of Patrick Henry Films set in New York (state) Films set in Massachusetts Films set in Virginia Articles containing video clips 1920s American films Silent American drama films