''Patria'' (pronounced PAY-tree-uh, as in patriot) is a 1917 15-chapter American serial film starring

Irene Castle Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. Castle was a st ...

Milton Sills Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Biography Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henr ...

, and

Warner Oland Warner Oland (born Johan Verner Ölund; October 3, 1879 – August 6, 1938) was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American ...

, based on the novel ''The Last of the Fighting Channings'' by

Louis Joseph Vance Louis Joseph Vance (September 19, 1879 – December 16, 1933) was an American novelist, screenwriter and film producer. He created the popular character Michael Lanyard, a criminal-turned-detective known as The Lone Wolf. Biography Louis J ...

. ''Patria'' was an independent film serial funded by

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

in the lead-up to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

' entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The film in its original form contained anti-Japanese propaganda and was investigated by a Senate committee. The

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

title for the film was ''La Heroina de Nueva York''.

Plot

Spies from Japan conspire to steal the Channing "preparedness" fortune and invade the United States, beginning in New York, then allying themselves with Mexicans across the border. They are stopped by the efforts of munitions factory heiress Patria Channing and U.S. Secret Service agent Donald Parr.

Cast

as Patria Channing, the heroine of the serial (billed as "Mrs Vernon Castle"), and a lookalike dancer in Episode 4 named Elaine *

as Captain Donald Parr *

as Baron , the villain * Dorothy Green as Fanny Adair *

George Majeroni George Majeroni, also known as Giorgio Majeroni, (1877–1924) was a stage and screen actor. His starring roles in silent films included ''My Lady Incog'' opposite Hazel Dawn. Majeroni was born in Melbourne, Australia and was part of a family of ...

as Senor Juan de Lima *

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in ''Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in ''Grand Hotel'' (193 ...

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (,"Villa"
''Collins English Dictionary''. ; ;

* M.W. Rale as * Allan Murnane as Rodney Wrenn * F.W. Stewart as Edouard * Leroy Baker *

Floyd Buckley Floyd Buckley (October 21, 1877 - November 14, 1956) was an American film, stage, and radio actor whose career began with Buffalo Bill and ended with Broadway. Born in Chatham, New York, Buckley attended St. John's Military Academy in Manlius ...

Nigel Barrie Nigel Barrie (5 February 1889, in Calcutta, British India – 8 October 1971, in South Africa) was an Indian-born British actor. Biography Barrie's background as a dancer and actor on legitimate stages and in vaudeville in both Great Britain an ...

Charles Brinley Charles Brinley (November 15, 1880 – February 17, 1946) 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 Los Angeles ( ; es, ...

George Lessey George Lessey (June 8, 1879 – June 3, 1947) was an American actor and director of the silent era. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1910 and 1946. He also directed more than 70 films between 1913 and 1922. Lessey was born in Amh ...

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

Production

''Patria'' was financed with "about" $90,000 from

. The plot implied that the United States might soon be at war with Japan, despite Japan being an ally of the United States at the time. The original plot involved a Japanese spy ring operating in the United States and seeking gold and munitions.

President Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

asked Hearst to modify the serial and remove anti-Japanese material. As a result, Warner Oland's character name in title cards was changed to "Manuel Morales," and the character was shown more frequently dressed in a suit, though the Japanese characters retained their

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

in early episodes. The action was also moved across the border to Mexico beginning in Episode 11, though as is sometimes erroneously stated, Pancho Villa did not appear in the film, Baron and a new character, General , continued on as adversaries to Patria and Captain Parr until 's defeat and suicide in Episode 15. The serial was based on the novel ''The Last of the Fighting Channings'' by

Jacques Jaccard Jacques Jaccard (September 11, 1886 – July 24, 1960) was an American film director, writer and actor whose achievements in cinema were mostly in silent film. He directed 86 films and wrote scripts for 80 films. The best-known of his films as ...

directed scenes in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

while

Leopold Wharton Leopold Wharton (September 1, 1870 – September 27, 1927) 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 featur ...

and Theodore Wharton directed from

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

. Following the serial's release,

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

was commissioned to write a 15-part "novel" for ''

The News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one o ...

'' newspaper, which published the first weekly instalment on 9 December 1917.

Senate hearing

The production was investigated by a Senate committee as German propaganda after

. A German propagandist, whose articles had appeared in Hearst newspapers, had written a letter to

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany i ...

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."

References

External links