Give Me Liberty

..........little gems from Hollywood's store rooms the forgotten .

IT NEVER CEASES to amaze us how so much great cinematic art seems to be locked away, forgotten or just plain discarded. Rather than being a part of the mainstream output of features, the short subjects field, although intended to be a sort of bonus and throw in for the studios' product, have in their own right left us with a wealth of on screen gems of their own.

WE DRAW YOUR attention to this case in point, GIVE ME LIBERTY (Warner Brothers/Vitaphone, 1936. With its viewing, we are treated to a sort of mini-masterpiece that easily succeeds on several levels. It is an historical novelette; which tells in depth a story which we are all familiar from our own American Revolution. The title is derived from Virginia Patriot, Patrick Henry's most famous quotation; being the first half of: "Give me Liberty or Give me Death !"

THE PRODUCTION TEAM goes into great lengths in making such historical moments as the meeting held while the Virginia House of Burgesses debated its continued relationship with the Crown. Director, B. Reeves Eason, gives us living scenes that may well be the celluloid counterpart to the finest oil painting representations around. In doing so, the production team and he were able to deliver 1936 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Color).

BUT THERE IS one point that we must emphasize is the underrated, though nonetheless, fine acting that is displayed (in this short in particular). And it is the virtuoso performance of John Litel (as Patrick Henry) that has the center stage spotlight.

AS IS COMMON knowledge, every film buff knows of the work of Mr. Litel. He is an ever present force in so many features, giving credence to whatever is the role of the day. This makes him undeniably forever numbered among those players classified as "supporting" or "character" actors.

WELL, THE PERFORMANCE by Mr. John Litel, here in GIVE ME LIBERTY, provides we, the viewers, with solid evidence of the outstanding talents possessed by so many in the movies, who rarely get opportunity to display same.

STRICTLY AS A suggestion from the standpoint of a non-professional, maybe some Hollywood bright boy could come up with puting a whole collection of these Historical Shorts together; making them available for tools of educational supplementation. They generally hold up very well and, being basically "Period Pieces", there is no danger of any fashions displayed going out of style.

It's surprising to see how perfected three-strip Technicolor was, as early as 1936, when GIVE ME LIBERTY was filmed, an historical short subject starring JOHN LITEL as Patrick Henry giving his famous "Give Me Liberty!" speech in Virginia during the American Revolution.

This short appears on the Errol Flynn Signature Collection for CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, and is evidence that the handsomely mounted Technicolor short was the Warner way of testing its color equipment in preparation for the full-length features to come.

It's the sort of film we used to see in the school auditorium when I was a kid, educational and usually not very well acted or produced. This is fairly well done, although I have to admit that--much as I like John Litel as a character actor in the Warner stock company--his flamboyant method of delivering the speech is more than a little over the top for dramatic effect.

Again, the most impressive thing about the feature is the Technicolor photography which makes the costumes and sets glow with vivid shades of color that are pleasing to the eye.

Give Me Liberty (1936)

*** (out of 4)

Oscar-winning short from Warner gets extra credit for featuring a great performance by John Litel as well as being shot in Technicolor. The movie has Litel playing Patrick Henry, the man who would eventually rise up before Virginia legislators and demand that they join the American Revolution by giving the classic "Give Me Liberty" speech. I must admit that I found the direction to be too laid back and at times my mind actually wondered away from what the story was actually about but with Litel's performance it's impossible not to at least be entertained. Litel would play this character in three short films with this being the first and he perfectly nails the character. The fiery energy he brings to the film will have you wanting to stand up and cheer and especially during the final speech. The other big benefit was that the film was shot in Technicolor and while the film doesn't look as good as future films it's still an early part of history.

John Litel stars as Patrick Henry in this Warner Brothers Technicolor Short. It's a stodgy affair, with snippets of Henry's inflammatory speeches scattered here and there as folks in 18th-Century costumes spend most of their time posing, waiting for Litel to break loose and announce "Give me liberty, or give me death!"

The Warner Technicolor shorts were intended as prestige pieces, meant to show off the expensive three-strip process in an edifying manner. One of the strengths of the Technicolor process was its flexibility, and the entire film seems to have been given a beige wash, suggesting parchment, or old, oxidized paper. The print that plays on Turner Classic Movies is a little fuzzy, but quite watchable.

This is WB doing a Vitaphone Technicolor short on Patrick Henry. The highlight is his bombastic inspirational speech inside the Virginia legislature as he argues for arming the militia and abandoning any more negotiations.

With Europe in turmoil, it's easy to see the subtext in this freedom-loving historical short. It's pumping up the patriotism. It feels like a poor version of Masterpiece Theater until we get to the big speech. There is no doubt that the speech is a big crowd pleaser and I'm sure that the audience of its day loved it. This did win the Oscar for color short. The Technicolor probably helped a lot.