Of all the major Hollywood studios of the 30's, Warners Bros were the most engaged with the threat posed in Europe by Hitler and entrusted the great Michael Curtiz with the direction of this Oscar winning short which lavished the blandishments of Technicolor and the charismatic presence of Claude Rains flanked by a classy supporting cast - including Montague Love as George Washington - on this reminder of the role played in the Revolution by a super-patriotic Jew who according to this account even died reciting the US Constitution on his deathbed.
Given the then prevailing climate in Europe, 'Sons of Liberty' avoids overtly identifying the British by name as the bad guys, and most of the film's accents - including Rains' - are impeccably British, one notable exception being the 'March of Time' style narrator who occasionally interjects to clarify or speed things up.
Given the then prevailing climate in Europe, 'Sons of Liberty' avoids overtly identifying the British by name as the bad guys, and most of the film's accents - including Rains' - are impeccably British, one notable exception being the 'March of Time' style narrator who occasionally interjects to clarify or speed things up.