The Spirit of Lafayette
Cast & Crew
James Vincent
Earl Schenck
Violet De Biccary
Marion Barney
Robert Elliott
Paula Shay
Film Details
Synopsis
After armistice parades in New York subside, Dorothy Stanton, the daughter of Lieutenant Richard Stanton, and her grandfather pass a statue of the Marquis de Lafayette, which resembles Dorothy's father, who marches past with an empty sleeve blowing in the breeze. During their reunion, Dorothy asks why Stanton lost his arm. Her grandfather tells of Lafayette, who refused a post at Versailles after hearing about the American revolution from Benjamin Franklin. Lafayette volunteered to serve General George Washington, just as General John J. Pershing later offered Marshal Ferdinand Foch the resources of the American army. When Lafayette risked his life to save a comrade, British General Henry Clinton halted his troops' firing. Stanton relates that he lost his arm while rescuing another soldier, but that the Germans' brutal treatment of wounded and prisoners contrasted harshly with that of the British. Lafayette was jailed after he fled to Germany during the French Revolution. His wife Adrienne and their two daughters were about to be executed when James Monroe granted them citizenship. The devotion of Adrienne, who lived in prison with Lafayette, was similar to that of Mrs. Stanton. Napoleon set Lafayette and Adrienne free years later. Dorothy's grandfather believes that Lafayette would have wanted the League of Nations.
Director
James Vincent
Cast
Earl Schenck
Violet De Biccary
Marion Barney
Robert Elliott
Paula Shay
Kittens Reichert
W. W. Black
Crew
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film was endorsed by the United States Government Committee on Public Information, Division of Films. President Woodrow Wilson took a copy of the film with him to view as he sailed on the George Washington to Paris for his second trip. The film had its premiere at the Pershing Theatre in St. Louis on February 23, 1919, while the mid-continent Congress of the League of Nations was taking place in that city. Ex-President William H. Taft, after seeing the film at its premiere, said, "I sincerely hope that the American people will see it." The film included footage from news weeklies. Publicity for the film claimed that it took eight months to make. Among the other screen accounts of Lafayette's life is the 1962 French-Italian co-production Lafayette, directed by Jean Dreville. (See AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1961-70; F6.2676.)
