Watch The Spirit Of '76 Free Online

Cast: Olivia d'Abo

Categories: Movies, Silent film, Indie, Science Fiction, Black-and-white, Comedy, Satire

The Spirit of '76 (1917) was a silent film directed by Frank Montgomery that depicted the early history of the United States. It is considered a lost film as no prints are known to survive. The film was produced by Robert Goldstein (born September 21, 1883), a Jewish immigrant from Germany who owned a costume shop. The Spirit of '76 was considered controversial at the time because of its depiction of the British atrocities during the American Revolutionary War, such as the Wyoming Massacre, which did not fit well with the vast British Empire being now supported by America in a war against... MORE

The Spirit of '76 (1917) was a silent film directed by Frank Montgomery that depicted the early history of the United States. It is considered a lost film as no prints are known to survive. The film was produced by Robert Goldstein (born September 21, 1883), a Jewish immigrant from Germany who owned a costume shop. The Spirit of '76 was considered controversial at the time because of its depiction of the British atrocities during the American Revolutionary War, such as the Wyoming Massacre, which did not fit well with the vast British Empire being now supported by America in a war against the original supporters of American independence which was furthermore squarely against American interest. The film depicted scenes in which British soldiers committed not just stock character atrocities—such as killing babies and dragging young women out to a "terrible fate"—but also pure fiction: the film purportedly showed King George III hitting Benjamin Franklin squarely in the face and also having Catherine Montour as a mistress. The Spirit of '76 premiered in Chicago in May 1917, just one month after the United States declared war on Germany. The head of Chicago's police censorship board, LESS