Betsy Ross (1917).

Review #1241: Betsy Ross.

Cast: 
Alice Brady (Betsy Ross), John Bowers (Joseph Ashburn), Lillian Cook (Carissa Griscom), Victor Kennard (John Ross), Eugenie Woodward (Mrs. Ashburn), Kate Lester (Mrs. Vernon), Frank Mayo (Clarence Vernon), George MacQuarrie (George Washington) Directed by Travers Vale and George Cowl.

Review: 
I suppose that making a film about a legend like the Betsy Ross flag had to occur at some point, and it only makes sense that it was made during the dawn of making feature films and not settling with shorts - making period pieces that certainly feel tied to their time more than anything. It is one of the first feature films set during the Revolutionary War, released the same year alongside The Spirit of '76 (which mixed fictional and factual events of the War); that feature generated controversy over its content involving its depiction of England (with the US having entered World War I that year as part of the Allies), but no prints of that film survive. The film was produced by William A. Brady (father of the main star Alice, who acted in both films and theatre) of World Film, a theatre actor and operator who notably produced The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (1897), one of the earliest feature films ever released. The film runs at 60 minutes, and it isn't too particularly hard to find a copy on the Internet (as is the case with films from this decade), although the driving question one has is if the film will prove to be worth their time.

Honestly, this isn't a terrible movie, but it certainly hasn't aged well in terms of consistent entertainment value. It holds itself with a shaky foundation (from writing by Henry A. Du Souchet) that likely fits more for the stage than on a film screen, with the eye wandering a bit for the occasional offbeat highlight. The cast deliver fair performances, nothing too particularly fantastical nor derivative, and Brady certainly doesn't seem too out of place in the lead. I can only imagine how it would be for viewers who saw an edited version that that cut out scenes such as a sword thrust, certain intertitles and other moments. It should be noted that the story that occurs here (with elements such as a romance with a British officer, spy harboring, etc) isn't too particularly interested in telling facts, but then again we're dealing with a legend here - the story only began to surface upon the writings of her grandson during the 1870s, when America was about to celebrate its centennial. Ross was indeed an upholsterer who produced garments for the Continental forces such as uniforms and flags, with a record listing her for work done for the Pennsylvania Navy fleet (a blue flag with 13 stripes, although those stripes where on the upper left hand corner). In any case, it is more a manner of accepting that no one person can be credited with creating the first flag for the country. Certain habits and legends endure, for whatever reason - needing a symbol or role model for others to latch on, but this film isn't really one to completely grasp with, a relic of the past that lurks in obscurity without much struggle. Curiosity for something like this may prove okay or at best a way to spend an hour without being a complete waste of one's attention. One can do better here, but one could also do worse.

Happy Independence Day, everyone. It felt like time to do a seventh edition of the Independence Day Feature and cover some America-themed films, with this being the 12th done since 2012, with the others being Independence Day, The Patriot, Air Force One, America, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Spider-Man, The Devil's Disciple, Sagebrush Trail, Suddenly, Rambo: First Blood Part II, and Rambo III. With that in mind, I have a big feature planned to round out this doubleheader today.

Next Review: Gettysburg (1993).

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.