''We Americans'' is a 1928 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Edward Sloman Edward Sloman (19 July 1883, London - 29 September 1972, Woodland Hills, California) was an England, English silent film Film director, director, actor, screenwriter and radio broadcaster. He directed over 100 films and starred in over 30 fi ...

and starring

George Sidney George Sidney (October 4, 1916May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His work includes cult classics '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) and '' Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). With an extensive back ...

, Patsy Ruth Miller, and

George J. Lewis George J. Lewis (December 10, 1903December 8, 1995) was a Mexican-born actor who appeared in many films and eventually TV series from the 1920s through the 1960s, usually specializing in westerns. He is probably best known for playing Don Aleja ...

. A young

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in American frontier, Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers ...

plays an early small role as Pat O'Dougal.

Plot

Two young couples try to cross the mixed ethnic divide in America, something which is only resolved when

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

reveals the truth of American society's

melting pot A melting pot is a Monoculturalism, monocultural metaphor for a wiktionary:heterogeneous, heterogeneous society becoming more wiktionary:homogeneous, homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative bei ...

Cast

as Mr. Levine * Patsy Ruth Miller as Beth Levine *

as Phil Levine * Eddie Phillips as Pete Albertini * Beryl Mercer as Mrs. Levine * John Boles as Hugh Bradleigh *

Albert Gran Albert Gran (August 4, 1862 – December 16, 1932) was a Norwegian-born American stage and film actor. He is most associated with his appearance in drama and light comedy films. Biography Albert Gran was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the s ...

as Mr. Schmidt * Michael Visaroff as Mr. Albertini * Kathlyn Williams as Mrs. Bradleigh *

Edward Martindel Edward Martindel (July 8, 1876 – May 4, 1955) was an American stage and film actor who appeared on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1946. Born in Hamilton, Ohio, he was the son of Dr. and Mrs. Frank ...

as Mr. Bradleigh * Josephine Dunn as Helen Bradleigh * Daisy Belmore as Mrs. Schmidt * Rosita Marstini as Mrs. Albertini *

as Pat O'Dougal * Flora Bramley as Sara Schmidt *

John Bleifer John Melvin Bleifer (July 26, 1901 – January 24, 1992) was an American actor whose career began at the end of the silent film era, and lasted through the mid-1980s. He appeared in feature films and film serials, and in a number of televis ...

as Korn

Production

Producer Carl Laemmle Jr. purchased the film rights to the play ''We Americans'' in support of the efforts of Will H. Hays, head of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, to further the more rapid

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

of immigrants within the United States. Hays organized a group of experts to advise director Sloman on the film. The initial outline for the film had immigrants from Russia settling in the United States but maintaining their native language and customs, while their children became assimilated through attended American high school, with the resulting family conflict.

Preservation

With no prints of ''We Americans'' located in any film archives,Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''We Americans''
/ref> it is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

References

Bibliography

* Erens, Patricia (1984).'' The Jew in American Cinema''.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

. * Munden, Kenneth White (1997). ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press.

External links

* 1928 films 1928 drama films 1920s English-language films American silent feature films Silent American drama films Films directed by Edward Sloman American black-and-white films Universal Pictures films 1920s American films English-language drama films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub