I don't know where the previous reviewer got his information, but the Liberty Boys series wasn't produced and released until 1927! In the Feb. 28, 1924 issue of The Film Daily the announcement is made that "Tefft Johnson declared yesterday he had purchased the rights to "The Liberty Boys of '76," the juvenile stories published by Harry E. Wolff
..Johnson intends making the stories in two reel form and has completed plan for a series of twelve." Similar announcement is in the March 22, 1924 Exhibitor's Trade Review which contains the additional information that "There was considerable competition for the screen rights
.The series is to be directed by Mr. Johnson." The next announcement I've found is in the Film Daily for January 11, 1927 -- three years later. The Liberty Boys company is on location in Philadelphia, "shooting scenes on the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition grounds." Ads in the Sept. 22 , 1927 of the Film Daily announce that three of the six proposed Liberty Boys pictures are available for bookings. The company now goes under the name, "The Boys of '76 Film Corporation." Three titles were announced: Fighting the Redskins, In the Hands of the Enemy, and Buddy to the Rescue. The Blue Rider still exists and was released on DVD by the Serial Squadron in 2012. Stills from a fifth film, The Death Signal, recently turned up on eBay. Thus, it's possible that a six film package might have been completed.
3 Reviews
Pro Patria....
kekseksa23 November 2016
The two reviews here are both very interesting. The serial ran from 1901-1924 (not 1900-1920) and there is nothing improbable about the idea that the Germans were interested in 1916 in funding a film based upon it but obviously that idea would have been rather torpedoed by the sinking of the Lusitania and the US entry into the war. The German certainly did fund patriotic serials and their was a Senate inquiry after the war with regard to the 1917 serial Patria (encouraging the US to think of Japan rather than Germany as its natural enemy). It is even possible that, following the entry of the US into the war, finance originally intended for The Liberty Boys was diverted to Patria.
However the serial itself was not competed until 1924 and it is entirely logical that plans for a film based upon it should have been revived at that time. The involvement of Tefft Johnson is interesting. Was there a relationship between actor/director Tefft and writer Adrian Johnson who was one of the writers for the eventual 1927 film serialisation? There is another extant episode, The Night Raiders, which appears on Youtube as dated 1924. From the style, it quite clearly belongs to the mid-late twenties and, since it has broadly the same cast as The Blue Rider. is clearly presumably a sixth known episode of the serial and it may well turn out that twelve episodes were made as originally intended.
In The Night Raiders, young Buddy is on the point of death but eventually recovers, death being averted not by the application of leaches but by that "Love which shines in darkest hours", sister Sue is inveigled by the village idiot into the hands of would-be rapist Skip Cornwall but is rescued in the proverbial nick of time while Dale is kidnapped by a treacherous innkeeper but escapes and a spy's attempt to lead the Liberty Boys into an ambush is foiled.
The Blue Rider I have not seen but In the Hands of the Enemy commences with the Battle of Brandywine Creek with Washington in desperate need of reinforcements. Since it is impossible even for a trapper to get through the enemy lines, Sue is sent through the lines, but is kidnapped by a bunch of Indians (confederates of the British) but rescued by Dale and his lieutenant, Bob Estabrook, but not before being manhandled, as usual, this time by the British commander.
This film, unlike the other, has an introduction to the main characters but is unlikely to be the first episode in the serial since Brandywine, although said here to have taken place in 1776, actually took place in 1777. Little Buddy does however get shot at the end of this one, so it would seem a natural predecessor to The Night Raiders.
Of interest in the cast, playing the small part of Red Eagle, an Indian aiding the British, one "Jim Deer", presumably James Young Deer. He also appears as Eagle Eye, the Indian chief, in In the Hands of the Enemy.
It would be nice if all the known parts of this film could be made available on the internet for the edification of the virile, clean, courageous youth of the greatest nation in the world (apparently somewhere called "America", not a nation that exists to my knowledge or has ever existed. Ecuador perhaps or Costa Rica?)
However the serial itself was not competed until 1924 and it is entirely logical that plans for a film based upon it should have been revived at that time. The involvement of Tefft Johnson is interesting. Was there a relationship between actor/director Tefft and writer Adrian Johnson who was one of the writers for the eventual 1927 film serialisation? There is another extant episode, The Night Raiders, which appears on Youtube as dated 1924. From the style, it quite clearly belongs to the mid-late twenties and, since it has broadly the same cast as The Blue Rider. is clearly presumably a sixth known episode of the serial and it may well turn out that twelve episodes were made as originally intended.
In The Night Raiders, young Buddy is on the point of death but eventually recovers, death being averted not by the application of leaches but by that "Love which shines in darkest hours", sister Sue is inveigled by the village idiot into the hands of would-be rapist Skip Cornwall but is rescued in the proverbial nick of time while Dale is kidnapped by a treacherous innkeeper but escapes and a spy's attempt to lead the Liberty Boys into an ambush is foiled.
The Blue Rider I have not seen but In the Hands of the Enemy commences with the Battle of Brandywine Creek with Washington in desperate need of reinforcements. Since it is impossible even for a trapper to get through the enemy lines, Sue is sent through the lines, but is kidnapped by a bunch of Indians (confederates of the British) but rescued by Dale and his lieutenant, Bob Estabrook, but not before being manhandled, as usual, this time by the British commander.
This film, unlike the other, has an introduction to the main characters but is unlikely to be the first episode in the serial since Brandywine, although said here to have taken place in 1776, actually took place in 1777. Little Buddy does however get shot at the end of this one, so it would seem a natural predecessor to The Night Raiders.
Of interest in the cast, playing the small part of Red Eagle, an Indian aiding the British, one "Jim Deer", presumably James Young Deer. He also appears as Eagle Eye, the Indian chief, in In the Hands of the Enemy.
It would be nice if all the known parts of this film could be made available on the internet for the edification of the virile, clean, courageous youth of the greatest nation in the world (apparently somewhere called "America", not a nation that exists to my knowledge or has ever existed. Ecuador perhaps or Costa Rica?)
Serial of the American Revolutionary War with contemporary political implications
macfilms4 May 2011
Based on a weekly literary magazine series that intrigued young readers from 1900 until 1920 (at the price of 5 cents per issue, rising to 6 cents per issue by the end of its run), The Liberty Boys of '76 was also a motion picture serial in 1916 aimed at youthful viewers. It told the story of a group of young Colonial patriots battling in the Revolutionary War against the hated British and their murderous American Indian allies. A rare film, the Library of Congress has at least three different episodes: "Fighting the Red-Skins," "In the Hands of the Enemy." and "Buddy to the Rescue." There was, however, a political angle to the movie serial. It was financed with German money by which, it was hoped by the Berlin government, Americans would be influenced to distrust the Redcoat British again--and not join their historic enemy in waging war against Germany in World War I. To that end, too, a pro-German political group calling itself The Liberty Boys of '76 was organized in the United States by 1916.
To view the episode entitled "In the Hands of the Enemy," visit this web address: http://jfredmacdonald.com/hhcc/playstcc5_2.htm
To view the episode entitled "In the Hands of the Enemy," visit this web address: http://jfredmacdonald.com/hhcc/playstcc5_2.htm
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