The Declaration of Independence

Although this highly dramatic ride to break the tie in Delaware's delegation to the Second Continental Congress was surely important in keeping American independence from being stillborn it doesn't truly square with the facts. Caesar Rodney was not the dashing young patriot that you see here portrayed by Ted Osbourne nor was he the cancer ridden old man you see in 1776. And at least part of the journey was made by carriage from Dover to Philadelphia.

This short subject did win an Oscar in that category for Warner Brothers and it does tell a nice story. Rodney's ride to break the tie was an important event though the dramatic lily gets a good gilding here, the short is an enjoyable one.

Movies about historical events spur viewers to dive into the reference library to check and expand on the facts presented. One such film that won the Academy Awards Best Short Subject, November 1938's "Declaration of Independence," dramatized the situation leading up to the July 2, 1776 signing of the document in Philadelphia to be presented to the king of England. The Warner Brothers re-enactment of the event is one of the very few movies dealing with the American Revolution.

"Declaration of Independence" was one episode in Warner Brothers' series of short films dealing with the history of the United States. The Oscar winner focused on the complexities of the tension surrounding those who wanted to break away completely from England while the Loyalists and Tories fiercely opposed such moves. At 17 minutes, the film condenses the events of the drafting, voting and signing of the statement to be handed over to King George III.

A few obscure but historically accurate points are made in the short movie. The delegates to the Continental Congress who decided on whether to write the declaration were a diverse group representing all 13 colonies. The body wanted unanimous approval from those colonies, but failed to achieve that goal since one of them, New York, abstained while Delaware's delegates were split before the deciding vote was to take place. Delaware's Caesar Rodney, who favored passage, was delayed in attending the conference and left his home state at the last minute. His 80-mile ride from Dover, Delaware, to Philadelphia, just as the final vote was underway, was as dramatic as Paul Revere's ride in Massachusetts a year earlier. Rodney and his horse are portrayed on Delaware's state quarter struck in 1999 depicting his galloping to Philadelphia to make his vote count.

The documentary also portrayed the author of the declaration, Thomas Jefferson, wanting to include an anti-slavery clause in the independence statement. But he was overruled by those who opposed, citing that a couple of Southern states as well as the New England ones would vote against its passage since the thriving slave trade was lucrative to those northern states' shipping merchants in the African human trafficking. The Technicolor short was directed by Crane Wilber, a former actor who was the male lead in 1914's "The Perils of Pauline." Wilber later became a writer, scripting the screenplay for 1953's "House of Wax."

Declaration of Independence, The (1938)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Oscar-winning, Technicolor short centers in on the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the vote of Caesar Rodney (Ted Osborne) who will push it one way or the other. Knowing the history of Hollywood as I do, it's doubtful this film is too accurate in terms of history but that doesn't really matter as the film remains quite entertaining from start to finish. Shorts from this era only used Technicolor on films the studio thought were important enough for it so the colors adds a lot here. Even though the print shown on Turner Classic Movies is rather faded, the color of the outfits still manages to shine through as does the various scenes in the forest. Osborne does a fine job in his role as does John Litel as Thomas Jefferson and Walter Walker as Benjamin Franklin. The film ends with a mad horse dash as Rodney tries to get to the vote and we even get a nice fight and some gun play as well.

Not being a history expert, I don't how much of this short dramatization is accurate. Knowing Hollywood, I have my doubts.

The second half is the dramatic part as one man rides bravely, fending off bullets and other obstacles, to cast his deciding vote at the last minute to give the U.S. it's "Declaraton of Independence." That man is Delaware's "Caesar Rodney." I guess I learned some history because I had never heard nor read of Mr. Rodney before this film.

Meanwhile, we see Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Hancock, John Adams and others as they write and vote on the famous document, giving the "rebels" their victory over the "Tories," as explained in this work.

For someone who watched TV shows in the 1950s, seeing John Litel, who played a villain in a lot of those shows (like Steve McQueen's "Wanted: Dead Or Alive series), playing Jefferson was a little strange and a stretch for me.

Overall, as entertainment, it was okay, watchable but not something I'd look at again.

It's 1776. American leading figures are debating and coalescing around what is to become the Declaration of Independence. It's a WB short in Technicolor. The Technicolor keeps it of a time in cinematic history. It also isn't the best in depicting night. The actors are doing costumed stage acting. The characters do come fast and furious. There are so many of them. I'm sure school kids who studied history may recognize some of the names. I am surprised that they deem to mention slavery. It may not be crowd pleasing, but it is part of the WB drive to rally the nation for freedom as Europe descends into tyranny.