Lest We Forget | |
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Directed by | Léonce Perret Clifford Saum (2nd director) |
Written by | Leonce Perret (scenario) Tom Bret (subtitles editor) |
Produced by | Rita Jolivet Count Giuseppe de Cippico (Jolivet's husband) J. L. Kempner |
Starring | Rita Jolivet |
Cinematography | Lucien Andriot |
Edited by | Charles A. Taylor |
Distributed by | Metro Pictures (picture branded A Metro Special) |
Release date |
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Running time | 7-8 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Lest We Forget is a 1918 American World War I espionage drama silent film directed by Leonce Perret and produced by and starring Rita Jolivet. The film was released by the Metro Pictures company. While the picture is essentially a spy film, it may also be considered a propaganda film popular during World War I. [1] [2]
The film was a live action film about the 1915 Lusitania sinking (as opposed to Windsor McKay's animated film The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918)). Actress Rita Jolivet was a survivor of the sinking and much of what is known about the last moments of her producer/employer Charles Frohman is related from her. This film made famous his last words, "..Why fear death for it is the most beautiful adventure in life."
Like many American films of the time, Lest We Forget was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required cuts of, in Reel 1, the intertitle "Why marry her?", Reel 3, that part of the scene in the telegraph office where officer throws young woman over table and is shown bending over her, Reel 4, the intertitle "Go, all of you — I will avenge this", and, Reel 7, the cutting of telephone wires. [3]
The film survives in a fragment at George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection with more complete copies at the Library of Congress and Cinémathèque Française. [4] [5]
Marguerite Lucile Jolivet, known professionally as Rita Jolivet, was a British actress in theatre and silent films in the early 20th century. She was known in private life as the Countess Marguerita de Cippico.
Old Wives for New is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is based on the 1908 novel of the same title by David Graham Phillips.
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The Fatal Ring is a 1917 American action film serial directed by George B. Seitz. Silentera.com reports that the UCLA Film and Television Archive may have a complete print. A deteriorating fragment roll containing a scene is discovered in France by Australian filmmaker Robert Hoskins in 2021 who then scanned it and uploaded it to his YouTube channel.
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Keys of the Righteous is a surviving 1918 American silent drama film directed by Jerome Storm and written by C. Gardner Sullivan. The film stars Enid Bennett, Earle Rodney, George Nichols, Josef Swickard, Karl Formes, and Gertrude Claire. The film was released on February 18, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.
The House of Silence is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by Donald Crisp and written by Elwyn Alfred Barron and Margaret Turnbull. The film stars Wallace Reid, Ann Little, Adele Farrington, Winter Hall, Ernest Joy, and Henry A. Barrows. The film was released on April 8, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.
Tyrant Fear is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Roy William Neill, written by R. Cecil Smith, and starring Dorothy Dalton, Thurston Hall, Melbourne MacDowell, William Conklin, Lou Salter, and Carmen Phillips. It was released on April 29, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. A print of the film is held by the Library of Congress.
My Four Years in Germany is a 1918 American silent war drama film directed by William Nigh, based on the experiences of real life U. S. Ambassador to Germany James W. Gerard as described in his book. It is notable as being the first film produced by the four Warner Brothers, Harry, Sam, Albert and Jack, although the title card clearly reads "My Four Years In Germany Inc. Presents ...". The film was produced during the height of World War I and is generally considered a prime example of war propaganda.
New York is a 1916 American silent comedy-drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Florence Reed. It was adapted by Ouida Bergère from a 1910 William J. Hurlbut play of the same title. The film was distributed by the Pathé Exchange company.