1776, OR HESSIAN RENEGRADES

D.W. Griffith. USA 1909. Runtime: 10, b/w, Silent

Also Known As: 1776 (1909)

Production Company: Biograph Co.

Screenplay: D.W. Griffith, Frank E. Woods

Cast:
Linda Arvidson, Kate Bruce, William J. Butler, D.W. Griffith, Arthur V. Johnson, James Kirkwood, Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, Wilfred Lucas, Owen Moore, Lottie Pickford, Mary Pickford, Billy Quirk, Mack Sennett, Henry B. Walthall

Synopsis:

Any subjcet relative to the War of the Revolution is always a safe gamble. In this one the Biograph Co. has put forth an idea that has been the mainstay of many historical novels and as many war dramas. A dispatch bearer of the Contintental Army is pursued by Hessians. The boy, hard pressed, takes refuge in his father's house. The old man hides the Boy in a huge hamper as the soldiers rap on the door. They search the house, coming finally to the hamper. The old man is told to open the basket, which he had placed there himself. The Captain of the troupe tries into the basket instantly killing the boy. The father swears revenge, and while the troopers are making merry he rallies the men and women from the neighborhood, surprising the soldiers and killing the entire outfit. The picture easily holds interest, at times growing above ineest to one of excitement. It is well acted with the exception of a few of teh heighbors, whose efforts to look like determined men ar é a bit humorous. (Source: Variety, September 18, 1909.)