Patria
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Patria
Plot
Personally financed by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, the 15-episode serial Patria was an extension of Hearst's long-running campaign against what he called "the Yellow Peril." The plot line suggested that the recent Mexican Civil War was fomented by an unholy alliance between the Mexican and Japanese governments, for the express purpose of conquering the United States on behalf of Japan. The villains were thwarted at every turn by heroine Elaine Channing, aka Patria, played by dancing star Irene Castle (here billed as Mrs. Vernon Castle). Despite its melodramatic excesses, the film never passed up an opportunity to showcase Castle's terpsichorean skills; nor did it shirk in displaying the actress' remarkable athletic prowess -- notably in an early scene in which, though tightly bound to a chair, the heroine nonetheless manages to defuse a sputtering bomb. Milton Sills co-starred as Patria's sweetheart, a secret service agent, while the villainy was in the capable hands of Warner Oland. Upon seeing the first few chapters of Patria, President Woodrow Wilson was so upset by its rabid anti-Japanese sentiments that he personally asked William Randolph Hearst to "modify" the film; as a result, all overt references to Mexico and Japan were removed from the picture, though audiences familiar with the jingoistic Hearst philosophy had no trouble reading between the lines. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi| Patorozito: La Grand Adventura (2006 Film), Pato Banton & the Reggae Revolution: Spreading the Good News Live (Film) | |
| Patria, Amore, e Dovere (1937 Film), Patrice O'Neal: Elephant in the Room (2010 Film) |
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Patria (1917 film)
| Patria | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Leopold Wharton (chapters 1-10) Theodore Wharton (chapters 1-10) Jacques Jaccard (chapters 11-15) |
| Produced by | Leopold Wharton Theodore Wharton William Randolph Hearst |
| Written by | J.B. Clymer Charles W. Goddard Louis Joseph Vance |
| Starring | Irene Castle Milton Sills Warner Oland Wallace Beery |
| Cinematography | Levi Bacon John K. Holbrook Ray June Lew Tree |
| Distributed by | International Film Service |
| Release date(s) | January 14, 1917 |
| Running time | 310 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90,000 approx. |
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.
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Contents
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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 Sills as Captain Donald Parr
- Warner Oland as Baron Huroki, the villain
- Dorothy Green as Fanny Blair
- George Majeroni as Juan de Lima
- Wallace Beery as Pancho Villa
- Marie Walcamp as Bess Morgan
- Allan Murnane as Rodney Wrenn
- Floyd Buckley
- Nigel Barrie
- Charles Brinley
- Jack Holt
- George Lessey
- M.W. Rale
- Leroy Baker
- Rudolph Valentino
- F.W. Stewart
Production
Patria was financed with "about" $90,000 from William Randolph Hearst. 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 villains of the serial as mostly Mexican, although some Japanese names remained.[1].
The serial was based on the novel The Last of the Fighting Channings by Louis Joseph Vance.[2]
Jacques Jaccard directed scenes in California while Leopold Wharton and Theodore Wharton directed from Ithaca, New York.[2]
Senate hearing
The production was investigated by a Senate Committee as German propaganda after World War I. 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."[1]
See also
- Zimmermann Telegram, a German plot for the Mexican invasion of the USA.
- List of film serials
- List of film serials by studio
References
- ^ a b Stedman, Raymond William. "2. The Perils of Success". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. pp. 40. ISBN 978-0-8061-0927-5.
- ^ a b "Patria (1916)". Silent Era: The Progressive Silent Film List. http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/P/Patria1916.html. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
External links
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