The Spirit of the USA

The Spirit of the USA is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Emory Johnson and written by Emilie Johnson. The film stars Johnnie Walker and Mary Carr. The film was released on May 18, 1924 by FBO.[1][2]

The Spirit of the USA
Film Daily advertisement
Directed byEmory Johnson
Produced byPat Powers
Emory Johnson
Written byEmilie Johnson
Story and Screenplay
StarringJohnnie Walker
CinematographyRoss Fischer
Distributed byFilm Booking Offices of America
Release date
  • May 18, 1924 (1924-May-18)
Running time
9 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles

Plot

Emily Johnson claimed Woodrow Wilson inspired this story. This film takes place during World War I.[3]

Still with Carl Stockdale, Mary Carr, Johnnie Walker, and Gloria Grey

Thomas Gains Carl Stockdale and his wife, Mary Mary Carr, play a couple living on a farm with their two sons. Her oldest son is Johnnie, played by Johnnie Walker. Her youngest son is named Silas, played by Cuyler Supplee.

In April 1917, the U.S. joined the allies, declares war against Germany, and enters World War I. Overwhelmed with a sense of duty, Johnnie immediately wants to enlist in the Army. He is rejected. He then enlists in the Salvation Army and is shipped to Europe. His lazy, cowardly brother shrugs his duty, takes over the farm, and marries Zelda Burrows, played by Rosemary Cooper. Zelda's father, John Burrows, played by Mark Fenton, wants to acquire the Gains farm to build a dam – legally or otherwise.

Zelda teases Silas for staying home during the war. Showing Zelda, he's not a coward, Silas enlists in the Army. Silas is shipped to France and dies on the battlefield. Learning of her husband's death, Zelda takes control of the farm. Her father's lawyer, Jim Fuller, played by Dave Kirby, claims Johnnie has also been killed in Europe. Zelda promptly evicts Thomas and Mary from their home. Then Zelda claims the farm along with her father. Her father starts to build his dam.

Suddenly, Johnnie returns home. Everyone thought he had died in battle. After his return, he starts to restore order. Johnnie tosses Zelda off the farm, blows up the dam, and restores his parents' property. Then Johnnie finds out his sweetheart – Gretchen played by Gloria Grey] has been waiting for him. Johnnie marries Gretchen, and they live happily ever after.[4]

Cast
Movie Ad
Actor Role
Johnnie WalkerJohnnie Gains
Mary CarrMary Gains
Carl StockdaleThomas Gains
Mark FentonJohn J. Burrows
William S. HooserOtto Schultz
Gloria GreyGretchen Schultz
Rosemary CooperZelda Burrows
David KirbyJim Fuller
Cuyler SuppleeSilas Gains
Dick BrandonLittle Johnnie Gains
Newton HouseLittle Silas Gains
Richard MorrisGrandpa Gains

Production

The original name of the photoplay was Swords and Plowshares.[5]

Emory Johnson and the cast spent several weeks shooting the movie in the vicinity of the Presidio, San Francisco.

The action scenes were filmed near Hollywood. Emory selected an area where the terrain mimicked the European battlegrounds of World War I. To make the battle scenes more realistic, Emory used High Explosives, fake Gas Shells, and mines. Many residents began to think the Japanese had started to invade California.

The area where the battle scenes were filmed was left so pock-marked, considerable effort was needed to make the land usable again.[6]

Preservation Status

A report created by film historian and archivist David Pierce for the Library of Congress claims:

  • 75% of original silent-era films have perished.
  • 14% of the 10,919 silent films released by major studios exist in their original 35mm or other formats.
  • 11% survive in full-length foreign versions or on film formats of lesser image quality.[7][8] Many silent-era films did not survive for reasons as explained on this Wikipedia page.

Emory Johnson directed 13 films - 11 were silent, and 2 were Talkies. The Spirit of the USA was the fifth film in Emory Johnson's eight-picture contract with FBO. The film's length is listed at 9 reels. According to the Library of Congress website, this film has a status of - Completeness: abridgment and No holdings located in archives.[9]

A 15-minute excerpt is available on the Internet Archive The film segment is available on YouTube and from various DVD vendors

Cast Members and Director

References
  1. The Spirit of the USA The AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  2. "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". www.silentera.com.
  3. "Idealism of Woodrow Wilson Inspired Theme of New Film". The Moving Picture World. The World Photographic Publishing Company. March 1, 1924. p. 31.
  4. The Spirit of the USA @ TCM.com
  5. The Spirit of the USA at IMDb
  6. "AT THE PALACE". Conway Springs Star (Northfield, Kansas). July 17, 1924. p. 7 – via genealogybank.com.
  7. Pierce, David. "The Survival of American Silent Films: 1912-1929" (PDF). Library Of Congress. Council on Library and Information Resources and the Library of Congress. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  8. Slide, Anthony (2000). Nitrate Won't Wait: History of Film Preservation in the United States. McFarland. p. 5. ISBN 978-0786408368. Retrieved March 25, 2013. It is often claimed that 75 percent of all American silent films are gone and 50 percent of all films made prior to 1950 are lost, but such figures, as archivists admit in private, were thought up on the spur of the moment, without statistical information to back them up.
  9. The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Spirit of the U.S.A.
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