Johnny Tremain

In Boston in 1773, wealthy Royalist Jonathan Lyte commissions aged silversmith Ephraim Lapham to recreate a teapot. Although Ephraim feels he can no longer perform such delicate work, his apprentice, Johnny Tremain, accepts the job, knowing the payment will support the household for months. Ephraim warns the young man that he is too proud, but Johnny's continued determination impresses Ephraim's daughter Cilla. Johnny cannot overcome his inexperience, however, and is obliged to ask silversmith Paul Revere for help. As Johnny toils late into the night, Cilla asks him why the job is so important to him, and Johnny reveals that his late mother told him on her deathbed that she was Lyte's sister, but warned him not to approach the cold-hearted Lyte unless he had been "forsaken by God." The teapot is to be delivered to Lyte on Monday, and on Sunday, even though law forbids work on the Sabbath, Cilla and Ephraim's wife help Johnny finish his work. When Cilla sees the constable on the street, she yells out a warning, causing Johnny to burn his hand severely on the molten silver. Weeks later, Johnny's friend Rab Silsbee, a young member of the Sons of Liberty, a group promoting freedom from England's tyrannical reign over the American colonies, informs Johnny that the political situation in Boston is worsening. After explaining that British admiral Montagu is trying to land his Marines at the Boston harbor, but is being refused entry by Gov. Hutchinson, Rab urges Johnny to join his group, but the silversmith prefers to remain apolitical. At home, Mrs. Lapham forces Johnny to unwrap his wounded hand, and when she sees that scar tissue has fused his fingers together, declares him worthless. Ephraim offers Johnny continued residence and Cilla begs him to stay, but Johnny does not want to live there without contributing financially, and so leaves to seek his fortune elsewhere. With only one functional hand, however, he cannot find work, and is forced to approach Lyte. When the rich man sees Johnny's mother's heirloom christening cup, he invites Johnny to his house that evening. There, he accuses Johnny of having stolen the cup a month earlier, and has him jailed. Johnny is soon visited by Rab and Revere, who, in the name of liberty, have secured the renowned Josiah Quincy to act as his lawyer. In court, Quincy calls Cilla to the witness stand to prove that she saw Johnny with the christening cup well before Lyte's was stolen. Although Lyte accuses her of lying to save Johnny, the judge dismisses the case. Later, Rab urges Johnny to learn to ride Goblin, a beautiful but ornery horse, and Johnny practices persistently to perfect his skills. Rab then brings Johnny to a meeting of the Sons of Liberty, which is headed by Dr. Joseph Warren and includes Revere, Samuel Adams and other revolutionary dignitaries, and invites him to join them as a currier. Johnny, now realizing the importance of their cause, gladly serves the committee over the next weeks. One day, Rab informs him that a British ship carrying tea has been in port for twenty days without admittance, and by law can now be auctioned off. Adams is to receive notice from the governor the next day indicating whether or not he will allow the colonialists to have the tea. If the answer is negative, Adams will secretly signal Johnny to rouse the Sons of Liberty to raid and dump the tea. The next day, Johnny hears Adam's signal and blows the whistle that initiates the Boston Tea Party, infuriating Lyte, who had planned to profit from the tea's auction. In spring of 1775, Warren informs British general Gage, a colonial sympathizer who is nonetheless compelled to uphold his country's orders to squelch the revolution, that "free men will never give up the means of defending their liberties." Meanwhile, Lyte, who has determined that Johnny may truly be his nephew, invites the boy to move with him to England, but Johnny refuses to abandon the colonialist cause. Johnny is crushed to learn that his hand will prevent him from joining the militia, but is able to glean inside information from officers around town and warn the committee that the British Army is traveling to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the next day. Realizing they plan to attack the Portsmouth fort, at which the colonial arms are hidden, Warren sends Revere to warn the fort. Soon after, the committee learns that Gage is gathering a force to steal the stores of arms in Massachusetts, and calls a special meeting, attended by former leader James Otis, whose mental capacities have diminished of late. Otis surprises the group by speaking stirringly of the necessity of fighting for the rights of all free men. Inspired, Johnny accepts Warren's offer to operate on his hand, and soon regains movement of his fingers. When Warren then learns that the British troops are headed to Concord, he sends Johnny to alert the Christ Church sexton to send a message via the church lanterns, lighting two to signify that the troops will arrive by sea. Meanwhile, Revere rides through the state, shouting his messages to "turn out the militia, the Redcoats are coming." Although Cilla tries to dissuade Johnny from joining the militia, she stops protesting after he kisses her. In Lexington on 9 April 1775, the British troops approach the motley militia, and so underestimate the colonialists' determination and skill that they are badly defeated. As the British army retreats, maintaining its customary rigid marching order, the militia hides in bushes and kills off dozens of soldiers. When news of their defeat reaches Gen. Gage, he realizes that they have been "vanquished by a belief in human rights." Later, Cilla searches desperately through the rubble, and is relieved to find Johnny, still alive and still eager to continue the fight for liberty.