''The Patriot'' is a 1928 semi- biographical film that was directed by

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...

and released by Paramount Pictures. While mainly a silent film, the film did have a synchronized soundtrack as well as some talking sequences. The movie is a biographical story of Emperor Paul I of Russia, starring

Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, 23 July 1884 – 2 January 1950) was a Swiss born German actor, popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' The La ...

Florence Vidor Florence Vidor (née Cobb, later Arto; July 23, 1895 – November 3, 1977) was an American silent film actress. Early life Vidor was born in Houston on July 23, 1895, to John and Ida Cobb. Her parents had married in Houston on March 3, 1894, bu ...

and

Lewis Stone Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular ''Andy H ...

Plot

In 18th-century Russia, the Tsar, Paul, is surrounded by murderous plots and trusts only

Count Pahlen Peter Ludwig Graf von der Pahlen (russian: Пётр Алексе́евич Па́лен, translit= Pyotr Alekseyevich Palen; , Palms Manor, Palmse, Palms (now ) – , Mitau (now )), a Baltic-German courtier and general, played a pivotal role in ...

. Pahlen wishes to protect his friend, the mad king, but because of the horror of the king's acts, he feels that he must remove him from the throne. Stefan, whipped by the tsar for not having the correct number of buttons on his gaiters, joins with the count in the plot. The crown prince is horrified by their plans and warns his father, who, having no love for his son, places him under arrest for his foolish accusations. Pahlen uses his mistress, the Countess Ostermann, to lure the tsar into the bedroom, where she tells him of the plot. The tsar summons Pahlen, who reassures him of his loyalty. Later that night the count and Stefan enter his bedroom, and presently the tsar is dead. But moments later Stefan turns a pistol on Pahlen. As the count lies dying on the floor, the countess appears and embraces Pahlen as he says, "I have been a bad friend and lover—but I have been a Patriot."

Cast

Tsar Paul I Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III of Russia, Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he w ...

as Countess Ostermann *

* Vera Voronina as Mademoiselle Lapoukhine * Neil Hamilton as Crown Prince Alexander *

Harry Cording Hector William "Harry" Cording (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1954) was an English-American actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the films '' The Black Cat'' (1934) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938). Life and career ...

as Stefan Tullio Carminati and

Carmencita Johnson Carmencita Johnson (March 31, 1923 – September 26, 2000) was an American actress. She was best known as a child actress in the 1920s and 1930s. Early life and career Johnson was born in Los Angeles, California, to Wynonah B. (née Breazeale) ...

appear uncredited in this movie.

Production

Writing

The film was written by

Hanns Kräly Hanns Kräly (January 16, 1884 – November 11, 1950), credited in the United States as Hans Kraly, was a German actor and screenwriter. His main collaborations were with director Ernst Lubitsch, and they worked together on 30 films between 1915 ...

; it is an adaptation of two plays: ''Paul I'' by

Dmitry Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious thinker, ...

and ''The Patriot'' by

Ashley Dukes Ashley Dukes (29 May 1885 – 4 May 1959) was an English playwright/dramatist, critic, theatre manager. Biography Personal life Ashley Dukes was born one of five children in 1885. He was the son of the Congregationalist clergyman, Rev. Edwin J ...

(based on the novel ''Der Patriot'' by Alfred Neumann). The Dukes play was performed on Broadway in January 1928.

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

made his Broadway debut in that play.

Reception

Awards

It won the Academy Award for Best Writing and was nominated for

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

, Best Actor (Lewis Stone) and Best Art Direction. It was the only

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

nominated for Best Picture that year and the last until ''The Artist'' won in 2011.

Remake

The film was remade in France in 1938 with the same title.

Preservation status

Only pieces of this film are left, including trailers. The

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

is in possession of 2500 feet of footage (out of 10,000), and one reel was found in Portugal, but to date no complete copy has been located.The Patriot at TheGreatStars.com; Lost Films Wanted
Wayback Machine)..Retrieved July 21, 2018 It is the only

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominee for which no complete or near-complete copy has been found.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patriot (1928 film), The 1928 films 1920s biographical drama films American biographical drama films American silent feature films Films directed by Ernst Lubitsch Films based on multiple works American films based on plays Films based on German novels Films set in the 1800s Films set in Russia Films about assassinations Biographical films about Russian royalty Cultural depictions of Paul I of Russia Lost American films Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award Paramount Pictures films American black-and-white films 1928 drama films 1920s American films Silent American drama films