''If My Country Should Call'' is a 1916 silent

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

directed by

Joe De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadians, Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class grad ...

and starring

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

, Jack Nelson and Dorothy Phillips. The film was written by Ida May Park, based on a story by Virginia Terhune Van de Water. The film's theme was very topical at the time, since many American men were then signing up to fight in World War I and Mexico. The film survives incomplete at the Library of Congress and the National Archives of Canada/Ottawa. Only reels 2, 3 and 5 survive of the five original reels. The incomplete print, along with an incomplete print of another 1916 Chaney film, ''

The Place Beyond the Winds ''The Place Beyond the Winds'' is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse, and starring Lon Chaney, Gretchen Lederer and Dorothy Phillips. It was written by Ida May Park, based on the novel by Harriet T. Comstock. The direc ...

'' were found in the

Dawson Film Find The Dawson Film Find (DFF) was the accidental discovery in 1978 of 372 film titles preserved in 533 reels of silent-era nitrate films in the Klondike Gold Rush town of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. The reels had been buried under an abandoned hoc ...

in 1978.

Plot

The wealthy Margaret Ardrath's husband Robert enthusiastically goes off to war in Europe at the breakout of World War I, upsetting Margaret immensely. But when she learns her son Donald is planning to enlist in the armed forces to fight the Mexican army down at the border, she decides she has to take matters into her own hands. Margaret steals a small bottle of a heart depressant from the medical bag of Dr. George Ardrath (Lon Chaney) while he leaves it unattended. She begins slipping very small doses of the medication into her son's drinks, which causes him to develop a slight heart murmur, so that he will not be able to qualify to join the army as he had planned. After the military rejects him, however, the young man develops other medical problems which causes his fiance to leave him, and he becomes an alcoholic. When the doctor discovers the vial missing from his medical bag, Donald realizes what his mother has done to him (although it was for his own good), and he hates her for it. Margaret suddenly receives a telegram that her husband was killed in Europe, and overwhelmed by grief, she takes a drug overdose to kill herself. Suddenly, she wakes up and realizes it was all just a bad dream.

Cast

Dorothy Phillips Dorothy Phillips (born Dorothy Gwendolyn Strible, October 30, 1889 – March 1, 1980) was an American stage and film actress. She is known for her emotional performances in melodramas, having played a number of "brow beaten" women on screen, bu ...

- Margaret Ardrath * Jack Nelson - Donald *

- Dr. George Ardrath * Helen Leslie - Patricia Landon *

Frank Whitson Frank Whitson (March 22, 1877 – March 19, 1946) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1915 and 1937. He was born in New York, New York, and died in Los Angeles, California. Whitson performed in vaudeville a ...

- Robert Ogden *

Albert MacQuarrie Albert MacQuarrie (January 8, 1882, San Francisco – February 17, 1950, California) was an American silent film actor. He was signed in 1912 and starred in about 70 films before his retirement. He starred with William Garwood in films suc ...

- Col. Belden * Carl von Schiller - Zuroff *

Gretchen Lederer Gretchen Lederer (née. Schwallenback, 23 May 1891 – 20 December 1955) was a German actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1912 and 1918. Personal life Gretchen Lederer was born in Cologne, Germany. She was marri ...

- Mrs. Ardrath * Clyde Benson *

Gordon Griffith Gordon S. Griffith (July 4, 1907 – October 12, 1958) was an American assistant director, film producer, and one of the first child actors in the American movie industry. Griffith worked in the film industry for five decades, acting in over ...

Adele Farrington Adele Farrington (1867 – 19 December 1936) was an American actress of the silent film era. Biography Born Anna King in Brooklyn, New York, Farrington was a stage actress before appearing in 74 films between 1914 and 1926. She was a relatively ...

- Mrs. Landon (uncredited)

Reception

"This rather harrows the feelings at times, but it is modern and dramatic. It presents problems that have been threshed out in the hearts of many women during the past two years. The presentation is acceptable throughout. The cast is pleasing." --- Moving Picture World "The biggest fault of this offering is the lack of any dominating personality, and there is no character which holds the sympathy perfectly." --- Wid's Film DailyBlake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 65. .

References

External links

* *{{allmovie, 96246, If My Country Should Call 1916 films 1916 drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Joseph De Grasse Universal Pictures films Silent American drama films 1910s American films