Patria (1917 film)
Encyclopedia
Patria is a 1917 15-chapter serial
film starring Irene Castle, Milton Sills
, and Warner Oland
based on the novel The Last of the Fighting Channings by Louis Joseph Vance
. The film is notable for the first time that Wallace Beery
portrays Pancho Villa
, a role that he would repeat in Viva Villa!
in 1934. Patria was an independent film serial funded by William Randolph Hearst
in the lead up to the United States
' entry into World War I
. The film contained pro-German propaganda and was investigated by a Senate Committee. The Argentine
title for the film was La Heroina de Nueva York.
. The plot implied that the United States would soon be at war with Japan and Mexico, despite Japan being an ally of the United States at the time. The original plot involves a Mexican invasion, with their Japanese allies, of the southern United States. President Woodrow Wilson
asked Hearst to withdraw the serial so that the more anti-Japanese sections could be removed. This left the serial as mostly just anti-Mexican, although some Japanese names remained
The serial was based on the novel The Last of the Fighting Channings by Louis Joseph Vance
.
Jacques Jaccard
directed scenes in California
while Leopold Wharton
and Theodore Wharton
directed from Ithaca, New York
.
. A German propagandist, whose articles had appeared in Hearst newspapers, had written a letter to Franz von Papen
explaining the scheme to use a motion picture to deprecate Japan. Captain G. C. Lester of US Military Intelligence, testified that "Patria exploited the very idea which was set forth generally in [the propagandist] Fox's statement."
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
film starring Irene Castle, Milton Sills
Milton Sills
Milton Sills was a highly successful American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century....
, and Warner Oland
Warner Oland
Warner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
based on the novel The Last of the Fighting Channings by Louis Joseph Vance
Louis Joseph Vance
Louis Joseph Vance was an American novelist, born in Washington, D. C., and educated in the preparatory department of the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He wrote short stories and verse after 1901, then composed many popular novels...
. The film is notable for the first time that Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
portrays Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
, a role that he would repeat in Viva Villa!
Viva Villa!
Viva Villa! is a 1934 American film starring Wallace Beery as Pancho Villa and was written by Ben Hecht, adapted from a biography by Edgecumb Pinchon and Odo B. Stade. The picture was directed by Jack Conway. There was special, uncredited help with the script by Howard Hawks, James Kevin...
in 1934. Patria was an independent film serial funded by William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
in the lead up to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The film contained pro-German propaganda and was investigated by a Senate Committee. The Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
title for the film was La Heroina de Nueva York.
Plot
Japan conspires with Mexico to invade the United States. They are stopped by the efforts of Elaine Channing.Cast
- Irene Castle as Elaine Channing, aka Patria, the heroine of the serial (billed as "Mrs Vernon Castle")
- Milton SillsMilton SillsMilton Sills was a highly successful American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century....
as Captain Donald Parr - Warner OlandWarner OlandWarner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
as Baron Huroki, the villain - Dorothy Green as Fanny Blair
- George Majeroni as Juan de Lima
- Wallace BeeryWallace BeeryWallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as Pancho VillaPancho VillaJosé Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals.... - Marie WalcampMarie WalcampMarie Walcamp was an American actress of the silent film era.-Biography:Born in Dennison, Ohio, Walcamp headed to the East Coast in search of acting jobs on the stage after she finished her formal education. After landing various roles in New York, she eventually landed a role in 1913's The...
as Bess Morgan - Allan Murnane as Rodney Wrenn
- Floyd BuckleyFloyd BuckleyFloyd Buckley was an American film and radio actor. He appeared in 15 films between 1914 and 1953. During the 1930s, he was the voice of Popeye the Sailor on the radio. He was born in Chatham New York and died in New York,New York.-External links:...
- Nigel BarrieNigel Barrie-Selected filmography:* Fires of Fate * Husband Hunters * The Shield of Honor * The Ringer * The Forger * Under the Greenwood Tree * Dreyfus * Passenger to London...
- Charles BrinleyCharles BrinleyCharles Brinley was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 140 films between 1913 and 1939. He was born in Yuma, Arizona and died in Los Angeles, California.-Filmography:-External links:...
- Jack HoltJack Holt (actor)Jack Holt was an American motion picture actor. He was a leading man of silent and sound films, and was known for his many roles in Westerns.-Early life:...
- George LesseyGeorge LesseyGeorge Lessey was an American actor and director of the silent era. He appeared in 123 films between 1910 and 1946. He also directed 76 films between 1913 and 1922. Lessey also appeared in the original Broadway production of Porgy and Bess in one of the few white roles, that of the lawyer Mr...
- M.W. Rale
- Leroy Baker
- Rudolph ValentinoRudolph ValentinoRudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
- F.W. Stewart
Production
Patria was financed with "about" $90,000 from William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
. The plot implied that the United States would soon be at war with Japan and Mexico, despite Japan being an ally of the United States at the time. The original plot involves a Mexican invasion, with their Japanese allies, of the southern United States. President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
asked Hearst to withdraw the serial so that the more anti-Japanese sections could be removed. This left the serial as mostly just anti-Mexican, although some Japanese names remained
The serial was based on the novel The Last of the Fighting Channings by Louis Joseph Vance
Louis Joseph Vance
Louis Joseph Vance was an American novelist, born in Washington, D. C., and educated in the preparatory department of the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He wrote short stories and verse after 1901, then composed many popular novels...
.
Jacques Jaccard
Jacques Jaccard
Jacques Jaccard was an American film director, writer and actor whose achievements in cinema were mostly in silent film....
directed scenes in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
while Leopold Wharton
Leopold Wharton
Leopold Wharton was an American film director, producer and writer. He directed 37 films between 1911 and 1922, including the 1915 film The New Adventures of J. Rufus Wallingford, which featured Oliver Hardy....
and Theodore Wharton
Theodore Wharton
Theodore Wharton was an American film director, producer and writer. He directed 48 films in the 1910s and 1920s, including the 1915 film The New Adventures of J. Rufus Wallingford, which featured Oliver Hardy....
directed from Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
.
Senate hearing
The production was investigated by a Senate Committee as German propaganda after World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. A German propagandist, whose articles had appeared in Hearst newspapers, had written a letter to Franz von Papen
Franz von Papen
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
explaining the scheme to use a motion picture to deprecate Japan. Captain G. C. Lester of US Military Intelligence, testified that "Patria exploited the very idea which was set forth generally in [the propagandist] Fox's statement."
See also
- Zimmermann TelegramZimmermann TelegramThe Zimmermann Telegram was a 1917 diplomatic proposal from the German Empire to Mexico to make war against the United States. The proposal was caught by the British before it could get to Mexico. The revelation angered the Americans and led in part to a U.S...
, a German plot for the Mexican invasion of the USA. - List of film serials
- List of film serials by studio