Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1917


Betsy Ross (film)

Buy Betsy Ross (film) now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'Betsy Ross' is a surviving 1917 American silent historical film starring Alice Brady and produced and distributed by her father William A. Brady.'The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1911-20' by The American Film Institute, c.1988][http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/B/BetsyRoss1917.html Progressive Silent Film List: 'Betsy Ross'] at silentera.com

Plot



As described in a film magazine, Betsy Griscome (Brady), against the wishes of her Quaker parents, keeps a tryst with a British officer, Clarence Vernon (Mayo), who promises to marry her upon his return. Clarissa (Cook), her sister, falls in love and marries Joseph Ashburn (Bowers), a trader. Suspecting Vernon of duplicity, Joseph and Vernon fight a duel and Vernon is struck down. A year later Betsy marries John Ross (Kennard), and upon his death she operates a little shop for a living. Here she shields her sister, who was driven from home when she could not produce her marriage certificate. Betsy is commissioned by General Washington (MacQuarrie) to make the first American flag and later is accused of harboring a spy - in reality, her sister's husband. The film ends happily when all relations are explained.

Cast



*Alice Brady as Betsy Ross

*John Bowers as Joseph Ashburn

*Lillian Cook as Carissa Griscom

*Victor Kennard as John Ross

*Eugenie Woodward as Mrs. Ashburn

*Kate Lester as Mrs. Vernon

*Frank Mayo as Clarence Vernon

*George MacQuarrie as George Washington

*Justine Cutting as Mrs. Griscom

*Robert Forsyth as Samuel Griscom

*Nellie Fillmore as Mrs. Bass

*Richard Clarke as Lemuel Ketch

Reception



Like many American films of the time, 'Betsy Ross' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors required cuts of scenes of a sword thrust during the duel, killing of second man in duel, the two intertitles "Scarlet woman" and "Don't you dare kill the Vernon nigger," the scene with a duel vision, and the actual firing of the squad at the execution.

References



Citations



Sources

*

*


Buy Betsy Ross (film) now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 1917



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1105395855.