These Eight Pages of Material Gan Be Used to Make Up Your Own
Program Or Used As Advertising Copy
D. W. GRIFFITH
Presents
“AMERICA”
Story and Titles by Robert W. Chambers
Historical Arrangement by John L. E. Pell
Nathan Holden .Neil Hamilton
Justice Montague .Erville Alderson
Mtss Nancy Montague .Carol Dempster
Charles Philip Edward Montague .Charles Emmett Mack
Samuel Adams .Lee Beggs
John Hancock .John Dunton
King George III .Arthur Donaldson
William Pitt .Charles Bennett
Thomas Jefferson .Frank Walsh
Patrick Henry. .Frank McGlynn, Jr.
George Washington .Arthur Dewey
Captain Walter Butler .Lionel Barrymore
Sir Ashley Montague .Sidney Deane
General Gage .W. W. Jones
Paul Revere .Harry O’Neill
John Parker, Captain of Minute-Men .H. Van Bousen
Jonas Parker .James Malaidy
Captain Hare .Louis Wolheim
Chief of Mohawks, Joseph Brant .Riley Hatch
Edmund Burke .W. Rising
A Refugee Mother .Lucille La Verne
{by special courtesy)
An Old Patriot .Milton Nobles
Patriots, British, Indians, Soldiers, Farmers, etc.
Released by United Artists Corporation
OUR THANKS ARE DUE
Mr. E. B. Worthen, President of the Lexington Historical Society.
G. Watson James, Jr., National' Historian, Sons of the Revolution.
Charles K. Bolton, President, Boston Athenaeum, and Senior
Warden, Old North, Church.
Secretary of War Johnj W. Weeks
Brig. Gen. Sir Percy Sykes.
Dr. J. A. C. Chandler, President, College of William and Mary.
Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin, Professor, College of William and Mary.
W. Jordan, Curator, Independence Hall, Philadelphia.
W. Herbert Burk, D.D., Valley Forge Historical Society.
And then later, Nancy, with her father, escapes to her Uncle’s
home in Northern New York, and there is the great sacrifice;
she puts away the rich garments of the past, and takes on the
sweetest robes of all, the perfumed, glorious robes of service.
Here also continues our love story, a silver thread of romance
running through that great north country from the upper Hud¬
son through Pennsylvania; where were the granaries of Wash¬
ington’s armies.
The people of the southern states endured much, but the
people of the Northland lived and worked and struggled through
the war in constant fear of death that hovered in every wood and
covert. Through all this vast country, towns and districts were
destroyed with fire and sword in the hands of Tories, Hessians
and regulars. With the visitations of the enemy death, torture,
burning at the stake, mutilations and horrors that cannot even
be suggested, were inflicted upon men, women and children,
time and time again; and, with tremendous courage, the people
rebuilt their homes, restored their fields, only to have them de¬
stroyed again.
One may ask why Washington crossing the Delaware is not
shown. Our story deals with the sacrifices made to give us our
institutions today. In crossing the Delaware, Washington lost
but two men. The American forces that held the North lost
ten thousand; suffered at the hands of the Tories and Indians
unmentionable tortures. With everyman’s scalp worth seven
dollars then (more than $100 by comparison today), death of
the Americans meant commercial success as well as a triumph with
arms. And the women, for whose scalps no bounty was offered,
were oftentimes burned in their homes.
These unknown heroes along America’s border from Fort Pitt,
Pennsylvania, to her eastern boundaries! These brave, loyal
hearts that held this great stretch of country against America’s
enemies, Tories, Hessians, Indians and regulars!
Thousands gave their lives: These heroes, unlike Paul Revere,
had no glorious Longfellow to sing their song, and the historians
of the Revolution were with the southern armies. Unknown, un¬
sung, they lie on this vast plain, sacrificed on this great altar.
Over them let us drop one tear from a grateful heart; over them
one sigh of compassion; over them at least one little laurel spray
for remembrance.
To this Northland Washington sends Nathan Holden, now a
captain in. Morgan’s Riflemen, the most famous fighting unit of
the Americans. They wear " Liberty or Death” upon their
breasts.
THE ROMANCE
The romance develops between Nathan Holden, an express
rider of Massachusetts and Nancy Montague of Virginia. She
belongs to one of the world’s most famous families of the nobility
directly descended from Charles, Earl of Halifax. ' The Montague
house and estates are the show place of America; hundreds of
slaves serving the little principality; the Montagues own ships
sailing the seas.
When presented at court in London, little Nancy is the sensa¬
tion of the season, a tantalizing little beauty. From the letters
written by the great ladies concerning Miss Nancy’s presenta¬
tion, comes a murmur, gentle but fragrant, of the daintiness of
her taste in perfume and lingerie. Other letters ‘comment on
the whimsical way she used to look at George Washington.
Nathan is the champion wrestler and athlete of Massachusetts;
a daring horseman; and, though poor, of good family and a
graduate of Harvard. The passionate tenderness of his poetry,
still in existence, reflects in the sombre beauty of his smouldering
eyes.
Holden first meets Nancy in Virginia. He thrills at the first
sight—a startling vision with her silk-clad ankles fluttering be¬
neath her dainty skirt; a tender vision in her innocence and
graceful beauty—and thinks to touch her would be more than
youth could endure. He writes that he sets her as a thing apart,
Perhaps it is the great difference in their stations.
Strangely enough, they meet later when the Montagues, being
Loyalists, go North to consult with the King’s people about re¬
sisting the rebels at Lexington, arriving on the very night Paul
Revere sets the world afire by his mad ride.
It is here Nancy puts her girlhood aside; for it is here her
lover is forced to break her heart.
As the poet says: “Each man kills the thing he loves: Let this
by all be heard. The brave man does it with a sword; the
coward with a word.”
It is here also that Nancy’s brother, though of a family of
Loyalists, embraces the American cause.
Nancy, like her mother, is known for the passionate tender¬
ness of her devotion to her brother. Though a dandy, he is a
dangerous swordsman, expert marksman and brave as men can
be. Risking all, her brother embraces the cause of Freedom,
the symbol of sacrifices of the many that freedom might not die
from the face of the earth.
Here Nathan again meets Nancy, not in dramatic devices,
but in incidents which actually occur according to the authentic
reports of the military records.
Nancy is caught with the other refugees at Fort Sacrifice, the
symbol of America. America’s enemies are pounding at the
gate. Nancy is threatened in a whirlpool of terror, death, de -
struction, swirling around the Fort.
An American courier takes this news to young Holden and
his Morgan’s Riflemen. We must thrill with them when they
receive this news, and when Nathan goes with his men to save
the. Fort, grander in their homespun than knights in armor and
swifter than Fate in their retribution.
This picture play is merely an attempt to suggest in a small
way the great sacrifice made by our forefathers that America
might become a free and independent nation.
It is in no sense an attempt to portray the story of the Revo¬
lutionary War; as that story is too tremendous to be told fully
by many picture plays, much less by one.
No efforts have been spared to have the historical incidents
as correct as possible. The villages of Lexington and Concord
were designed from the Doolittle drawings, and descriptions
given by writers of the day.
In the conflict at Lexington and Concord Bridge, despite the
numbers engaged, our picture shows the exact number killed.
The battle lines at Lexington are exact reproductions of the
original as to numbers—800 British against 77 Americans. -
The details of Paul Revere’s ride are historical incidents and
not dramatic conveniences. When pursued by British horsemen,
he outrode them by hurdling fence and gate cross-country, finally
losing them in a quagmire.
Replicas of Paul Revere’s lantern were actually hung in Old
North Church for the signals.
The drum used by the Minute Men is the original one used at
the Battle of Lexington. Several flint-lock guns carried in the
scene were actually used in that strife, and pistols shown are
those recovered from Maj. Pitcairn’s horse, after being aban¬
doned when injured.
Buckman’s Tavern is an exact reproduction, and the Clark
home is an actual photograph of the original.
As for Walter Butler, symbol of other leaders in the battle of
autocracy against freedom, Fiske, perhaps the greatest of the
American historians, says he is the only character in all history
in whom he could find not one single redeeming trait.
Here’s an Ad that “Knocked Them Gold”
you that have suffered—
YOU that have suffered for years—a thousand.
YOU that have embittered the earth with your tears-,
YOU that have wept by the wailing walls of Jerusalem; and the cruel
nations of the earth have made you take these walls with you wher¬
ever you journey, so that your bitter tears have watered the lands of
the world, from east to west.
YOU that have found in the land of AMERICA at least a better shelter
than in any other land, not perfect; no, not perfect, but at least better
than before.
Come and see how this country that has given you shelter was made.
See how it, with its precious freedom, was gained through tears and sacrifice
and sorrow.
Come, for you will find there laughter, tremendous thrills, and you will see
the great sacrifices of the first Americans, their sorrows and triumphs,
and you will see how they wailed by their walls of mourning at Val¬
ley Forge, Lexington and Bunker Hill, and how they, the first Ameri¬
cans, arose to the tremendous heights that you have arisen to.
The country they made, they made for all.
This country is now yours as well as theirs.
You must help to keep it that the lights of freedom may not die out.
Help to keep this land of America free from intolerance, from hatred; a
refuge for all the oppressed for ever and ever; your land, the land
of all people: AMERICA! AMERICA! AMERICA!
All this you will see, all this you will feel as truth in D. W. Griffith’s play
of that name ‘AMERICA” now showing at the Forty-Fourth Street
Theatre. Matinees: 500 seats at 50c., best seats, $1.00. Evenings:
50c, $1.00 and $1.50.
Says astute Mr. Martin, Critic of the World: “Finest play ever made.”
Says Miss Harriette Underhill of the Tribune: “The finest story ever
screened.” Says Mr. Colgate Baker: “Easily the screen’s greatest
achievement.”
Mr. Griffith thinks this is a Real Ad to get Business
D. W. Griffith’s “America,” a romantic story after the style of Walter
Scott’s Ivanhoe.
The story of the sacrifice made by our forefathers during the Revolution is
romantic, inspiring and thrilling beyond description.
Through this story is interwoven a beautiful romance, Harriette Under¬
hill in the Tribune says “a great love story.”
It is also absolutely correct historically.
SEE the beginnings and causes that made necessary a great sacrifice!
SEE the gorgeous scenes in the Court of King George Ill!
SEE the old house of Burgesses in Virginia, where sat Washington,
Patrick Henry and Jefferson, the founders of our Republic!
SEE the magnificent ride of Paul Revere, said by New York Herald to
be the most thrilling scene ever filmed!
SEE the gathering of the American patriots at Lexington and Concord.
77 Americans standing against 800 British Regulars at Lexington.
SEE the magnificent Valley Forge!
SEE the surrender of Cornwallis, and the inauguration of the first Presi¬
dent of the United States!
SEE the assault on Fort Sacrifice and the rescue of the Americans
by Washington’s favorite unit, the “Liberty or Death” brigade of Morgan’s
Rifles.
By our arrangements with Messrs. Shubert this picture cannot be shown
in any other New York Theatre this season.
Now at the 44th Street Theatre Twice Daily, 2:20 and 8:20.
The Quotations From The Critics Can Well Be Used to Stimulate
Your Own Advertising Copy
AN IMPRESSION
By Frederick Landis, Famous New York Journalist
and Brother of Judge Landis
Columbus discovered America, but David Wark Griffith made
her picture. The discovery was an accident but the picture was
not an accident. Griffith knew exactly where he was going and
he arrived where he had planned— with a great result.
It is so vivid, so powerful.
It is not so much the glory of the picture, the genius of the
builder, the skill of the players, the alternating currents of
laughter and drama, the superb sequence of events, the appeal
of straight souls, the epic grandeur of a Nation’s birth, but
around it all and over it all the actual, sacred struggles of our
common Mother, America.
“The Fathers” step out of their guilded frames and draw
their swords. They put off their marble and put on flesh. It
is as if our silent benefactors enacted their struggles once again
to rebuke the slumbers of their children.
Patrick Henry’s lightning defiance flashes as it did in old
Virginia; Paul Revere, the Mercury of Independence, rides,
not only through the scattered settlements, but through your
heart as well. You thank the stately Burke, when rising in the
British Parliament, he pours a flood of eloquence against the
enlistment of Indians to help subdue the aspirations of freemen.
You pity, yet glory in the very rags of Independence.
You see Washington!
If “America” did nothing more than turn the Father of His
Country from impassive majesty into surging, indomitable pur¬
pose, its mission would be fulfilled.
You see him at Princeton, rallying his broken lines, amid a
storm of death, compelling Victory. You walk with the great
Captain.
And through it all there runs, as gentle and as soothing as
the old-fashioned song your Mother used to sing, the golden
thread of love —of love, so pure, it rebukes the libertine—of
love so constant, it silences the cynic—of love, that chaste ele¬
ment, which amid all profanation, still endures, the never-resting,
never-tiring redeemer of human life.
When the curtain falls you are a little better, a little bigger, a
little more American than ever before. Your flag is not a thing
of bunting now, but assembled from the shine of stars.
" America“ is more than a picture. It is an institution. And
it is even more: it is a resurrection —a resurrection of the finest
band of thoroughbreds who ever merged their personalities into
a state.
This living, breathing document of the sacrifice and idealism
of the men who freed America {Journal), is produced with the
sweep and fire and fine indignation that spurred our forefathers
to the signing of their declaration of independence {Sun). We
are back on Park Row after seeing it and we are still shaky
with the mightiest thrill we have ever met in the cinema {World).
Mr. Griffith has taken another audience into his hand and
moulded it into a shrieking, cheering mob {Eve. World)', with
this tremendously exciting adventure, the most exciting true
story in the world {Sun).
Here is the greatest story that has ever been put on the
screen {Tribune) ; something to be remembered, something greater
than even Griffith has ever done {Times).
With it, Mr. Griffith passes definitely into the ranks of the
immortals, and America may once more go serenely about the
development of its newest art, confident that the peer of all film
directors is one of her own {World).
Never in filmdom has there been such a spectacle as the ride
of Paul Revere {Post) ; with a crescendo of frantic intensity
{Journal) ; which you find heartshaking {News). It is the most
thrilling episode the screen has ever achieved, without an equal
for spectacular dash coupled with tremendous historic signifi¬
cance; and in every beat of this horse’s hoofs resounds the Battle
Cry of Freedom {Herald).
To the students of history, America will be an inspiration; to
the schoolboy it will be an education, and to the man ignorant
of the country’s early struggles, it will be a revelation. Film
fans, you who rave about good pictures you have seen, see
“America” and you will have something to brag about {Tele¬
gram).
We have seen many big pictures, but the writer cannot recall
once since “The Birth of a Nation” when we so much desired
to give voice to our enthusiasm {Eve. World) ; for no one can
outdo Griffith {News) ; and “America” is a masterpiece of the
screen {Sun). Columbus discovered America, but D. W. Griffith
has certainly discovered the romance in America {Eve. World).
He has woven into the picture a beautiful, but never cloying
love story acted by two young persons who deserve the highest
praise {Tribune) , and you ace moved to contemplate Nancy
Montague and Nathan Holden with a sympathy belonging to
friends {News).
A LETTER FROM MR. RUPERT HUGHES
Dear Mr. Griffith:
Your picture “America” has shaken me up and stirred me so
deeply in so many ways that I must express my profound homage
You have combined so many arts so greatly that your general¬
ship is as amazing as your infinite success with detail of every
sort.
There were so many thrills, heartbreaks and triumphs that it
is ridiculous to praise any one thing. But the whole sequence
in which the dead body of the son is brought to the bedside of
the wounded father by that divine deceiver, the daughter, over¬
whelmed me as one of the greatest achievements ever attained by
any of the arts from Greek tragedy on.
The extraordinary tangled skein of Miss Dempster’s acting,
with every thread sincere and distinct and unlike anybody else,
also quite conquered me.
Yours very respectfully,
(Signed) Rupert Hughes.
Mr. Edwin Worthen, President of the Lexington Historical
Society, says:
“In the magnitude of your task in making ‘America’ you ever
have held to historic accuracy with remarkable fidelity.
“Lexington salutes you. God speed you in this glorious work
of telling the story of the sacrifices of your forefathers, and in
your patriotic mission of teaching a higher and a finer Ameri¬
canism.”
AS TOLD BY THE CRITICS
“‘America’ is the best picture ever made; the best play ever
staged. It sets a new standard in the picture play as high and
commanding as ‘The Birth of a Nation’ set in its day.” (Quinn
Martin in the New York World.)
“ ‘America’ will be acknowledged as the best work of Mr.
Griffith, so far; and if he does not make a better picture, no
one else will.” (F. H. Cushman in the Boston Telegram.)
“ ‘America,’ a real masterpiece, literally swept the audience
off its feet. No other photoplay since Mr. Griffith’s ‘The Birth
of a Nation’ reaches the heights attained by ‘America’ from a
patriotic and dramatic as well as artistic standpoint.” {The Phila¬
delphia Evening Bulletin.)
“A series of views . . .which have the charm of an etching,
... the sweep and life of a battle-picture by Detaille or
Meissonier ... the reminiscent charm of the historical paint¬
ings and engravings of our childhood.”— Literary Digest.
It represents by all odds the most thrilling and satisfying
motion picture entertainment of the day {Sun) ; vivid, historically
accurate and fascinating {Journal).
On this page of this sug¬
gested eight-page folder-
program or throw-away,
(which we, do not sup¬
ply copy) is left space in
which can be printed the
remainder of your pro¬
gram or any other ma¬
terial that you desire to
use for the information
of your patrons
A folder like this one is
one of the best things
you can use for your
mailing list.
Specials ^very Newspaper Will Want
Griffith Introduces Distinct President Calvin Coolidge
Novelties in “America” Interested in “America”
Master Producer Who Has Done Wonders for Pictures Has Added Despite the Fact That the Chief Executive is Not a Keen Picture
Many New Things in His Latest Production Fan, He is Interested in Griffith’s Latest
D. W. Griffith, responsible to a
greater degree than anyone for inno¬
vations in the making of photoplays,
and father of the motion pictures as a
vehicle for art, has again made a
radical departure from established
custom in the filming of “America,”
the titanic epic of Revolutionary days,
which will be shown at.
Theatre....
In fact, it may be rightly stated that
“America” embodies more distinct
novelties in motion picture produc¬
tion than even the masterpieces with
which Griffith hitherto has revolution¬
ized the theatre world.
Because of the fact that the produc¬
tion was undertaken at the instiga¬
tion of our most prominent patriotic
organizations, representatives of which
were present at the filming of the vari¬
ous scenes, and that through Secre¬
tary of War Weeks the United States
Army co-operated, Mr. Griffith first
sought to achieve the most meticulous
accuracy from a romantic and histor¬
ical point of view.
To this end he established a re¬
search bureau of experts to delve into
the historical documents housed in
public and private museums and col¬
lections throughout the country.
This staff of experts, among whom
are numbered the leading authorities
on the Revolutionary period have
been required to settle every mooted
question in regard to the most minute
details of the War of Independence.
Such an apparently trivial, yet his¬
torically important, problem as the
color of Paul Revere’s horse occu¬
pied the undivided attention of a corps
of research workers for nearly a
month.
Aroused to a high pitch of enthusi¬
asm over Mr. Griffith’s aims in pro¬
ducing “America,” patriotic organiza¬
tions throughout the country not only
volunteered their services to aid in
the research work, but, defying cus¬
tom and tradition, to»k from the
museum cases and private vaults which
housed them for years invaluable
relics of the Revolution and offered
them to the famous director for use in
his picture.
Concord and Lexington, Mass., led
in this wholesale temporary turning
over of the most sacred relics of our
battle for freedom, and Mr. Griffith
has been able to use as properties for
his scenes antiques from the shrines
of the Revolution which have never be¬
fore been photographed, let alone by a
movie camera.
Instead of taking the scenes on one
location, in order to take scenes on
the battlefields where the action really
took place, Mr. Griffith, accompanied
by his large staff of experts, which
includes historical, military and tech¬
nical advisers, and his entire company
have been touring the country in
special cars, staging the scenes for
“America” on such widely separated
points as Lexington Common, Wash¬
ington’s home at Mount Vernon, Val¬
ley Forge, and the old North Church
in Boston.
The famous ride of Paul Revere, for
example, was actually filmed on the
road over which he rode. Even in
cases where the erectioh of monu¬
ments or modern improvements made
the “shooting” of massive scenes im¬
possible, Mr. Griffith has included
scenes of the actual sites, weaving
them into the action of his story with
a mastery of which he alone is
capable.
But perhaps of all the many inno¬
vations in the filming of “America,” the
most unusual is the use of large units
of the regular army of the United States
in several battle scenes. Infantrymen
and cavalrymen, clad in the garb of
British grenadiers and in the buff and
blue of Washington’s Continental
Army sweep majestically through the
action.
It is the first time that units of the
regular army have ever appeared in
a dramatic film, or that Uncle Sam’s
soldiery has ever donned costumes to
appear before the motion picture
camera. In staging the scenes in which
the soldiers appear, Mr. Griffith had
the advice of army officers on dis¬
puted points of the technique of stra¬
tegy and tactics as used during the
Revolution.
The major battles of the war from
“the shot that was heard ’round the
world,” on Lexington Green to the en¬
gagement which culminated in the sur¬
render of Cornwallis are to be shown
in this extraordinary photoplay, and its
dramatic episodes from Paul Revere’s
ride to the signing of the Declaration
of Independence will lend their inspir¬
ing atmosphere.
As a member of the Lexington Min-
utemen, descendants of the first armed
patriots, who in their brilliant buff and
blue uniforms took part in several
scenes filmed in Lexington, Mass., re¬
marked “America” purely as an in¬
spiration to patriotism should prove
more valuable than all the histories
written or the clever slogan broad¬
casted throughout the land.
For although through it like a thread
of gold runs a charming romance of
love, “America” is the first visualized
history of our country, teaching her
traditions so that he who runs may
read and understand.
GRIFFITH HONORED
BY MILITARY MEN
For his work in making “America,”
which comes to. the.Theatre
.... D. W. Griffith has been
made an honorary member of the
Minute Men of Lexington, the oldest
military organization in this country.
At the first showing of the film in
Boston, the Minute Men were present
to weigh the historical accuracy and
dramatic truth of the pictured event.
When convinced of the faithfulness
and appeal of the scenes at the Com¬
mon when 77 Americans met 800
British regulars, the Minute Men
voted the honorary membership.
The famous bronze button of mem¬
bership, worn only by direct descend¬
ants of the men who fought in the
battle, was presented by Capt. E. F.
Breed of Lexington.
In his presentation, Capt. Breed
said: “With your film, ‘America,’ you
have done the impossible, Mr. Grif¬
fith, in adding greater lustre to the
memory of the Battle of Lexington.”
President Calvin Coolidge is not
noted as a theatre-goer. Even in the
days when as Governor of Massa¬
chusetts, he occupied a modest room
at the Adams House in the heart of
Boston’s theatre section, he was
seldom seen at a playhouse.
But there is one motion picture in
which he is interested, and that is
“America,” the big romantic film made
by D. W. Griffith of the American
Revolution, which comes to the.
Theatre, beginning...
Newspaper correspondents at the
White House relate that not only did
President Coolidge confer with Grif¬
fith about the making of “America,”
but that the austere and silent Chief
Executive asked the producer for a
number of still pictures of scenes from
“America,” to show the home folks up
in Vermont. Which betokens an un¬
precedented enthusiasm on the part of
the President where motion pictures
are concerned.
When one learns, however, that
“America,” was filmed under the
guidance of a special corps of research
experts and historians, including rep¬
resentatives of the Daughters of the
American Revolution, the Sons of the
American Revolution, The Lexington
Historical Society, and similar organ¬
izations; that Secretary of War Weeks
assisted by turning over various regu¬
lar army units, who appear in costume
in the massive battle scenes; and that
Griffith used historic houses, actual
battle grounds and the shrines of
American liberty for the scenes,
descendants of the leading families of
Revolutionary Days as extra people,
and drums, pistols, flintlocks, and
even uniforms which saw service in
the War of Independence as prop¬
erties, the interest of even the Presi¬
dent becomes understandable.
And even had the subject and the
unusual manner of making the Jilm
failed to make the average citizen
enthusiastic, the fact that Griffith has
broken all precedents by extending
to every man, woman and child an
invitation to come and see the mors
massive scenes made, would give the
general public a more personal inter¬
est in “America” than in any film pro¬
duction ever made in this country.
For the public took Griffith at his
word and turned out to the extent of
more than 15,000 a day during the
weeks the producer, his players, and
United States regulars camped at
Somers, New York, “shooting” battle
scenes.
The story of “America,” written by
Robert W. Chambers, the novelist,
whose earlier books dealt with the
Revolutionary period, and who is re¬
garded in literary circles as an expert
in the history of those days, is the
story of the struggle of the colonies
for liberty from Paul Revere’s ride
until George Washington became
President.
All of dramatic incidents of the
war, and its major battles figure in
the film. Griffith established a special
research bureau to settle the mooted
points of American history, and pro¬
vide him with minute and authentic
data.
The selection of players was another
process which took up much time, as
Griffith and his advisory experts in¬
sisted upon getting types for the roles
of Washington, John Adams, Han¬
cock, Quincy, Otis, Prescott, Warren,
Gage, Howe and the other leading
figures of American history.
The monumental task was mate¬
rially lightened by patriotic and his¬
torical organizations which placed at
the director’s disposal their collections
of documents and relics, and gave
their advice and aid. His offices were
swamped with letters from every con¬
ceivable source offering assistance of
every kind, from the loan of historic
flintlocks, to the request by munici¬
palities of Revolutionary fame that
he make scenes there, and use de¬
scendants of Revolutionary heroes as
“supers.”
The interest displayed in the com¬
munities where scenes have been
taken, amounting to a revival of
patriotic enthusiasm, has also served
to make the undertaking rest more
lightly on Griffith’s shoulders.
The value of the assistance of the
regular army cannot be lightly passed
over, as it is a remarkable comment¬
ary on the lavish scale on which
“America” is being made, as well as
upon the attitude of official Washing¬
ton towards the project.
Under instructions from Secretary
Weeks, infantrymen from Forts Ham¬
ilton and Schuyler and from Gover¬
nors Island, accompanied by complete
commissary and medical units and a
band, camped for weeks “on loca¬
tion” with Griffith at Somers, N. Y.
Regular army officers and special his¬
torical and technical advisers drilled
the soldiers in the manual of arms
in use during the Revolution. The
tactics and strategy of the War of
Independence, was studied and re¬
hearsed..
The battlefields of the Revolution
were rebuilt under the guidance of
Griffith’s special staff, and from a high
platform on the side of a hill over¬
looking a beautiful valley, the director
and his experts, through field tele¬
phones and mounted couriers, directed
the manoeuvres.
Stripping off their khaki, the regulars,
garbed as British grenadiers of King George
Third, and as members of the Continental
Army, as Indians, and as Minutemen, refought
the) leading engagements of the Revolution
over and over again.
Later the famous Third Cavalry, from Fort
Meyers, Virginia, crack mounted outfit of the
Army, restaged Morgan’s raid, with Major
Wainright, aide to Secretary Weeks, costumed
and made up as Morgan, leading the charges,
and Colonel Hawkins, commandant of Fort
Meyers, assisting Griffith in directing the
charges.
On every possible occasion Griffith used
actual locales for “America.” This necessitated
the chartering of a special train to convey the
director, his big staff of research workers,
historical advisers, representatives of patriotic
organizations, technicians and players about
the country, an expensive proceeding and a
distinct innovation.
In this way Griffith was able to stage scenes
at Buckman Tavern and the Hancock-Clarke
house in Lexington, at Concord Bridge, on
Lexington Green, at Bunker Hill, Dorchester
Heights, / in and around Washington, D. C.,
and throughout the state of Virginia. Prac¬
tically every shrine of American liberty was
visited by this unique band of “tourists.”
v yr *
Advance Publicity on Picture and Story
How David W. Griffith
Came to Make “America”
Desirous of Giving Fellow Countrymen a Real Worthwhile Picture
Story of Beginning of Country Spurred Him On
The romance of one hundred and
ten million people—that is the story
of “America,” which many critics now
declare is greater than Mr. Griffith’s
earlier picture, “The Birth of a Na¬
tion.”
Several years ago, Mr. Griffith be¬
gan planning an elaborate and accu¬
rate film story of the American Revo¬
lution; but at that time, so-called cos¬
tume plays were not popular. His re¬
search staff had harvested many un¬
usual and whimsical facts long shad¬
owed as trifles, but vividly revealing
the life of that day.
In May, 1923, the Daughters of the
American Revolution addressed a let¬
ter to the motion picture industry, in¬
quiring why a film of the Revolution¬
ary War had not been undertaken, and
suggesting it should not be delayed.
Mr. Will Hays received the letter
and asked Mr. Griffith to undertake
the work.
Before doing it, he made a secret
trip to Boston, visiting all the shrines
of patriotism in that vicinity. He went
to the Old North Church, motored
along the ride that Paul Revere made,
crossed the bridge at Concord and lay
on the bank in the hot spring sun for
more than an hour directly where “the
shot heard round the world” was fired.
That night he decided to make the
film, not to show in, chronological de¬
tail the incidents of the war, but to
portray the spirit of sacrifice which
encouraged the little band of Ameri¬
cans untrained in war, to defy and
conquer the hosts of the invading
army.
He believed it would be of moral
value as well as passing entertainment
for the American people to see again
the bravery and unbreakable will that
their forefathers presented against the
agonizing woes and the hostile scourges
through a cold, ill-dressed and hungry
warfare, without adequate arms or dis¬
ciplined leaders.
He first took the ride of Paul
Revere, a brief incident in the story
but one that required three weeks to
film. The engine in horseflesh selected
as the mount defeated nine riders be¬
fore Harry O’Neill was found to
handle him. His playful preliminary
to work one morning at the filming,
was to leap over the hood of a big
motor truck. This horse is one of the
most famous jumpers in the world,
but too uncontrolled for show or com¬
petitive -purposes.
The only time it was ever quiet
enough to handle with ease came when
it became sea-sick taking the boat ride
from the Mamaroneck studio to Lex¬
ington, for the cross-country scenes.
Remember this throughout the picture
. . . that every historic scene shown
in the film was photographed in part
on the actual ground where the his¬
toric action occurred.
Mr. Griffith then took his players
to Lexington for scenes at the old
Clark home, showing Hancock and
Adams arriving and leaving there.
This is the same house that sheltered
them in 1775.
The scenes in Lexington were taken
with the kindly aid of Edwin B.
Worthen, president of the Lexington
Historical Society.
Next, Mr. Griffith went to the Old
North Church, in Boston, where
Charles K. Bolton, president of the
Boston Athenaeum and senior warden
of Old North Church, permitted him
to wire the belfry, the first time ever
done. Police and fire guards were in
constant attendance to guard against
possibility of fire or damage.
The scenes shown in the picture are
actual photographs of this church
which stands exactly as it did when
Paul Revere received his alarm.
Through Secretary of War John
W. Weeks, Mr. Griffith received the
assistance of the United States Army
in arranging the battle scenes. Major
William C. Rose of Governor’s Island
sent the 18th and 16th Infantry under
command of Captain George T. Shank.
Lexington Common and Buckman’s
Tavern were reproduced with photo¬
graphic exactness on the studio
grounds, and there the Battle of Lex¬
ington was staged after the Doolittle
drawings which are accepted as faith¬
ful by historians.
The larger battle scenes were made
near the Putnam County border in
New York State.
As the guest of Robert W. Cham¬
bers, Mr. Griffith then went into the
Mohawk Valley Country in New York
State, to travel over the scenes of the
Indian conflicts. He personally visited
every important battlefield there, trav¬
eling hundreds of miles.
Before the chill of Autumn, he
wished to secure the magnificent Vir¬
ginia estates in all the glory of full
foliage.
With his players and staff, he went
to Westover on the James River, one
of the greatest of the old estates where
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Crane, present
owners, welcomed the staging of the
scenes that brought to life again the
legends of gayety in the Revolutionary
War time.
He went also to Shirley on the
James River, the famous old King
Carter estate, through the hospitable
courtesy of Admiral and Mrs. Oliver
and Mrs. Bransford, who live there at
present.
Scenes in Yorktown, on the actual
site where Cornwallis surrendered to
George Washington’s army, were se¬
cured with the co-operation of G.
Watson James, Jr., National Historian
of the Sons of the Revolution.
Returning to Washington, the War
Department permitted Col. Hamilton
Hawkins to aid Mr. Griffith with the
crack Third U. S. Cavalry at Ft. Myer,
Va., in scenes as Morgan’s Rangers.
Major J. M. Wainwright commanded
the troops and took part in the action,
dressing in fur-trimmed buckskin with
his troopers to make the actual charges
of the Rangers securely true in repro¬
duction for the film.
Whenever Mr. Griffith traveled to these
“locations” he took with him players and a
staff totaling never less than 130 and as high
as two thousand.
While he was away, his staff at the studio
had been erecting the huge sets, replicas of
the House of Parliament in London, Independ¬
ence Hall, the House of Burgesses in Virginia;
and the home of England’s King, George the
Third.
“America” then is an accurate as well as
dramatic record of the events portrayed. Every
historical scene is played as it actually occurred.
David W. Griffith
Maker of Pictures
Intimate Story of the Man Who
Has Produced “America”
Kentucky is the birth-place and the
home of D. W. Griffith. His residence
is at his studios in Mamaroneck, N. Y.
There he has established a sea-walled
park" for picture-making, one of the
show places along Long Island Sound,
visible for miles, canopied with great
elms and birches; and soothed into
a restful reach of nature by surround¬
ing lawns.
Here Mr. Griffith makes all his pic¬
tures, which, critics say, are unequalled
for emotional intensity, poetic beauty
and dramatic suspense.
How does this man appear? He is
in his early forties; five feet and eleven
inches tall, weighing one hundred and
fifty-two pounds. Physically, he has
a firm balance of bone, with alert de¬
cisive movement; a slender, cutting
body with no suggestion of brute
strength. His vitality and endurance
are premiums of perfect health and in¬
domitable will.
His studio is his home. For weeks,
he never leaves the grounds. Up at
seven-thirty every morning, he works
steadily until from eleven to one
o’clock every night. It is most typical
of him that he hastens, but never hur¬
ries; moves quickly but never rushes.
While other directors have the re¬
sources of great organizations to as¬
sist them, Mr. Griffith works alone.
He selects his own stories. Then he
begins to cast the 1 principal roles. In
this day when so many successful
players have long-term contracts, this
is often a most trying and difficult
task; as available talent is often un¬
suitable.
While he selects his cast, he re¬
hearses them, at once to prove the
worth of the player in absorbing the
role, and to work out the details of
the drama so every member will be
saturated with the purposes of the
parts.
During the rehearsals, the costumes
are selected, tried out, changed over
and over again until final choice is
made.
In directing his players, Mr. Griffith
first allows the players to interpret the
action for themselves, so that their
portrayal may be natural. From this'
basis, he improves, suggesting move¬
ments and meanings. Only in in¬
tensely dramatic scenes does he ever
raise his voice, and then only as
emotional incentive. While the action
proceeds, his face is a pathway for
the quick and flowing emotions the
scene reveals. His sensitive face
registers every shy shade of feeling,
and works vividly when the stronger
strains of drama are touched. He is
“all things to all men,” feeling and
reflecting every phase of every char¬
acter. Psychologists declare it is this
sensitive response which permits him
to keep healthy and alert under un¬
believable burdens.
His attitude towards his players is
that of persuasive partnership, first
following their 4 original reactions, then
sharing with them, gradually expand¬
ing the mood so that he leads them;
and finally moulding the scene for the
permanency of the camera by stimu¬
lating and spurring them.
He corrects but seldom criticizes
and never denounces. It is his firm
policy in the social as well as pro¬
fessional world, never to say an un¬
kind thing about a person; and if he
ever says an uncomplimentary thing,
he says it to the person, and not to
others. His tolerance and patience are
two capital features of his rare ability
to handle others.
Robert W. Chambers, the famous
novelist and student of character,
says of Griffith: “I can think of no
other man so entirely humble, so truly
modest as D. W. Griffith. Unselfish,
generous, whimsical and fun-loving,
with the courage and intelligence of a
great leader, and the visions of genius,
here is a rare man.”
Rex Ingram, the famous director,
recently paid in print this tribute:
We all follow Griffith. He did
everything first and the other directors
do them over again as best they can.
Motion pictures owe everything to this
man.”
With all his successes, Mr. Griffith
remains a poor man. He lives in two
rooms, lightly furnished, mostly with
books and gymnastic apparatus. He
reads at least one-half hour every day,
without regard to how strenuous the
work of the day has been.
A trifling but interesting peculiarity
is that he can never keep his watch
running. Time and again he has been
presented with costly watches, but
after wearing them two or three
weeks, they stop.
Today he stands in perfect health,
with a record of having made five
times as many pictures as any other
director, with having created the
technique which is now the accepted
method of picture making. Year after
year he establishes new 4 records in the
number of pictures rated among the
ten best by vote of public and critics.
Some of his most famous works are
The Birth of a Nation , 99 << Intoler-
ance,” “Hearts of the World,” “Broken
Blossoms,” “Way Down East” and
Orphans of the Storm.” And yet he
is planning now to do what he con¬
siders the real work of his life, the
making of a series of large pictures
portraying the great dramatic moments
of mankind.
MISS DEMPSTER’S BURDEN
“America,” D. W. Griffith’s photo-
dramatic epic of Revolutionary days,
which will have its premiere at the
......Theatre....., will serve
to reintroduce to local theatregoers
Miss Carol Dempster who has become
a notable emotional actress. In this
unusual picture, made for the
Daughters of the American Revolu¬
tion as their contribution to the
sesquicentennial of our struggle for
liberty, Miss Dempster has the only
female role, and in consequence much
of the burden falls upon her slender
shoulders. From reports we predict
that those same slender shoulders
bear the heavy burden with both ease
and grace.
We have said that Miss Dempster
has the only female role. That is
not strictly true, for Lucille LaVerne,
who has appeared in every one of
Griffith’s big productions, hearing of
the production of “America,” visited
the Griffith studios and insisted on
having a “bit,” offering her services
free. As a result Griffith wrote in a
short scene in which Miss LaVerne
and Miss Dempster appear together
—a scene which is said to be one of
the most touching in the entire pic¬
ture.
Advance Stories — The Picture
What a Famous Author Says
About Making “America”
The Inside Story Regarding the Early Struggles In This Country
That Have Never Been Revealed Before
By Robert W. Chambers
In the making of any work of art
one faces it squarely and tries to avoid
squinting at it from eccentric angles
or peeping furtively at it upside down.
To take America as a subject and
do anything with it in fourteen reels
or in fourteen hundred reels, is im¬
possible, because the pre-historic and
historic eras stretch across too many
aeons.
Nor is it possible to say very much
about a single phase of our history in
the space of time allotted for an eve¬
ning’s entertainment.
Our picture is not a history of the
English occupation of America, not
even a narrative of thq Revolutionary
struggle for liberty.
What Mr. Griffith and I have at¬
tempted to do is to show something
of the devotion and self-sacrifice of
those who established our Republic.
We believe that in the present era
of unrest we Americans ought to re¬
member what it cost to win our free¬
dom and establish this Government.
We believe that our liberty, won
through years of untold suffering and
self-sacrifice, is worth preserving, with
guarding from secret and insidious at¬
tacks at home, worth defending against
treachery and overt aggression from
without our gates.
Lest we forget” is the keynote of
our picture. “Be it remembered” its
summing up.
From the very beginning it was
plain to Mr. Griffith that no one pic¬
ture could begin to cover the story
of the eight years’ war known as the
American Revolution.
It takes sheer genius to look over
so vast a mass of material and select
essentials which must be framed by
the limits of an evening’s entertain¬
ment. Mr. Griffith made his selec¬
tions, and within that frame was be¬
gun the picture of the sacrifice offered
by our forefathers upon the bloody al¬
tar of liberty.
Because some among us, and with¬
in the borders of the Republic as well
as outside, had drifted away from be¬
lief in and devotion to those simple
early principles upon which our Gov¬
ernment was formed, our picture was
contrived and designed to reawaken
dormant patriotism by visible reminder
of what it cost to make us the free
people that we are today.
Now, when it became known what
were our purposes in making this
picture we began to receive cordial
encouragement from Federal and
State authorities and from patriotic
societies everywhere throughout the
Nation.
The United States Army authori¬
ties generously offered us a regular
regiment—a superb one—to aid us.
This splendid regiment arrived in
Westchester where we were on loca¬
tion, and with their disciplined ranks
and under their own live officers we
staged and fought the battles of
Bunker Hill and Johnston Hall.
They looked superb in their British
and Continental uniforms and after
a few rehearsals became so thor¬
oughly imbued with the spirit of the
scene that they seemed no longer
modern regulars acting parts in a
play but the men of the Revolution
themselves.
It was a thrilling sight to see those
long lines of scarlet marching dog¬
gedly up Bunker Hill, halting now
and then to deliver a volley—out of
real flintlocks—then, drum? beating,
plod on upward toward that silent, sin¬
ister redoubt of raw earth above, only
to reel down hill again enveloped in
the flame and smoke of the devastat¬
ing American musketry.
All this in brightest sunshine—just
as it had been that terrible day a hun¬
dred and fifty odd years ago—and
in the same formation, same uniforms
and marching over the same sort of
ground toward exact replicas of
trenches and redoubts behind which
our ancestors waited and held their
fire until they could see “the whites
of their eyes.”
And at the Battle of Johnston Hall
in Northern New York there was the
famous hedge fence held by Butler’s
Rangers, Sir John’s Greens, Mc¬
Donald’s kilted Highlanders, and the
naked, painted Indians of the great
Iroquois Confederacy. And there, as
on that fateful day so long ago, Col.
Willett led his militia, riflemen, regu¬
lars, lorries, and rangers against these
American Tory partisans of England.
There was one single field piece; then
came our men up the hill from Johns¬
ton, sweeping all before them; then
ensued the hand-to-hand combat at the
hedge fence.
Then, as it happened so long ago,
a senseless panic seized the Ameri¬
cans and they ran from a victory al¬
ready gained—ran, despite the curses
and entreaties of their galloping offi¬
cers—ran all the way to Johnstown
village a mile away.
And again, . as it once happened,
Willett and his officers halted them,
argued, pleaded, ridiculed, shamed
them until, drums beating, back they
marched, broke into a yelling charge,
drove the enemy, hurled them back
into the wilderness, and broke their
power forever.
Here the scourge of the North,
Walter Butler, died as he had died
beside that little spring of water on
the banks of the stream—which still
crossed.
Well, only such a genius and master
of his profession as Mr. Griffith ever
could have designed and executed so
perfectly this vast picture of the past.
Griffith is the head, brains, incep¬
tion, executive of everything. With¬
out this really great artist there would
have been only a caricature, not an
authentic and magnificently dramatic
picture representing the sacrifice of our
ancestors offered as the price of liberty
of mind and body.
It is because he is every inch an
artist, a born leader, and every inch
a man, that Griffith accomplishes what
he does and stands alone at the very
peak of pictorial achievement.
In pictures the staff and company
are what the director is. Respect,
confidence, belief in him, make them
efficient. I. have never heard Mr.
Griffith’s voice raised in anger or re¬
proach. I never heard him blame
anybody except himself for any mis¬
hap or accident. He shoulders every¬
thing with a boyish laugh, or gay and
humorous comment. He is the effort¬
less courage, generosity and smiling
equanimity that inspires—that gets
good work out of mediocrity, that
heartens and encourages self distrust,
that never asks of anybody anything
which he is not ready to do himself.
This man has no vanity; his modesty
is real; he is the hardest worker I have
ever known; he is both kind and ex¬
actly just; and though always he spares
others he never spares himself.
Where, in this picture, he and I
have not agreed, usually I find that
he is right. Often he generously yields
his judgment to mine—which never,
however, convinces me that I am en¬
tirely fight.
It is the director who makes every¬
thing and anything possible. He is
the miracle man. And if there is any¬
thing the matter with him,—any lack
of confidence, respect, belief in him—
then the picture is rather certain to
go to pieces.
Never have I known anybody like
Mr. Griffith who was endowed with
such a patient capacity for accuracy
and detail. He spares no efforts.
Those little touches which make a
scene convincing never escape his ob¬
servation or imagination—as for ex¬
ample, on that hot day in Indepen¬
dence Hall there were the delegates
mopping their heads with handker¬
chiefs and flicking away non-existent
flies in the tremendous imminence of
the signing of the Declaration of
Independence.
And that group of frightened
poultry in the stockade crouching
under the eaves. And the offense
taken by the plan folk on the steps
of Buckman’s Tavern in Lexington
when the young fop scatters his
powder and snuff. . And the petty
temper of that Minute Man when
reprimanded by the old Louisburg
drill sergeant!. And a thousand other
almost unnoticed yet convincing de¬
tails which go to make up a picture
of life as it is.
And for me, my impression of the
making of “America” is a wholly de¬
lightful one—and even now scarcely
a memory remains of fatigue, anxiety,
disappointment, effort, apprehension,
suspense, and the myriad petty vexa¬
tions common to all creative efforts.
We were a gay and enthusiastic,
loyal, hard working company of peo¬
ple with absolute faith in Mr. Griffith
and in the picture and in each other.
During all those months I, personally,
saw no rifts in the lute—no jealousies
—no clacking, no discontent, nothing
unworthy. And the more I remember
this the more astonished I am at such
harmony and devotion, because it is
not usual in any profession.
I think I never before have seen
so many people in such accord; and,
I knew it was due to the gay, witty,
kindly and courageous character of the
man who was swinging the whole thing
—one of the most unselfish men I ever
have known—and one of the greatest
in any profession — David Wark
Griffith.
HISTORIC HAMLET
USED IN “AMERICA”
Yorktown, historic Virginia hamlet
of Revolutionary fame, nestling on the
James River is aroused. For its few
hundred inhabitants, who hitherto
have counted the passage of time by
the two great events of its career—its
place in Revolutionary history and the
establishment of a submarine mine
base nearby during the World War—
what they consider the third outstand¬
ing event of history—the filming there
by D. W. Griffith of scenes for
“America,” which comes to the.
Theatre, next.
And now Yorktown wants to become
a second Hollywood.
Historic houses, standing since 1770,
formerly pointed out to visitors as the
places where Washington slept, ate, or
visited, are now proudly exhibited as
the mansions where Griffith took such
and such a scene, with various local
dignitaries—Revolutionary descendants
—as actors.
The quaint old church, practically
unchanged since the first service was
held there in the early ’70s is today
locally more famous as the place where
Griffith and his staff attended a Sunday
service than as the meeting house
where Washington’s staff once knelt
in prayer.
There is no newspaper in Yorktown,
but the intimate details of the scenes
Griffith made, of how he and every
member of his large company looked,
acted, and what they said and ate is
known to every inhabitant.
Motion pictures are the sole topic
of conversation, and their participation
in the film which D. W. Griffith made
is the proudest boast of the oldest
families. *•
Even the departure of Griffith and
his cohorts failed to bring normalcy
back to this once slumbering, now am¬
bitious, hamlet. For its people, gone
movie mad, are convinced it is to be¬
come a motion picture centre of vast
importance.
ROYAL AUTHORITY
AIDED GRIFFITH
Sir Percy Sykes, of London, Eng.,
former commander-in-chief of the
British forces in Persia, and authority
in royal, court etiquette, aided D. W.
Griffith in staging several of the most
spectacular scenes in “America,” the
romantic photodrama of the War of
Independence, which will have its
premiere at the.Theatre,
Until Sir Percy, who has been thrice
presented at the Court of St. James,
as well as at the royal courts of India,
Persia and other eastern countries,
volunteered, Griffith and his research
workers were at a loss to learn the
details of court ceremonies in 1775,
for despite the voluminous writings
of the diarists of that period, none of
them described formal court etiquette
in detail.
Just prior to Sir Percy’s arrival,
Griffith, after months of search, had
engaged a foreign actor who bore an
uncanny resemblance to the best au¬
thenticated pictures of King George
Third, for that role.
So much, did this actor look the part
and play it that Sir Percy, a deep
student of George’s reign, seemed to
forget that he was dealing with a mod¬
ern actor, and when addressing the
latter always did so with a deep bow,
and with the words, “If his Majesty
will deign—”
r o.w.
GRIFFITH
l pjESCNTS
O.W
GRIFFITH
J3RESENTS
ROBERTW
CHAMBERS
One Sheet N 9 1
TH Rl Ul N6 STORY
•F LOVE"® ROMANCE
ROBERT W.
CHAMBERS
A> ROMANCE
IOO MILLION
PEOPLE
"jH-g Robert w. Chambers
THRILLING STORY
LOVE ^ROMANCE
By ROBERT W. CHAMBERS
24 Sheet
One Sneer N?2.
Three Sheet n?1
Thqee Sheet N?2.
Prices of Posters—One sheet, 12 cents; three sheets, 36 cents; six sheets, 72 cents; 24 sheets, $2.00.
Special Posters That Will Surely Attract
Pictorial (two scenes), 24 sheets — Price, $2.00.
This lithograph can be obtained in 1 sheet, 3 sheets and
6 sheets. Also made in sheet cards.
This lithograph can be obtained in 1 sheet, 3 sheets and
8 sheets. Also made in ^2 sheet cards.
TTD- 5 —Three column ad cut. Price 75 cents. Mats 20 cents.
Go After Your Advertising in a Big Way
’GRIFFITH
presents
America
Q thrilling story of Love and Romance
by ROBERT W. CHAMBERS -
See the heart-shaking ride of Paul Revere—
the most famous dramatic scene in the century .
See Morgan’s Riflemen, the wild riding Virgin¬
ians — immortal lovers on horseback, who
saved the day for General Washington, and
routed America’s most astonishing villain.
Ride with them Thrill with them Love wiih them
Dazzling Romance Mad Adventure
GRIFFITH
* presents
America
Higher praise has been
given “America” than
any other motion pic¬
ture ever made
ENTERTAININQ
ROMANTIC
THRILLING
IMPORTANT
It is the voices of lov¬
ers singing with the
fifes and drums
With Carol Dempster,
Neil Hamilton, Lionel
Barrymore, Charles
Mack and a company
of 30,000
Historical arrangement by
JOHN L. E. PELL
Q thrilling story of Love and Romance
by ROBERT W. CHAMBERS
caxw.imTxi.i.m
0
i
TTDA—Two column ad cut. Price 50 cents. Mats 10 cents.
TTD- 1 —One column ad cut.
Price 30 cents. Mats 5 cents.
Use These Ad Cuts to Attract Real Business
A thrilling jtory of Cove and Homme
by JiOBERT W. CHAMBERS
The
Great Romance
Declared by many
critics to be more won¬
derful than “The Birth of
a Nation”; more thrilling
than “Way Down East”
Love and Laughter
D-W GRIFFITH
. presents
America.
Ol thrilling story of Love and Romance
by ROBERT W. CHAMBERS'
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
The White House
Dear Mr. Griffith:-
4 ‘America ’ 5 is a thrilling,
inspiring drama, with a beauti¬
ful romance running through it.
You deserve great credit.
(Signed) C. Bascom Slemp,
Secretary to the President.
Mr. Rupert Hughes, the great novelist, says;
“America” has shaken me—overwhelmed me
as one of the greatest achievements by any of
the arts from the Greek tragedy on.
A wistful, tender, passionate love story with
NEIL HAMILTON, the ideal handsome
American, and CAROL DEMPSTER, most
beautiful of newer screen stars.
TTD-2—One column ad cut.
Price 30 cents. Mats 5 cents.
TTD-2—Two column ad cut. Price 50 cents. Mats 10 cents.
Slide — Attention Attractors — Scene Guts
These two attention attractors
can be enlarged to suit your con¬
venience. There are no mats or
cuts made on these two.
DWGRIFFITHS
AMERICA'
■Y'
lERVILLE ALDERSON CAROL DEMPSTER. 8 ? CHARLES EMMETT MACK
in D . W. (3 R.I E V I TH ' f? " AMERICA "
TT-7—Three column scene cut (coarse screen) for neivspaper use. Price 75 cents. Mats 20 cents.
Scene and Star Cuts for Your Publicity Stories
CAROL, DEMPSTER.
as MISS NANCY MONTAGUS
in D.W.GRIFFITH'5 "AMERICA'
TT- 1 —One column scene cut
(coarse screen) for newspaper
use. Price 30 cents. Mats 5 cents.
CHARLES EMMETT MACK.
as CHAIRL.ES PHILIP EDWARD MONTAGUE
in D. W. 6RIFF1TH 'S " AMERICA "
TT- 2 —One column scene cut
(coarse screen) for newspaper
use. Price 30 cents. Mats 5 cents.
TT- 3 —One column scene cut
\coarse screen) for newspaper
use. Price 30 cents. Mats 5 cents.
LIONEL BARRYMORE a.S
CAPTAIN WALTER. BL7TLER 1TI
D.W. GRIFFITH'S "AMERICA"
TT-4—One column scene cut
(coarse screen) for newspaper
use. Price 30 cents. Mats 5 cents.
NEIL HAMILTON and CAROL DEMPSTER.
in D.W.GRIFFITH'S "AMERICA"
TT- 6 —Two column scene cut (coarse screen) for newspaper
use. Price 50 cents. Mats 10 cents.
HARRY O'NEILL. a.<? "PAUL REVERE
in D.W.GRIFFITH'S "AMERICA"
TT- 5 —Two column scene cut (coarse screen) for newspaper
use. Price 50 cents. Mats 10 cents.
:> x^aciiVxS.>>.<•< SB*#*®®®
Beautiful Hand Colored Lobby Display
11x14 —(eight in set), 75 cents per set; 22x28 (two in set), 80 cents per set.
Hand colored lobby display photos. Prices-
“AMERICA” EXPLOITATION
Advertising Matter
for
D. W. GRIFFITH’S
“AMERICA”
By ROBERT W. CHAMBERS
Released by United Artists Corporation
Ready Made Ad Cuts and Mats in Other Folder
Copy for Straight Type Ads in This Folder
This folder contains reproductions of type ads that are exceptionally attractive, unusually strong as
attention attractors, and that will stand out big against any other ads on any amusement page
in any newspaper. These ads also contain copy that has genuine pulling power and real appeal
to any class of theatre public.
There also is shown herewith the copy for straight ads that have proved themselves big in “bringing
them in.” These type ads were used during the showing of this picture at the 44th Street
Theatre, New York, and actually demonstrated their effect at the box-office.
Not a Ballyhoo or Stunt Picture
“America” is not a picture that should be ballyhooed or “stunted” by way of exploitation. Ballyhoo
or the usual street stunts are not going to prove of much value in selling this great D. W. Griffith
feature.
BUT IT CAN BE AND SHOULD BE ADVERTISED, and advertised in a BIG WAY. Spend in
advertising the money usually spent for ballyhoo and stunts and you’re certain to get results
at the box-office.
Use the ready-made ads. Use the type ads as they appear in this folder. Advertise this picture and
advertise it BIG. Let the ads here shown tell the tremendously big love theme in “America”
and you’ll see your business get stronger and stronger every day.
In another folder issued to exhibitors with this are special artists’ designs from which exhibitors can
have their own cuts made and use either in connection with their own advertising copy or the
copy shown in the type ads. This second folder also contains one column cuts of the four
principal player® in “America,” together with two and three column scene cuts of the produc¬
tion which are for use with the newspaper publicity stories.
Go after “America” with a Big Advertising and Publicity Campaign
Every organization of every race and creed will willingly assist you in the promotion of
this picture
DON’T STOP WITH ORGANIZATIONS—REMEMBER THE SCHOOLS
There is that wonderful something in this picture that will suggest to you yourself some sort of angle to attract every motion
picture fan in your community and more than that—it will attract to your theatre hundreds of people who
have never been inside—BUT TO GET THEM IN YOU MUST ADVERTISE AND PUB¬
LICISE IN A BIGGER WAY THAN YOU HAVE EVER DONE BEFORE.
Here’s A Great Publicity Stunt.
In every community there are hundreds, yes, thousands of people
who were born and who have lived in America for years. Most of
them are naturalized and they love to tell why.
Get the co-operation of your best newspaper to put this stunt over.
Offer a prize, irrespective of what it is (money or merchandise or
theatre tickets) for the person (foreign born) who will write the
newspaper the best 600 zuord story on
“Why we like ‘America’ best” or “Why we prefer America” or
“Why we still want to live in America.”
This will attract all nationalities and the prizes should be for the
best answer submitted by an Englishman, an Italian, a Greek, and so
on all the way down the list of nationalities.
This stunt has been tried and proved marvelous as a publicity get¬
ter. You will get more people talking about America than ever did
before, and when they think in terms of America they will naturally
be thinking in terms of . your coming attraction. Start such a cam¬
paign at least two or three weeks before the opening of Griffith's
“America.”
Every Organization Is Interested.
Just take a few minutes to think over the tremendous exploitation
possibilities you have in “America.” It is a production in which you
can enlist the interests of every fraternal or brotherhood organiza¬
tion, every school teacher and every pupil, together with every news¬
paper, which will assuredly lend its assistance in the promotion of a
picture such as this, which has such wonderful intrinsic values. Such
a picture is “news” to the newspaper.
Any picture made by D. W. Griffith commands a broad public in¬
terest. Any picture named “America” and treating of the theme of
this picture must command a broad public interest. And when a pic¬
ture is both made by D. W. Griffith and entitled “America” there
is absolutely no limit to the interest which can be aroused, and which
it will be easy for you to arouse. Every solitary organization that
you approach will be keenly interested, and all that is necessary for
you to do, is to go after these organizations.
Many of the national officers of large organizations endorsed the
picture when it was first shown in the larger cities. All you need do
in your town is to make a few personal calls, or write the organiza¬
tion officers a letter, or call them on the telephone and explain what
production you are to play, and what it will mean to them, and your
reception and co-operation will be astonishing. After interesting the
officers it is up to you to co-operate with them to interest the organ¬
izations’ membership. There are a number of different booklets that
you can get at your Exchange that can be used for mailing purposes
to these members, or you can make up throw-aways from copy con¬
tained in this folder.
The different organizations that can be interested are the following:
Masons, Elks, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Eagles, Moose,
Buffalos, Boards of Education, School Superintendents, School Teach¬
ers, Parents Teachers' Association, Womens Clubs, Boy Scouts,
Girl Scouts, G. A. R., Daughters American Revolution, Sons of
American Revolution, Veterans' Foreign Wars, American Legion,
Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., Y.M.H.A., Knights of Columbus, and all
other organizations.
You must remember that this is only a partial list that we suggest,
for there are undoubtedly many other organizations in your town
that are interested in a production such as “America” who would be
only too willing to give you every assistance. Just get after them.
Remember, above all else, don’t try to put “America” over just as a
regular production, but sell it to your public for what it is, the
greatest motion picture ever produced by the greatest of all directors,
a tremendous epic presentation of our country’s life story.
Folders for Distribution.
There has been a beautiful sixteen page (with four colored cover)
souvenir booklet printed on “America.” These can be obtained for a
small cost at the Exchange. These books were sold in connection
with the production in the larger cities for 25 cents, and thousands
upon thousands were disposed of. The Exchange can give you a very
low price on them now, and you can either sell them in your theatre
or use them as a special gift-stunt for your opening performance or a
special show.
There are two special styles of heralds obtainable also. One of
eight pages, done in sepia, sells for $2.50 per thousand and another,
with a two colored cover, also eight pages, sells for $5.00 per thou¬
sand. These can be secured at your Exchange. But remember, it is
always very advisable to get your orders in early.
A Very Successful Stunt.
Herewith is the type of copy that was used on a special ticket in
Chicago, in connection with the Chicago Teachers’ Federation, to
bring into the theatre, (at reduced prices) all the school children in
the city. Thousands were brought to the box-office and certainly
swelled the receipts.
T O TAKE the heroes of the American Revolution from the pages
of history and place them, alive and colorful, in the hearts of
Chicago s school children, in order that they may understand the no¬
ble sacrifice of their forefathers for freedom and appreciate the Gov¬
ernment under which they live.
THE CHICAGO TEACHERS' FEDERATION
has arranged with D. W. U A • ))
Griffith, producer of AmeTlCa
AUDITORIUM THEATRE
now being shown
twice daily at the
that any school child may see this wonderful motion picture for the
special price of 35 cents, including tax.
This ticket must be exchanged at the Auditorium box office, and
is good for any afternoon or evening performance, except Saturday
afternoon and evening. Children holding these tickets accompanied
by their parents will be assigned seats with them.
Good only for bona fide Pupils of
Chicago Public Schools
In the matter of theatre decorations, it is useless to suggest, because
you well know that anything from a patriotic standpoint will be ap¬
plicable. The same with your prologue, your ushers and your entre
program in general.
Important Notice.
The running speed for “America” is ninety, or eleven minutes to
the reel, but if necessary it can be run at ninety-five or ten and a
half minutes to the reel, which would make the complete running
time under two hours. Kindly notify your operators regarding this.
Where to Get *' ‘America” Trailers.
Trailers on “America” can be ordered by exhibitors direct from
National Screen Service, Inc., No. 126 West 46th Street, New York
City; No. 845 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, or No. 917 South
Olive Street, Los Angeles.
Tell Us What You Do.
We should like you to send photographs of your exploitation
stunts, your decorated theatre, your ushers, and a short descriptive
story of everything you do on this picture, to Charles E. Moyer, Ad¬
vertising and Publicity Manager of United Artists, so that he in turn
can give them to the trade journals, and in that way show your fel¬
low exhibitors how you really put over a big production.
There are No Guts of These Ads but You can get Your Engraver
To Copy Them
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THE BEAUTIFUL
NANCY MONTAGUE-
V IRGINIA’S famed belle, toast of King George
Third and the London beaux, is Fate’s plaything.
Little does she know, as clad in her lavender silk
travelling wrap and puffed hood, she and her father,
the great Tory justice, leave their palatial James
River estate, that she is going to meet the great
crisis of her life. And her brother, noted both as
crack shot and fop, wearing three watches and a new
Angora muff with powder pocket, after the London
manner, guesses not this journey will be his last.
A clattering of hoofs—a dust covered rider—
“The rebels are rising in New England,”—but
Justice Montague heeds not the warning, nor
r waits to hear the stunning word that—
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HE CLIMBS TO NANCYS
BEDROOM WINDOW-
and Love, implanted in Virginia,
blossoms forth in Lexington, on
the momentous eve of Apr. 19,1775.
For Nancy, daughter of aristocracy, and
handsome Nathan Holden; express rider,
Minuteman, and friend of Paul Revere,
have realized the thrills of first love, and
before Nathan goes to join the 77 Ameri¬
cans who bar the passage of 800 British
grenadiers, he needs must bid her farewell.
“The British are coming”— Paul
Revere spreads the alarm—a rum¬
ble of drums, a thunder of mus¬
ketry— Nancy's kin awaken —
Nathan is discovered—
1XW. GRIFFITH'S
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SHE TREMBLES
WITH EMOTION-
as Captain Walter Butler,
thrills her with the story of
his lonely life and his faith
in their King. But her heart
throbs for Nathan, her first
love, even then preparing to
fight for his country’s free¬
dom.
And her brother, who torn between filial
love and admiration for Washington, joins
the patriots, brings tears to her eyes.
The rumble of drums, the roar of
musketry, horror unloosed. From
her bedroom windows she sees—
continued tomorrow
nw Griffith's j
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LOVE AND JOY,
SHINE IN NANCYS
PRETTY EYES- 7
for, at the crucial moment, even as the
terrible Capt. Hare reached out a hand
towards her, Nathan had arrived at the
head of his dauntless Morgan Rifles. The
gallant little band at Fort Sacrifice is safe,
the food supply for Washington’s Army
is saved and the day is won for America.
The news of the surrender of Corn¬
wallis, theexcitementofWashington’s
first inaugural fill to the overflowing
Nancy’s cup of happiness, for at
length Love has won, and she,Nathan,
and her father, tried by the fires of
sacrifice, quaff long and deep of the
wines of content, and the nectar of joy.
continued tomorrow
DlWCMPFITH'S j
No Guts On These Ads But You Gan Use The Copy to Great Advantage
In Your Own Layouts
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DISILLUSIONED,
NANCY FLEES
with her father, seeking
refuge at Fort Sacrifice from
the Hunnish hordes of the
brutal Butleh Hope is sus¬
tained in her heaving breast
by the knowledge that
Nathan, now a captain of
Morgan’s Riflemen, and his
men are riding furiously to
the aid of the hard-pressed
defenders of the stockade.
She does not know that these intrepid
riders, who wear their legend “Liberty or
Death,” upon their breasts, have been
turned aside for other duties.
A terrific crash—wierd cries of triumph—
into the stokade pour the redskins, the
fearsome Capt. Hare—hope dies in every
breast and then— continued tomorrow
D.WGKIFFITH’S >
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SHE IS
BETROTHED-
by her deluded parent to
the greatest scoundrel of
his age, and acquiesces,
believing that her first
love shot her father.
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Yet in the depths of her soul she still loves
Nathan. And the glorious death of her valiant
brother at Bunker Hill, has half turned the
Tory maid to the American cause.
And when Nathan proves his
innocence, and she sees her
uncle fall by Tory hands—
continued tomorrow
Between Love and Love
Now he must choose! Not a second can be lost! She was already
in the other man’s arms. Her little hands battled pitifully.
That sweetest face drawing away in terror! Her lips parted
in horror—the lips that should be his!
And yet the one that loved her most could not go to her aid,
for if he moved one step to help her he would betray his country!
Flaming terrors bit him! What should he do?
All his past went before him. The remembrance of when he
first met her in the fragrant Spring—more beautiful than the
springtime blossoms, she seemed.
Shy, young, slim as a spray willow, vibrant as a young girl’s
kiss; clustering auburn hair all naturally a-curl, and with a
strange elfin-like wistfulness that words could not describe, was
she.
And since their first meeting he had had but one dream—of love
—and that for his Nancy.
And now, when he could be of aid, he must leave her to the
greatest villain in all the world—the renegade, Walter Butler—
an enemy to America, an enemy to all women, an enemy to all
men.
Was a man ever in such a predicament? To find which path he
chose, that of love or duty; to see this most vibrant yet sweetest
love story ever told; to thrill with patriotic fires; to be> a part of
the greatest nation the world has ever known; to discover how
you are so fortunate in being a citizen in America; to spend the
most thrilling evening—see “America,” which “sets a new standard
for motion pictures to-day as definitely as ‘The Birth of a Na¬
tion’ did in its days.” (Quinn Martin in the World.)
D. W. Griffith’s “America,” “the best motion picture entertain¬
ment in the city,” (Sun and Globe) at the 44th St. Theatre, twice
daily, at popular prices.
Mr. Rupert Hughes
to D. W. Griffith
Dear Mr. Griffith:
Your picture “America” has shaken me up and stirred
me so deeply in so many ways that I must express my
profound homage.
You have combined so many arts so greatly that your
generalship is as amazing as your infinite success with
detail of every sort.
There were so many thrills, heartbreaks and triumphs
that it is ridiculous to praise any one thing.
But the whole sequence in which the son is brought to
the bedside of the wounded father by that divine deceiver,
the daughter, OVERWHELMED ME AS ONE OF
THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS BY ANY OF
THE ARTS FROM THE GREEK TRAGEDY ON.
The extraordinarily tangled skein of Miss Dempster’s
acting, with every thread sincere and distinct and unlike
anybody’s else, also quite conquered me.
{Signed) RUPERT HUGHES.
FORTY-FOURTH STREET THEATRE
West of Broadway
TWICE DAILY—2:20-8:20 SUNDAY MAT. at 3
500 Matinee Seats, 50c 1,000 Best Seats, $1.00
Nights, 50c, $1.00 and $1.50
V
#
Newspaper Publicity Stories
for
D. W. GRIFFITH’S
“AMERICA”
Direction by D. W. Griffith, assisted by Herbert Sutch; story by Robert W. Chambers;
historical arrangements by John L. E. Pell; photography by Hendrick Sartov,
G. W. Bitzer, Marcel Le Picard and H. S. Sintzenich; art director,
Charles M. Kirk
Released by United Artists Corporation
There is abundant material herein for a one, two or three weeks’ advance and during run
publicity campaign for Mr. Griffith’s latest screen production for United Artists Corpora¬
tion. The folder contains proper billing and credits; cast and synopsis; first advance
announcement stories; during run stories; sketches of Mr. Griffith and the principal
players, with short items for use at any time.
DO NOT THROW THIS FOLDER AWAY - STUDY THIS MATERIAL
Keep this folder where you can get at it when the time comes to begin your publicity cam¬
paign. Then study carefully the stories in it and select those best suited for your
particular community and your newspapers. Take them to the motion picture editor
or the city editor of the different papers. In another folder you will find a large as¬
sortment of star and production cuts to illustrate the publicity stories. The cuts or mats
are sold at cost. USE THEM LIBERALLY.
For your convenience these newspaper stories have been so prepared that they may be
handled by theatre manager or his publicity man, or the newspaper editor, with the
greatest despatch and in the simplest manner. Both theatre man and editor can see at a
glance just what point is brought out in any one story.
These stories have been so written that any one of them—with the exception of two or three
general advance announcement items—can be used at any time, either prior to or dur¬
ing the run. In sending them out it is necessary only to clip them, write in the theatre
name and play date where indicated; and then get them into the hands of the motion
picture editor or the city editor.
Cast
a^nd Synopsis
D. W. GRIFFITH
Presents
“AMERICA”
Story and Titles by Robert W. Chambers
Historical 1 Arrangement by John L. E. Pell
Released by United Artists Corporation
CAST OF CHARACTERS
(In the order of their appearance)
Nathan Holden .NEIL HAMILTON
Justice Montague .ERVILLE ALDERSON
Miss Nancy Montague .CAROL DEMPSTER
Charles Philip Edward Montague.CHARLES EMMETT MACK
Samuel Adams .LEE BEGGS
John Hancock .JOHN DUNTON
King George III .ARTHUR DONALDSON
William Pitt .CHARLES BENNETT
Lord Chamberlain!.DOWLING CLARK
Thomas Jefferson .FRANK WALSH
Patrick Henry .FRANK McGLYNN, JR.
George Washington .ARTHUR DEWEY
Richard Henry Lee .P. R. SCAMMON
Captain Walter Butler .LIONEL BARRYMORE
Sir Ashley Montague .SIDNEY DEANE
General Gage .W. W. JONES
Captain Montour .E. ROSEMAN
Chief of Senecas, Hiakatoo.HARRY SEMALLS
Paul Revere ..'.HARRY O’NEILL
John Parker, Captain of Minute Men.H. VAN BOUSEN
Major Pitcairn .HUGH BAIRD
Jones Parker .JAMES MILAIDY
Colonel Prescott .H. KOSER
Major General Warren .MICHAEL DONOVAN
Captain Hare .LOUIS WOLHEIM
Chief of Mohawks, Joseph Brant.RILEY HATCH
Edmund Burke .W. RISING
Personal servant of Miss Montague.DANIEL CARNEY
Household servant at Ashley Court.E. SCANLON
Lord North .EMIL HOCH
A Refugee Mother .LUCILLE LA VERNE
(by special courtesy)
Major Strong .EDWIN HOLLAND
An Old Patriot .MILTON NOBLE
THE STAFF ASSISTING MR. GRIFFITH
Assistant Director . Herbert Sutch
Director of Construction .William J. Bantel
Photographers,
Hendrick Sartov, G. W. Bitzer, Marcel Le Picard, H. S. Sintzenich
Art Director .Charles M. Kirk
Artist Designer .Warren A. Newcombe
Film Editors .James and Rose Smith
Still Photographer .Frank J. Diem
Scenic Artist .Charles E. Boss
Personal Representative .James M. Ashcraft
Chief Projectionist .Benjamin Turner
PD ATrriTT Ari/ATAtirT ^T-. t t
GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OF ASSISTANCE ARE DUE:
Daughters of the American Revolution.
Edwin B. Worthen, President Lexington Historical Society, Lexington, Mass.
Secretary of War John W. Weeks, Washington, D. C.
G. Watson James, Jr., National Historian, Sons of the Revolution.
Brigadier General Sir) Percy Sykes of the British Army.
Charles K. Bolton, President Boston Athenaeum and Senior Warden Old
North Church.
Dr. J. A. C. Chandler, President College of William and Mary.
Br. W. A. R. Goodwin, of the Faculty College of William and Mary.
E. G. Swen, Librarian College of William and Mary.
Richard Crane, Westover on the James River, Va. 1
Admiral and Mrs. Oliver and Mrs. Bransford, Shirley on the James
River, Va.
Governor Trinkle of Virginia.
John Q. James, Virginia Historical! Society, Richmond, Va.
Major General Robert L. Bullard, U. S. A.
Major William C. Rose, U. S. A., Governor’s Island.
Major Marino, U. S. A., Fort Slocum, N. Y.
Capt. George T. Shank, U. S. A., Fort Slocum, N. Y.
The 18th Infantry, U. S. A.
The 16th Infantry, U. S. A.
Col. Hamilton Hawkins, 3rd U. S. Cavalry, Fort Meyer, Va.
Major J. M. Wainwright, Fort Meyer, Va.
Third U. S. Cavalry of Fort Meyer, Va.
W. Jordan, Curator Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pa.
W. Herbert Burk, D.D., Valley Forge Historical Society.
Paul Revere Historical Society.
Virginia Historical Society.
New York Public Library.
New York Historical Society.
Massachusetts Historical Society.
Disputes have tumbled through his¬
torical societies and persons laden
with historic lore, regarding the color
of the horse Paul Revere rode in the
famous flight to Lexington. This is,
perhaps, America’s most famous horse;
as, aside from the actual historic prom¬
inence, it is known to nearly every
American through Longfellow’s popu¬
lar poem.
Painters, generally, have portrayed
this horse as white. The color was
recommended largely through artistic
expediency rather than historic proof,
as the white horse provided an easy
contrast and relief from the back¬
ground of the night scene. It is true
that Revere’s own horse was white.
Revere, however, lived in North
Square, Boston, and as the British
troops occupied the roads leading out
of the city, he had to cross the river
to Charlestown. Two friends, Joshua
Bentley and Thomas Richardson,
started with him across the Charles
River in a boat when they saw the
British ship “Somerset” anchored in
mid-stream. They had nothing with
which to muffle the oars, and Bentley
went ashore, returning with a petti¬
coat still warm from the body of a
Daughter of Liberty.
It was the night of April 18, 1775.
A horse had been borrowed from
Deacon Larkin in Charlestown, for
the ride. The Deacon had two horses,
it is reported, one a seal bay and the
other a dark roan in color.
THE SYNOPSIS
The romance develops between Nathan Holden, an express rider of
Massachusetts, and Nancy Montague of Virginia. She belongs to one of
the world’s most famous families of the nobility, directly descended from
Charles, Earl of Halifax. The Montague house! and estates are the show
place of America; hundreds of slaves serving the little .principality; the
Montague’s own ships sailing the seas.
When presented at court in London, little Nancy is the sensation of
the season, a tantalizing little beauty. From the letters written by the
great ladies concerning Miss Nancy’s presentation, comes a murmur,
gentle but fragrant, of the daintiness of her taste in perfume and lingerie.
Other letters comment on the whimsical way she used to look at George
Washington.
Nathan is the champion wrestler and tathlete of Massachusetts; a
daring horseman; and, though poor, of good family and a graduate of
Harvard. The passionate tenderness of his poetry, I still in existence,
reflects in the sombre beauty of his smouldering eyes.
Holden first meets Nancy in Virginia. He thrills at the first sight
—a startling vision with her silk-clad ankles fluttering beneath her dainty
skirt; a tender vision in her innocence and graceful beauty—and thinks to
touch her would be more than youth could endure. He writes that he
sets her as a thing apart. Perhaps it is the great difference in their
stations.
Strangely enough,; they meet later when, the Montagues, being Loy¬
alists, go North to consult with the King’s people about resisting the
rebels at Lexington, arriving on the very night Paul Revere sets the
world afire by his mad ride.
It is here Nancy puts her girlhood aside; for it is here her lover is
forced to break her heart.
As the poet says: “Each man kills the thing he loves: Let this by all
be heard. The brave man does it with a sword; the coward with a word.”
It is here also that Nancy’s brother, though of a family of Loyalists,
embraces the American cause.
Nancy, like her mother, is known for the passionate tenderness of
her devotion to her brother. Though a dandy, he is a dangerous swords¬
man, expert marksman and brave as men can be. Risking all, her
brother embraces the cause of Freedom, the symbol of sacrifices of the
many that freedom might not die from the face of the earth.
And then later, Nancy, with her father, escapes to her Uncle’s home
in Northernl New York, and there in the great sacrifice; she puts away
the rich garments of the past, and takes on the sweetest robes of all, the
perfumed, glorious robes of service.
Here also continues our love story, a silver thread of romance run¬
ning through that great horth country from the upper Hudson through
Pennsylvania; where were the granaries of Washington’s armies.
The people of the southern states endured much, but the/ people 'of
the Northland lived and worked and struggled through the war in con¬
stant fearl of death that hovered in every wood and covert. Through all
this vast country, towns and districts were destroyed with fire and sword
in the hands of Tories, Hessians and regulars. With the visitations of
the enemy, death, torture, burning at the stake, mutilations and horrors
that cannot even be suggested, were inflicted upon men, women and
children, time and time again; and, with tremendous courage, the people
rebuilt their homes, restored their fields, only to have them destroyed
again.
One may ask why Washington crossing the Delaware is not( shown.
Our story deals with the sacrifices made to give us our institutions today.
In crossing 1 the Delaware, Washington lost but two men. The American
forces that held the North lost ten thousand; suffered at the hands of
the Tories and Indians unmentionable tortures. With every man’s scalp
worth seven dollars then (more than $100 by comparison today), death
of the Americans meant commercial success as well as triumph with
arms. And the women, for whose scalps no bounty was offered, were
oftentimes burned in their homes.
These unknown heroes along America’s border from Fort Pitt, Penn¬
sylvania, to her eastern boundaries! These brave, loyal hearts that held
this great stretch of country against America’s enemies, Tories, Hessians,
Indians and regulars!
Thousands gave their lives: These heroes, unlike Paul Revere, had
no glorious Longfellow to sing their song, and the historians of the Revo¬
lution were with the southern armies. Unknown, unsung, they lie on this
vast plain, sacrificed on this great altar. Over them let us drop one tear
from a grateful heart; over them one sigh of compassion; over them at
least one little laurel spray for remembrance.
To this Northland Washington sends Nathan Holden, now a captain
in Morgan’s Riflemen, the most famous fighting unit of the Americans.
They wear “Liberty or Death” upon their breasts.
Here Nathan again meets Nancy, not in dramatic devices, but in
incidents which actually occur according to. the authentic reports of the
military records.
Nancy is caught with the other refugees at Fort Sacrifice, the symbol
of America. America’s enemies are pounding at the gates. Nancy is
threatened in a whirlpool of terror, death, destruction, swirling around
the Fort.
An American courier takes this news to young Holden and his Mor¬
gan’s Riflemen. We/ must thrill with them when they receive this news,
and when Nathan goes with his men to save the Fort, grander in their
homespun than knights in armor and swifter than Fate in their retribution.
This picture play is merely an attempt to suggest in a small way
the great sacrifice made by our forefathers that America might become
a free and independent nation.
It is in no sense an attempt to portray the story of the Revolu¬
tionary War: as that story is too tremendous to be told fully by many
picture plays, much less by one.
No efforts have been spared to have the historical incidents as cor¬
rect as possible 1 . The villages of Lexington and Concord were designed
from the Doolittle drawings, and descriptions given by writers of the day.
In the conflict at Lexington and Concord Bridge, despite the num¬
bers engaged, our picture shows the exact number killed.
The battle lines at Lexington are exact reproductions of the original,
as to numbers—800 British against 77 Americans.
The details of Paul Revere’s ride are historical incidents and not
dramatic conveniences. When pursued by British horsemen, he outrode
them by hurdling fence and gate cross-country, finally losing them in a
quagmire.
Replicas of Paul Revere’s lanterns were actually hung in Old North
Church for the signals.
The drum used by the Minute Men is the original one used at the
Battle of Lexington. Several flint-lock guns carried in the scene were
actually used in that strife, and pistols shown are those recovered from
Maj. Pitcairn’s horse, after being abandoned when injured.
Buckman’s Tavern is an exact reproduction, and the Clark home Is
an actual photograph of the original.
As for Walter Butler, symbol of other leaders in the battle of autoc¬
racy against freedom, Fiske, perhaps the greatest of the American his¬
torians, says he is the only character in all history in whom he could
find not one single redeeming trait.
*
A Few Special Advance Stories
Military Authority Tells How
Bunker Hill Battle Was Fought
Interesting Details of How Every Manoeuvre Was Carried Out In
the Bunker Hill Battle of 1923
By Captain George T. Shank, 18th Inf.
Late last September an American
Expeditionary Force, consisting of the
18th Infantry, supplemented by a small
detachment of the 16th, left its quar¬
ters in New York Harbor for a loca¬
tion in the hills of southern New York
near the quaint old village of Somers.
The mission of these troops was not
to represent their country in battle,
but on the contrary to play the part, of
their quandam enemies, the British
Regulars, in the stirring scenes of
Revolutionary history to be depicted
for the first time on the silver screen,
to serve as an indelible record of the
patriotic deeds of our forefathers.
Now to go back and furnish the
background for this strange expedi¬
tion which astonished the sober coun¬
tryside with the sights and deeds of
armies long dead, and filled the green
hills of Westchester County with the
colorful' scarlet and buff of the Grena¬
dier Guards, the Royal Welsh Fusileers
and the Light Infantry of His Maj¬
esty’s Army in the Colonies.
These troops of the famous 1st
Division were part of the army of
actors to be used in the filming of the
play “America,” staged by that master
genius of the movies, Mr. D. W. Grif¬
fith, now at the..
Theatre. A reconnaissance party pre¬
ceded the expedition by several days,
and, having met Mr. Griffith and his
very able staff, soon caught the spirit
of the play. It was found to be a
patriotic production, long dreamed of
and now to be actually staged. It had
had its inception in the minds of many,
including that of our late President,
and had the able assistance of the
Daughters of the American Revolu¬
tion and other historical societies, all
of which were interested in placing
on record an accurate reproduction of
the historic events which secured to
this country its liberty.
A pyramidal tent camp was estab¬
lished near Brewster, N. Y., water
piped in, and the first day spent in
getting acquainted with the various
sorts of variegated uniforms of the
British, Colonials, French, Tory
Greens and Morgan’s Riflemen. White
wigs effected quite a transformation,
it was found, and long flintlock rifles
and bayonets afforded quite a contrast
to the sight of a soldier in conven¬
tional O. D. i
The troops were drilled for a short
time in the facings and in forming
fours, style of 1775, somewhat similar
to the present British drill.
Tactics were found to be quite dif¬
ferent from those of the present day.
The fundamental principles of fire and
movement were used, but the armies
of 1775 fought in company front, close
order, the front rank firing a volley,
then handing back the empty pieces
and taking the muskets of the rear
rank for another volley. Battles of
that age doubtless made a brilliant
display, but the method of fighting
9eems suicidal to soldiers trained to
take wide intervals and seek cover.
Real work began the second day by
staging the Battle of Johnston Hall,
fought in Tryon County, New York,
near the stronghold of Sir John John¬
ston, Commissioner over the Iroquois.
This was followed by the Retreat from
Lexington and Concord, the Battle
of Merriam’s Corners, various other
marches and small engagements, and
ending up with the Battle of Bunker
Hill and the surrender at Yorktown.
Perhaps the most widely celebrated
battle in American history is that of
Bunker Hill. This was staged with
the greatest possible accuracy to his¬
torical facts, and will no doubt afford
the best showing on the screen. Tac¬
tically speaking, the battle consisted
of three main assaults on a redoubt
and breastworks on the top of Breed’s
Hill. Tfie British troops moved for¬
ward slowly and steadily, in company
front, the whole line forming a sort
of semi-circle around the foot of the
hill, the Grenadiers on the right. The
troops were heavily laden and carried
knapsacks. They delivered volleys with
the regularity of a full dress parade
and moved steadily onward right up
to the breastworks, where Prescott
gave that famous command, “Don’t
fire until you see the whites of their
eyes,” and in the volleys that blazed
from the rifles of the Minute Men,
the Grenadiers and Light Infantry lost
from three-fourths to nine-tenths of
their men.
The charge was repeated with like
results. Then the third charge was
made, but without knapsacks. This
time the Red Coats held their fire and
stormed the redoubt and breastworks
with the bayonet. They went clear
over, gaining a tactical victory, but
with a loss of over twenty-five hun¬
dred men. Their victory was barren
of results.
The filming of this battle lasted
-about two days. It was an inspiring
sight to see the long lines of troops, in
triple rank, uniformed in bright scar¬
let coats, white breeches, black leg-
gins and cocked hats, moving steadily
up the hill to the music of the famous
18th Infantry Band, firing by volley
as they progressed, and only breaking
into disorder and retreat at the flash
of the volley from the trenches at the
top. Only the discipline and training
of the Regular Army soldier could
furnish such an exhibition, and the
versatility of the American soldier was
shown by the way he adapted himself
to the atmosphere of the occasion.
Some of the men “died” most realis¬
tically. One when asked by Mr. Grif¬
fith where he learned to “die,” replied,
“In the Argonne.”
This tour of duty with the “movies” was
thoroughly enjoyed by all and it is believed
everyone became much better acquainted with
the life behind the scenes. All of us look back
with pleasure to the many evenings of enter¬
tainment in the nearby hotel grounds, with the
band in the center, surrounded by a motley
array of soldiers, tourists, “ham actors” and
natives. Between concerts the actors afforded
much merriment by impromptu acts and songs,
unless “given the hook.” Government straights
were considerably enlarged through the gen¬
erosity of Mr. Griffith, and the farewell chicken
dinner and concert will linger long in memory.
Unearthing the Revo¬
lution’s Real Villain
History Shows That Walter Butler,
Not Benedict Arnold, Was Most
Infamous Figure in Struggle
For Freedom
Who was the greatest villain of the
War of American Independence?
No, contrary to the general belief,
it was not Benedict Arnold, the traitor,
but Walter Butler, the Tory.
Such was the conclusion of the staff
of research experts which delved deep
into Revolutionary history, into his¬
torical data, and even into private
diaries of the period to get the au¬
thentic facts for “America,” the
romantic photodrama of the Revolu¬
tion which D. W. Griffith produced,
and which will be presented at the
.Theatre, beginning.
Traitor to his country though he
was, Benedict Arnold had, previous
to his act of treachery, fought bravely.
History shows him to have been a
man weak but tender, a man who
could fight fairly, a man endowed
with a goodly stock of what is known
as “humanity.”
But none of the saving i graces
vouchsafed by history to Arnold are
conferred on Butler. Indeed, one
historian—and a contemporary one,
eye witness to some of the horrors
perpetrated by Butler—declares cate¬
gorically that Butler was a man “with¬
out a single redeeming trait.”
Yet somehow, Butler managed to
escape the odium of his ruthless
career, and the patriotically minded
declare that Griffith’s “America,” in
which the acts of the influence of
Butler are vividly portrayed will go
far towards bringing about more
friendly relations between this coun¬
try and. Great Britain through a better
understanding of how Butler and men
of his like, and" not the great mass of
the Tories, first brought about, and
later waged, the American Revolu¬
tion.
It was Butler who advised the Brit¬
ish securing the> Indians as allies, and
who, in order to accomplish this, when
the peacably inclined redskins de¬
clined to go on the warpath against
the settlers, goaded them into it by
massacring whole families of Indians
and blaming the deed on the Ameri¬
cans.
It was Butler who gave the order
to his Indian allies to spare neither
women nor children; who staged wild
orgies in order to awaken a thirst for
liquor and vice among his savage fol¬
lowers, as well as to satisfy his own
consuming passions.
It was Butler who led the frightful
raid on Cherry Valley, slaying non-
combatants, white men, redmen,
women and children without mercy.
It was he who, when he commanded
one of the Indians to do a foul deed
from which even the savage recoiled,
himself murdered his friend and ally
with a tomahawk.
His acts were the acts of an insane
man, his whole career that of a
megalomaniac or a paranoiac. Had
he lived at the present day he prob¬
ably would be an inmate of an asylum,
was his private life what it was.
Yet, his councils managed to pre¬
vail with King George Third, the mad
monarch, who refused to listen to his
more prudent councilors.
Records show that Butler was
equally insensible to the courage of
enemies and the sufferings of friends.
He and his band of savages took no
prisoners; gave no quarter. On such
few occasions as he did spare the life
of an enemy, it was but to save the
latter for cruel tortures at the stake.
According to contemporary historians,
Butler delighted in witnessing the tor¬
ture of the helpless.
Songs of the period, and poetry, too,
tell the pitiful plight of Butler’s clos¬
est friends and allies, the one finding
their daughters ruined, the other their
wives and mothers slain.
And nowhere in history, not even
in the records of the English officers,
can be found a word in extenuation
of Butler’s terrible acts. Indeed, on
the contrary, it is made very plain that
the English officers have neither
friendship for him, nor anything but
shame for his deeds. On every pos¬
sible occasion he violated the Briton’s
inborn respect for fair play.
Like many deranged minds, Butler
imagined himself immune from retri¬
bution and death. Tracked through
the woods by some of the very red¬
skins he had helped to turn again
the white men and their defenseless
homes, he lingered behind his body¬
guard of savages to hurl obscene de¬
fiances at his pursuers. He could not
forgo his opportunity to play the brag¬
gart.
He was first shot through the eye,
and then tomahawked, leaving, ac¬
cording to contemporary historians,
a score of gallows cheated of legiti¬
mate prey, but giving birth to a coun¬
try-wide and unanimous sigh of
relief.
BUT ONE ACTOR
RESEMBLED WASHINGTON
Located after a country-wide search,
during which thousands of photo¬
graphs were examined, and more
than one hundred actors, including a
number of Broadway stars, were in¬
terviewed in person, Arthur Dewey
was selected by D. W. Griffith to por¬
tray the role of George Washington
in “America,” the romantic photo¬
drama of the War of Independence,
which comes to the.Theatre
Dewey was selected because he was
adjudged to have the most perfect
physical resemblance to Washington.
Before the final selection was made
Dewey and several other applicants
were taken to Washington, D. C., by
Griffith, in order that he might com¬
pare their visages with pictures and
statues of the first President.
Although some historical authori¬
ties claim that the Father of his Coun¬
try was more than six feet in height,
Griffith’s research department un¬
earthed an order written by Wash¬
ington to his tailors in London, in
which he described himself as “just
six feet and of medium build.” It
was found that Dewey was exactly six
feet tall.
Dewey is a descendant of an old
Revolutionary family, which in the
last century migrated from Lexing¬
ton, Mass., to the Middle West, set¬
tling in Illinois. One of his ancestors,
Ashabel Smith, answered Paul Re-
vere’s summons, and fought valiantly
on Lexington Green.
* ¥ r #
More Feature Stories
An Interesting Sketch of the
Arch Traitor of the Revolution
History Failed to Impress Americans With the Treacherous Details
of Captain Butler as Has the Author in This Story
By Robert W. Chambers
(Mr. Chambers, one of the greatest of
American novelists, has made the Revolu¬
tionary War history of Upper New York State
one of his major hobbies. He has acquired
a great many original documents, private let¬
ters and other rare sources of true history.
From his country home in that section, he
has followed the trails where the Indians
marched in their forays, visited every prin¬
cipal scene of attack, and his knowledge of
the larger events is illuminated with innumer¬
able details. His pen is responsible for the
intimate knowledge we have of Walter Butler,
the most astonishing villain in all America’s
history.—Editor’s Note.)
Concerning this strange, sinister
and unhappy young man, the greatest
of our historians, Fisk, remarks that
he has been unable to discover in the
character of Walter Butler a single re¬
deeming trait.
This seems to be too severe a judg¬
ment. In my possession is a letter
written by Walter Butler to Peter Van
Schaick which reveals in the writer
both kindness and generosity. Other¬
wise the letter is characteristic of this
young man, for, presently, he flies
into a rage against some man whom
he believes has treated him with dis¬
courtesy. I think that Harold
Frederick gave a true glimpse of
Walter Butler—a momentary glimpse
—but convincing.
From what we know about young
Walter Butler he was, in person, at¬
tractive; in mind, accomplished.
His intense loyalty to his cause be¬
came more than an obsession. It
amounted to madness—if indeed, the
seeds of madness had not already
germinated in this melancholy and
dissipated young companion of Sir
John Johnson.
The debauchery of these two sprigs
of the Tryon County landed gentry
covered a trail that led from New
York to Albany, to Schenectady, to
Johnston, and to Quebec.
Theirs was, socially, an unsavory
record; but there is no reason for
going into it here.
It may be that excesses unhinged
Butler. His pride in his Ormand
ancestry and connection, if indeed
there really were such a descent, made
him haughty, exacting and abnormally
sensitive.
For the rest, his was an exaggerated
character of a poetic temperament
wholly wrapped up in himself—a neu¬
rotic easily unhinged by excitement,
swiftly inflamed to violence by fancied
neglect or insult.
After his escape from imprisonment
in Albany, the terrible directness of
his insolent letter to the American mili¬
tary authorities revealed the savage fire
smouldering within his abnormal
mind.
The contemptuous reply to that let¬
ter kindled his rage to a blaze which
made a conflagration of Cherry Val¬
leyand which drove him again and
again in headlong fury on the Mohawk
Valley.
For this merciless young man,
Brant had only contempt. Of him,
it is reported his own father, Colonel
John Butler, said “To save those
poor people (at Cherry Valley), I
would have crawled all the way on
my hands and knees; and why my
son did not spare them, God only
knows.”
This—and that Haldimand refused
to see him—are legends of Tryon
County. I do not know how true
they are. I doubt Haldimand’s deli¬
cacy because in my possession I have
the petition for relief signed by the
widow of the monster, Lieut. Hare;
and upon which Haldimand has writ¬
ten approval over his own signature.
As for Walter Butler’s guilt, there
can be no doubt. He was the scourge
of the Frontiers. All patriotic
America rejoiced at his death; and I
know of no other instance in our his¬
tory where the death of an enemy was
considered a matter for public celebra¬
tion.
No more knightly figure rides
through the history of those bloody
days than that of Colonel Marivius
Willett—who, later, was to become the
first Mayor of New York under the
Republic.
What could be more significant than
that the chivalrous and kindly Willett
glanced down from his snow-wet
saddle with cold contempt at the bat¬
tered body of Walter Butler; and,
when an Oneida scout asked permis¬
sion to take the scalp, shrugged his
indifference, and rode on, leaving the
unburied body to the forest wolves!
There is much material for a mono¬
graph on Walter Butler, but this is
no place to attempt it.
His home still stands in northern
New York State.
His abhorred memory still remains
in the minds of the people whose
forefathers he scouraged with fire and
hatchet.
The great struggle of the American
Revolution was strictly a family af¬
fair—a fight between members of the
same race geographically separated.
An alien king was the cause of it
and precipitated it.
And, in that eight years’ war, those
few individuals who became in¬
famous through cruelties and treach¬
eries belonged to the common race;
and that race must bear the obliquy,
British and Americans alike, and, to¬
gether, today, repudiate all that was
un-English and un-American in a
great family struggle which reflects
honor on both.
The only document bearing any
stamp of authenticity as to the color
of the horse selected, is an excerpt
from a private letter now in the home
of a wealthy Rhode Island banker.
The private nature of the letter has
prevented it having been published,
but when the present owner learned
of the efforts of Mr. Griffith’s staff to
determine the exact color of the
Revere horse, he sent this informa¬
tion from the letter: “We could see
the foam on the dark side of Revere’s
horse.”
So it has been thoroughly proven
the horse was not white; but it is im¬
probable any one can ever prove the
exact color.
Tradition says the horse died from
the effects of the ride.
When he made the ride that was to
establish his name imperishably among
the heroes of the Revolutionary War,
Paul Revere was in his forties, a heavy
set, sturdy man capable of great ex¬
ertions; and an ardent protestant
against the impositions of the British
laws.
For some years he ha'd been a den¬
tist, surrendering the probes and for¬
ceps to renew his work as a silver¬
smith, a trade to which he had been
apprenticed as a youngster. He was
unusually skillful with his work in
precious metals, only abandoning it for
the dental career because there was
so little work available in Boston. He
complained the well-to-do families pre¬
ferred having their silver vessels made
in England, desiring imported luxuries
over those made at home.
All records accent the warmth and
likableness of his personality, his un¬
usual bodily vigor, and his fearless en¬
thusiasm in advancing any cause that
caught his interest.
His great fame is due in part to his
personal popularity, and the pic¬
turesqueness of his individuality. He
was a close friend of John Hancock
and Samuel Adams and other leaders
of the Revolutionary movement. His
greatest fortune, however, was in
having one of the greatest of press
agents, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
who wrote the poem immortalizing the
ride.
Few people know that a brother
express rider of Revere rode on the
same mission. They went from
Boston to Lexington by different
roads. Revere was stopped by Brit¬
ish soldiers after riding out of Lexing¬
ton, a total distance of nearly thirteen
miles.
Revere’s ride was more dramatic,
however, as he warned Hancock and
Adams, the two leaders whom the
British wanted to capture above all
others. They were concealed in the
home of the Rev. Jonas Clarke on
Bedford Road, Lexington, tucked two
in a bed and asleep when Revere cried
“The British are coming.”
The British captured Revere. In
the excitement of the morning, he
escaped and made his way on foot
back to Lexington.
Revere realized a pleasant prominent
old age, continuing his work as silver¬
smith. His home is now one of the
patriotic shrines of Boston.
WEATHER DIFFERENT IN ’76
The oldest inhabitant may be louder
and more persistent in his opinion of
how the weather has changed since
he was a boy, but probably no one in
the United States knows better the
difference between a winter in Revolu¬
tionary days and a winter today than
D. W. Griffith.
Griffith and his research workers,
restaging Revolutionary times down
at Mamaroneck for scenes in
“America.” which comes to the.
Theatre...were plentifully
supplied with accurate reports of the
snowfall day by day in ’74, 75, and
76. Also of the thickness of the ice
on the Delaware and other impor¬
tant streams. But they waited in vain
for either the ice or the snow to be
duplicated this winter.
While the informal reports of
Colonial times show that New Eng¬
land, New York and even more
southern territory was covered by
from one to fifteen feet of snow at
this season of the year, the official
thermometer at Mamaroneck reg¬
istered Spring heat, until within a day
or two of the completion of “America.”
WHY GRIFFITH CHOSE
WAR OF NORTH COUNTRY
It is unfortunate from the historian’s
point of view that artists and writers
choose the spectacular rather than the
important events and incidents of a
war as the subjects for their paintings
and their writings. For it very fre¬
quently happens that the really im¬
portant events of a great war, like
those of human life in general, lack
that spectacular quality which inspires
the artist and the writer, and hence,
being neglected, gradually pass from
the ken of men. Oftimes, too, events
both important and spectacular have
been overshadowed by events which
might be termed “super-spectacular”
and so have passed from memory.
So it probably is that one of the
most important campaigns of the War
of American Independence, having
failed hitherto to attract the chroni¬
clers, has been well nigh forgotten.
It has remained for David Wark
Griffith, creating his “America,” the
titanic romance of the Revolution,
now at the.Theatre to bring
from oblivion the great struggle to
save the grain fields of the North
Country, and to place it where it be¬
longs—among the decisive struggles
of the history of the United States.
Fate, aided by artists and models,
has made Washington’s voyage across
the frozen Delaware one of the best
known incidents of the Revolution.
From a historian’s angle, however,
this was a minor incident indeed, com¬
pared with the battle in the North
Country. Two lives were lost when
Washington’s forces crossed the river.
Ten thousand men, women and chil¬
dren were slaughtered when Capt.
Walter Butler, Capt. Hare, and their
band of ruthless, painted Tories, and
Indians, swept through the North
Country, bent on destroying the grain,
which alone could keep Washington’s
Army supplied with food.
Confronted with the gigantic task
of bringing the high points of the
Revolution within the two and one-
half hours’ space allotted, Griffith,
with the advice of leading historians,
chose to depict the story of the war
in Northern New York and Western
Pennsylvania, rather than the better
known, but comparatively unimpor¬
tant battles and incidents which artists
and writers have made famous.
THE FLAPPER OF 75
The girl of today can directly trace
her beginning in independence to the
Revolutionary War. Until that time,
girls were most carefully disciplined.
The war completely changed ideas
of dress. No imports were permitted
by the British fleet, and the American
girls had to design their own dresses,
and break suddenly away from the Brit¬
ish customs.
Also the whimsical convenience of
fainting was made obsolete by the new
responsibilities the girls had to face.
The general atmosphere of rebellion
extended to the girls regarding such
strict parental authority as existed
then. If Dad' wouldn’t be ordered
about by the British, then Daughter
wouldn’t be ordered about by Dad.
So the independence of the American
girl, which has become a social
phenomenon throughout the world,
began.
Her principal vice at that time was
the taking of snuff, a practice among
women as common then as smoking
cigarettes is today.
Interesting Short Stories
of Stars in “America”
Facts About the Players in Griffith’s Latest Production That Your
Patrons Will Be Interested In
ERVILLE ALDERSON, who plays
with such striking art Justice Mon¬
tague, is a native of Kansas City, Mo.
His father was a prominent attorney,
author of several standard works on
legal matters. Alderson himself
studied law, but was unable to resist
the lure of the stage, and on his
twenty-first birthday instead of taking
his oath at the bar he joined a the¬
atrical stock company. During his
career he founded a repertoire theatre
in Kansas, which is still regarded as
a model institution of its kind. He
joined the Griffith forces to play in
“The White Rose,” and liked the
screen world so well that he has since
remained in it<
LIONEL BARRYMORE — Most
versatile and gifted member of a
family whose name is synonymous
with the _ finest stage talent, got his
first training as a motion picture actor
under Mr. Griffith in the old Biograph
studios. No one conversant with the
recent annals of the spoken stage need
be reminded of his triumphs in “The
Copperhead,” “The Jest,” and the
other outstanding artistic dramatic
hits. He is hardly less well known to
screen audiences through his remark¬
able characterizations in a score of
films. He has been called “the per¬
fect villain,” but never in his remark¬
able career has he had a part into
which he has thrown himself as that
of Walter Butler in “America.”
CAROL DEMPSTER—the Nancy
Montague of this stirring epic of
Revolutionary days, is a daughter of
California. Studying dancing at the
Dennishawn School, she had planned
for herself a career as a classical
terpsichorean and went into motion
pictures through chance. She was one
of a number of young dancers sent
to the Griffith studios in California
by the Dennishawn school to dance
in “Intolerance.” Mr. Griffith was
deeply impressed by her delicate
beauty, and at his suggestion she gave
up her dancing career for one in the
screen world. Under his tuition she
developed until in “One Exciting
Night,” and “The White Rose,” she
achieved signal successes. While
mastering the art of acting for the
silent drama, Miss Dempster has con¬
tinued her vocal studies, and may at
a not far distant date equal on
the operatic stage her triumph in
“America.”
ARTHUR DEWEY, whose majes¬
tic portrayal of George Washington
is one of the most charming features
of “America,” was born in Colchester,
Ill., where his parents still reside. He
went on the stage at an early age and
earned his spurs through a barnstorm¬
ing career through the Middle West,
during which he played every con-'
ceivable role. For two years his prin¬
cipal character was that of Simon
Legree in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” So
great was his success in this role
through the towns of the West that
it seemed likely that he would chase
little Eva across the ice for the rest
of his life. Desiring to enter the pic¬
ture field, however, he came to New
York, and affiliated himself with the
Griffith studios. Experts declare that
Dewey is physically an exact counter¬
part of Washington.
ARTHUR DONALDSON, a direct
descendant of the Vikings, the noted
Swedish actor who bears so striking
a resemblance to King George Third.
He began his stage career at the age
of seven years, but first appeared in
this country in 1896 with the Duff
Opera Company. His fine baritone
voice attracted much attention and
he became leading baritone with the
noted Tivoli organization in San
Francisco, and later with Augustine
Daly. He created the title role of
“The Prince of Pilsen,” and later sang
in “The Blue Moon” and “The Wan¬
derer.” He returned to Sweden in
1911, appearing there first in speaking
parts at the Oscar Theatre, Stockholm,
and later in motion pictures directed
and written by himself. He came
back to this country in 1915, entering
the picture field. He has appeared in
more than 350 roles, and his experi¬
ence ranges from farce to grand opera.
His performance as King George
Third was so realistic that Sir Percy
Sykes, the British authority on court
etiquette who assisted in staging the
court scenes, never addressed him
save as “Your Majesty.”
NEIL HAMILTON, in the pro¬
duction of “America,” has served to
present the public with a new leading
man of exceptional appearance and
extraordinary ability. He was born
in Lynn, Mass. Hamilton, still a boy
in years, has worked his jvay to the
top of his profession through sheer
ability. He was educated in Athol,
Mass., and later moved to New Haven,
Conn. He began his professional
career five years ago, playing a small
part in the stage production of “The
Better ’Ole.” Following engagements
in vaudeville and with stock com¬
panies, he entered the picture field
under Griffith. Like Miss Dempster,
Hamilton may be said to be entirely a
product of Griffith’s tuition, for he
has appeared in no pictures other than
those personally directed by the master
of film art. His first appearance on
the screen was in “The White Rose.”
RILEY HATCH’S long experience
in Indian roles, makes him the ideal
for the role of Joseph Brant, chief of
the Mohawks. Born in Cleveland,
Ohio, Hatch began his career as a
vocalist, singing in concert and in
opera. Following extensive musical
study in France, Hatch made his
debut in London, England, in the role
of Taby-wan-a in “The Squaw Man.”
His first stage appearance in his native
land was in “Paid in Full.” When
William Faversham revived “The
Squaw Man” Hatch was cast for his
original role. Following a successful
career on the spoken stage and in
musical comedy Hatch enltered the
film field, where his fine work has
earned him admirers in all parts of
the country.
CHARLES EMMETT MACK, the
Charles Edward Philip Montague of
the picture, was born in Scranton, Pa.,
and studied at St. Thomas’ College
there. He had barely graduated when
he got the circus fever and ran away
from home to join the Ringling
Brothers’ Circus, with which he
traveled for two seasons. Then he
launched into vaudeville, and later be¬
came a member of a stock company.
Attracted by the film, he joined the
Griffith forces, and has since been ex¬
clusively under Griffith’s tuition. He
had appeared in a number of pictures,
his first appearance being in “Dream
Street.”
HARRY EDWARD O’NEILL, the
furiously, galloping Paul Revere of the
picture, is of distinguished theatrical
parentage. His father was a member
of Richard Mansfield’s company, and
his mother a member of the famous
Cansino family, dancers to the Court
of Spain. Born in Rochester, N. Y.,
young O’Neill traveled with his par¬
ents, and as he grew up studied his
lessons on a trunk in their dressing
room. In the course of his career
he has made a tour of the world as an
actor, and for several seasons played
in Sydney, Australia.
LOUIS ROBERT WOLHEIM,
Cornell graduate, professor of mathe¬
matics, star football player, mechanical
engineer, and revolutionist, the Cap¬
tain Hare of “America,” is one of the
most remarkable and most interest¬
ing men before the American public
today. Finding a proffered captaincy
in Pancho Villa’s army “too slow,”
Wolheim came to New York in search
of adventure. He was introduced to
Lionel Barrymore and the latter in¬
duced him to enter the motion picture
field. His first role was that of a
tough captain and he did it so realis¬
tically that the rest of the company
threatened to quit. He achieved fame
in the title role of Eugene O’Neill’s
“Hairy Ape,” which ran on the New
York stage for seven months. He
has appeared in a large number of
pictures, including Griffith’s “Orphans
of the Storm,” and never fails to give
a convincing characterization.
ACTOR RESEMBLES
KING GEORGE THIRD
After having interviewed more than
150 actors, without finding one suit¬
able for the role of King George
Third, D. W. Griffith, filming
“America,” to be seen.at the
.Theatre, was on the point
of eliminating this historical charac¬
ter from his film, when he met Arthur
Donaldson, whose brilliant perform¬
ance of the King is one of the features
of this romantic photoplay.
Donaldson, a direct descendant of
the Vikings, was born in Sweden, and
began his stage career at the age of
three. He possessed a remarkable
baritone voice, which was carefully
cultivated, and at an early age went
upon the operatic stage.
He made his American debut in
1896 with the Duff Opera Company,
later with the noted Tivoli Opera Or¬
ganization in San Francisco and) after¬
wards with Augustine Daly in “The
Prince of Pilsen,” “The Blue Moon”
and “The Wanderer.” In 1911 he re¬
turned to Sweden appearing in speak¬
ing roles at the Oscar Theatre, Stock¬
holm, and later in motion pictures,
produced and directed by himself.
Since 1915 he has been appearing in
motion pictures in this country. He
bears a remarkable facial resemblance
to the most authentic pictures of King
George Third, and was exceptionally
fitted for the role through his ex¬
tensive knowledge of the life and reign
of that monarch, as well as because
of his experience at various European
courts.
Startling Revelations
Pictured in Films
“Burn all women and children!”
Such, according to history, was the
edith sent forth by Capt. Walter
Butler, the arch-fiend of the War of
American Independence, when! he and
his band of Tories and Indians swept
through Northern New York and
Pennsylvania, seeking to exterminate
the peaceful farmer-settlers, and to
destroy the great grain fields, which
General George Washington relied
upon to supply his army with food.
It is the story of this savage cam¬
paign, in which more than 10,000 men,
women and children perished, in which
whole settlements were razed, acres
of grain fired, and in which some of
the most courageous fighting of the
War of American Independence took
place, that David Wark Griffith depicts
in the romantic photodrama of the
Revolution, “America,” now at the
.Theatre.
Probably at once one of the most
important, and the least known cam¬
paigns of this country’s struggles for
freedom, the war in the North Coun¬
try, as it was known, surpasses in
drama many of the better known
events and battles of the Revolution.
Seven dollars in English gold was
offered—and paid according to rec¬
ords—for every male scalp delivered
by the Indians, or by those degenerate
Tories, who, painting themselves as
Indians, performed deeds from the
horror of which even the redskins
shrank.
This price, representing as it did a
small fortune in Continental currency,
is one of the best indications of how
important the British forces of the
day regarded this campaign, upon the
success or failure of which depended
the entire food supply of the Ameri¬
can fighting forces.
Against the hordes of redskins and
painted Tories, who, drunk with greed,
bestiality and strong spirits, invaded
the peaceful valleys fighting with the
fury of fatalistic madmen, the little
colonies of settlers made brave stands,
and no portion of history is so replete
with records of individual heroism as
that which tells of this campaign,
from which Griffith has drawn some
of his most telling and most dramatic
scenes.
HOW LARGE WAS
GEORGE WASHINGTON
The figure of George Washington
as shown in “America” was determined
by a jury after months of careful re¬
search had been given. An old let¬
ter which he had written to a London
tailor immediately after the war of¬
fered the most accurate measurements
of him physically.
He ordered suits “of the best mate¬
rial, for a man just six feet tall, med¬
ium slender, and standing erect.”
So many of Washington’s painted
portraits show him as an old man,
and vary greatly in details of expres¬
sion as well as to size of features.
When the jury, composed of three
historians and eight others, had de¬
cided upon the appearance that his¬
tory had recorded for the great
leader, Mr. Griffith set about finding
the actor to play the part.
He tested more than three hundred
actors, finally selecting Arthur Dewey
as the most perfect type. Dewey is
a descendant of Revolutionary an¬
cestors.
Short Stories That Will Interest Fans
Difficulties in Making
Battle Scenes
It is one thing to take a battle
scene for a motion picture. And it is
quite another thing to take a scene
of the battles of Lexington, Concord,
and Bunker Hill and make those
scenes absolutely correct to the small¬
est detail. But that, according to
Edwin B. Worthen, president of the
Lexington Historical Society, is what
D. W. Griffith has done in “America,”
which will have its premiere at the
.Theatre beginning..........
Mr. Worthen, who is a banker in
Lexington, aided Mr. Griffith through
the loan of necessary data, and of
invaluable Revolutionary relics, includ¬
ing the drum, flintlocks, powder horns
and other implements actually used
in the battle of Lexington, in making
“America.”
Following its premiere, Mr. Worthen
said to Mr. Griffith: “I am at a loss
for words to express how deeply im¬
pressed I am with the picture. I had
seen you and your company at work
in Lexington. I expected much, but
nothing so stupendous or stirring as
your finished product. Yet ever in
the magnitude of your task you have
held to historic accuracy with remark¬
able fidelity. You cannot imagine the
trembling and the thrills that grasped
me as the little village of Lexington,
the birthplace of American liberty,
came before my eye.
“Scenes taken on the spot where
Hancock and Adams sought the hos¬
pitality of Parson Clarke,—the Han¬
cock-Clarke House where those two
men were strengthened in their im¬
mortal task by the sound counsel of
the Parson, and from which that
patriot witnessed the massacre on
Lexington Common—the same drum
that summoned those humble farmers
to immortality—the guns, the powder
horns they wore, sacred relics kept
for all time as an inspiration to future
Americans—here was real drama to
thrill me.
“You have portrayed brave Jonas
Parker as he was—the man who, hav¬
ing sworn he would never flee from
a British red coat—wounded, trying
to load his flintlock was struck down
and bayonetted by the King’s troops.
You have made live again Capt. Par¬
ker, the idol of his little band, the man
who said ‘If they mean war let it begin
here.’
“Mr. Griffith, Lexington salutes you
and to your handiwork, ‘America,’ I
say, God speed you in your glorious
work of telling the story of the sacri¬
fices of our forefathers and in your
mission of teaching a higher and a
finer Americanism.”
PAUL REVERE’S RIDE
A THRILLING SCENE
Famed in poetry and in prose, the
historical ride of Paul Revere was
never before invested with the sig¬
nificance, the thrills and the daring
that it is in D. W. Griffith’s “Amer¬
ica,” the romantic epic of the War of
Independence, which will have its
premiere at the .Theatre
.on.
And Mr. Griffith’s picture gives the
lie direct to Longfellow’s poem on
the ride, for while the poet stated that
“Hardly a man now alive remembers
that famous date and year,” the vo¬
ciferous applause which greets every
hoofbeat of Revere’s horse shows very
well that women and children as well
as men remember Paul, his steed, and
the occasion of their journey very well
indeed.
There have been horse races pic¬
tured before; the movies have seen
more than one bit of fine horseman¬
ship; but—and this is said with the
universal agreement of the newspaper
critics—never has the silver sheet
known such a thrilling ride as that
of Paul Revere, in Griffith’s master¬
piece.
Every detail of the occasion is pic¬
tured with strict historical accuracy,
and the tower of the Old North
Church itself was especially wired for
electricity in order that the view of
the two lanterns might be taken for
the screen.
Revere is shown waiting in the
moonlight on the Charlestown shore,
“booted and spurred and ready to
ride.” The two lanterns flash, giving
warning that the British are coming
by sea, and then begins a ride through
Middlesex country which brings every
beholder to his feet. Over fences,
stone walls and streams, across pas¬
tures, down lanes, and along the high¬
way Revere’s noble steed pounds his
way at a furious gallop to the accom¬
paniment of the heart beats of an aud¬
ience aroused to the loftiest possible
state of patriotic fervor.
Even back in ’75 Paul Revere’s ride
could have been no more thrilling than
it is in “America.”
ACTUAL TREASURES
USED IN “AMERICA”
New England agreed to open its
treasures of Revolutionary relics to
motion pictures, when D. W. Griffith
went to Boston with 150 members of
his staff and players to photograph
the incidents of the early war on the
actual sites for “America,” which
comes to the .Theatre.
By arrangement with several of the
historical societies including in par¬
ticular the Lexington Historical So¬
ciety, the weapons, drums, costumes,
vehicles, etc., used during the war
were used in the action. It is the first
time these articles have ever been
shown to the world through motion
pictures.
Battle scenes were taken on the fam¬
ous Lexington Common, where the
historic “shot heard round the world”
was fired. Buckman’s Tavern and the
Adams house where John Hancock
and John Adams were sleeping'"on the
night the British came, were used as
settings.
The action under Griffith’s direc¬
tion continued along the road to Con¬
cord where' the battle of the bridge
was fought. Griffith’s intention that
all scenes should be taken on actual
sites excepting where improvements
prohibit, was carried out at a tremen¬
dous expense.
OLD CUSTOM HOUSE
USED BY GRIFFITH
When the fair ladies of America,
in 1775, wanted a new silk gown they
could not walk along Main Street and
purchase it at their pleasure. They
were forced to send to England for
material, and then wait many months
before the silk arrived. And when the
silk did come it did not arrive at a
dock in New York, but was forced to
come by way of Virginia, in order to
pass through the custom house at Wil¬
liamsburg, Va.
Today this same custom house, no
longer by any means the only one
in the country, is still standing, and
it may be seen as a background of
several scenes in D. W. Griffith’s
“America,” the romantic epic of the
War of Independence, now playing at
the...Theatre.
All materials imported into this
country in 1775 had to pass through
this custom house, which is still in its
original condition, and through it were
entered not only milady’s dresses and
jewels, but her household furniture,
and much of her food, and the rare
wines for her husband’s cellar.
Griffith and his large company trav¬
elled over a good deal of the Eastern
part of the country in special cars
in order to take as many as possible
for the scenes, for “America,” on orig¬
inal sites, and in Williamsburg, prac¬
tically unchanged since Revolutionary
days, they found much excellent mate¬
rial/but none more picturesque than
the old custom house.
UNUSUAL COINCIDENCE
Erville Alderson, the actor who
gives so touching a performance as
Justice Montague in D. W. Griffith’s
photodrama of the War of American
Independence, “America,” now at the
...Theatre, came very near
playing a similar role in real life.
The son of a distinguished authority
on judicial procedure, Alderson him¬
self studied law with the intention
of pursuing a career in the judiciary.
During his studies in his native city
of Kansas City, Mo., however, he had
been a regular patron of a stock com¬
pany there, and the virus of stagedom
had obtained a grip on his system.
On his twenty-first birthday, instead
of reporting at the courthouse to take
his oath at the bar, he slipped down
to the theatre and completed arrange¬
ments to become a member of the
stock company.
Later he was a member of stock
companies in Los Angeles, Calif., and
in St. Louis, Mo. Following tours
with William Faversham he founded
and directed his own repertory theatre
in Kansas City for several seasons.
The stock company which he founded
is still regarded throughout the coun¬
try as a model of its kind.
In 1923 he joined the Griffith forces,
playing an important role in “The
White Rose.”
CIRCUS TO PICTURES
Charles Emmett Mack, whose per¬
formance of the role of young Mon¬
tague is one of the outstanding fea¬
tures of D. W. Griffith’s “America,”
now at the ..Theatre, is a
native of Scranton, Pa., where he at¬
tended St. Thomas’ College.
While in college he saw the circus
for the first time, and, lured by the
apparently carefree gypsy life of a
circus man, he decided that the mo¬
ment he got his diploma he would
run away from home and become a
clown.
He carried out this resolve, joining
a small tent show, and later adding
himself to Ringling Brothers “Great¬
est Show on Earth,” with which he
travelled for two seasons. He soon
lost both his illusions as to circus life
being carefree and easy, and his de¬
sire for travel. But his desire for a
historic career remained, and he went
into vaudeville. Finding even the
traveling there too irksome, he joined
a stock company, and settled down to
a real apprenticeship 1 for theatrical
work.
Struck by the opportunities which
the silversheet offered to young actors,
Mack sought work in the! studios; and
was finally successful in joining the
Griffith forces, getting a small part in
“Dream Street.”
Since that time he has appeared ex¬
clusively under the Griffith banner.
Bobbed Hair Fashion
Started in 1776
A Boston girl, Miss Louise Thomp¬
son, began the bobbed hair fashion
back in the romantic exciting days
when is laid the story of D. W. Grif¬
fith’s thrilling entertainment, “Amer¬
ica,” his latest film to be shown at the
....Theatre.
Private letters of that day tell the
story of the defiant little brunette who
shocked the powdered respectability of
that time by shearing her hair which
swept her knees as a defiance to show
she was an American girl and would
dress as she pleased.
Style then came directly and severely
from London. Every woman and
nearly every man powdered the hair.
Instances are told wherein a woman
who had neglected to powder her hair
was not admitted to church. And
fifteen yards of silk, what with bustles,
frills and flounces, was an ordinary
dress pattern.
When the Americans decided they
were a nation rather than a colony,
English merchants refused to ship
articles to the American trade. Miss
Thompson was one of the prominent
young women of Boston who was un¬
able. to get powder for her hair. And
since she was unable to powder it in
prevailing fashion, she announced she
was “cutting my hair short, man fash¬
ion, and I hope every American girl
does it, to show the world we mean
to be independent.”
With that sensational example, the
girls gradually cast aside much of the
rigidity of English fashions in dress,
introducing simple gowns and home-
spun wraps. Some historians agree
that this romantic period marked the
beginning of the modern woman, stim¬
ulated by the adventures, the daring
and the romance of that period in our
national life.
This change in woman’s attitude has
been deftly caught by Mr. Griffith in
filming the charm of that day in the
gripping story “America” which many
foremost critics declare the equal if
not the superior of “The Birth of a
Nation.”
WHY FIRST LOVE INTERESTS
Why is first love the most difficult of emo¬
tions to portray?
A group of New York psychologists have
attempted 1 to analyze it at the request of the
motion picture industry.
D. W. Griffith, the foremost producer, per¬
haps has been more successful in portraying
this most fascinating of all emotions with
succeeding pictures, notably in his great ro¬
mance, “America,” which is gaining greater
fame e>ven than his celebrated “The Birth of
a Nation.”
Here is what the committee of specialists
say is in first love: shyness, boldness; em¬
barrassment, audacity; alarm, delight; appar¬
ent indifference, yet complete absorption; dis¬
turbing, yet a great happiness; aloofness in
act, yet complete constancy in thought; in all
the greatest study in contrasts of which the
human heart is capable.
In “America,” Mr. Griffith has taken the
first love of a vivacious, impetuous Virginia
girl of fashionable family, intensely loyal to
her father; and a young Massachusetts col¬
lege boy ablaze with the adventure, perils,
and greatness of the cause he serves.
These two, so opposite in every thought,
are sweethearts at first meeting, plunging
themselves into the complexities of first love
as well 19 the opposing interests of the dsy.
Perhaps never before has first love been so
subtly and charmingly revealed. The boy’s
part is played by Neil Hamilton, the young
man who has been accepted by sculptors as
the ideal young man of this nation; and the
girl is Carol Dempster.
No. Min (T)itlc or (bjescription
MUSICAL SYNOPSIS
for
66 A MERIC A"
by
JAMES C. BRADEORD
.-A.’'’HAIL AMERICA”.......:.....£
.:•••?•. LCiYE”
_
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Musical Programme
At screening.4-4 Maestoso .America Overture—Tobani
The Village of Lexington.6-8 Allegretto Grazioso.Sweet Lavender—Wheeler
The home of Nathan Holden.3-4 Moderato .Red Rose of Love—Gladwin
Love Theme
Williamsburg, Capitol of Virginia.4-4 Allegretto .Lbve’s Chatter—Mendoza
Already across the sea.3-4 Pomposo .Pomposo—Borch
Court scene.4-4 Moderato .Adoration—Borowsky
At the Green Dragon Tavern..4-4 Moderato Pomposo ...Hail America—Drumm
Freedom Theme
The Montagues leave.4-4 Allegretto .Promenade—Rapee-Axt
Holden at door.6-8-Allegro Agitato.Turbulence—Borch
The young Montagues withdrew.3-4 Moderato .Love Theme
Virginia voted sympathy. 6-8 Allegro Agitato.Turbulence—Borch
Threatening clouds of war. 3-4 Andantino .Adriana—Cilea
Montague goes north to confer. ..3-4 Moderato con moto.Appassionato No. 40—Borch
Nearing the council fires.4-4 Marcato .Invocation—Herbert (Play 2nd strain only)
NOTE—Play with muted brass, Tom-Tom ad lib. softly.
Captain Butler leaves for Boston. 2-8 Allegro Precipitoso.Precipitoso—Savino
Butler appears in room...3-4 Molto Moderato.Dramatic Andante No. 32—Berge
‘A little assembly.4-8 Andantino .Little Serenade—Grunfeld
The Committee of Public Safety.3-4 Andante Appassionato.Appassionato No. 1—Rapee-Axt
Holden appears at fence with gun.3-4 Moderato .....Love Theme
Interior of tavern..2-4 Allegretto .Characteristic No. 1—Roberts
Ended there last game.4-4 Choral .Nocturn—Jungnickel-Chopin
NOTE—Drum taps for passing British Soldiers.
Nathan love stricken.:.3-4 Moderato .Love Theme
Montague awakens.4-4 Allegro .Rustic Allegro—Savino
While on the Charleston shore.2-4 Moderato .Agitato No. 84—Berge
The midnight ride of Paul Revere.4-4 Allegro Precipitoso..Phaeton—Saint Saens
The Minute Men gather.2-4 March Patrol.American Patrol—Meachem
Lexington .4-4 Allegro Precipitoso.Phaeton—Saint Saens
Dawn .3-4 Allegro Agitato...Agitato—Reisenfeld
NOTE—Battle effects ad lib. Play “MF” until firing starts, then “FF”
Nathan rides to warn his friends.6-8 Allegro Agitato.Agitato No. 10—Noyes
We ran this morning.2-4 Con Spirits.Yankee Doodle—American (Paraphrase)
Nathan sent back to rally Minute Men.4-4 Allegro Agitato...Argument—Breil (Drummer catch shot)
Montague placed on bed.4-4 Andante Appassionato.Disperazione—Gabriel Marie
Firing on street.12-8 Allegro Agitato.Mysterioso Furioso—Langey
Keeping it secret..4-4 Moderato Pomposo .Hail America—Drumm
Freedom Theme
Bunker Hill from Boston Harbor.4-4 Allegro con fuoco.Fire Music—Haines
NOTE—Battle effects ad lib. Play “PP” for flash back.
In Philadelphia.4-4 Modrato Pomposo.Hail America—Drumm
Freedom Theme
A shelter for wounded.2-4 Lento-Triste .Berceuse—Jarnfelt
NOTE—Play “PP” con sordini and very slowly, strings only.
He had heard of his son’s death.4-4 Lento .Lamento—Gabriel Marie
NOTE—Play “PP” con sordini the same as previous selection.
It was such sacrifices.4-4 Moderato Pomposo.Hail America—Drumm
Freedom Theme
It was on the northern frontier.4-4 Andante Tragico.Tragic Andante—Savino
At Valley Forge.3-4 Moderato .Frozen North—Rapee-Axt
In the spring.2-4 March Patrol.American Patrol—Meacham
Nancy and Nathan alone.3-4 Moderato .Love Theme
A year later.4-4 Allegro Agitato.Agitato No. 2—Rapee-Axt
Nancy feeding refugees.3-4 Andante quasi larghetto.Plaintive—O’Hare
You’re well enough to know.3-4 Moderato .Star Spangled Banner—Patriotic
NOTE—Play “PP” con sordini strings only.
Nathan’s American headquarters.4-4 Molto Moderato.Mysterioso No. 16—Langey (Play very slow)
You will bring my Mohawks.4-4 Moderato .Dramatic Tension—Shepherd
Do you believe.3-4 Andante Moderato.Melody of Peace—Martin
Butler’s council of war...4-4 Andante Tragico.Tragic Andante—Savino
Warn the valley.3-4 Moderato Appassionato .Appassionato No. 1—Rapee-Axt
The time has come.:.3-4 Poco Agitato.Anelante—Gabriel Marie
Butler’s forces divide.4-4 Allegro Agitato.Battle Agitato No. 16—Borch
The camp ten miles away.6-8 Allegro Agitato.Hurry No. 28—Lake
The riders strike the line...4-4 Molto Allegro.Athalia—Mendelssohn
Oh Spirit of America save us.2-4 March Con Snirito.American Patrol—Meacham
NOTE—Battle effects ad lib. throughout No. 53-54-55-56. ■
A courier from Washington.4-4 Moderato Pomposo.Hail America—Drumm
Freedom Theme
After years.2-4 Tempo di Marcia con spirito.National Emblem—Bagley
NOTE—The Star Spangled Banner may be used in its original form here or ;
introduced in National Emblem.
THE END
The timing is based on a speed of 12 minutes per reel of 1,000 feet.
All selections may be procured from the Cameo Music Service Corp., 114 West 44th Street, New York City.
Scanned from the United Artists collection at the Wisconsin
Center for Film and Theater Research.
Digitization and post-production completed in the University
of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Communication Arts,
with funding from the Mary Pickford Foundation.
www.marypickford.org
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