A young American has her ship torpedoed by a German U-boat but makes it back to ancestral home in France, where she witnesses German brutality firsthand.
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Title: The Little American (1917)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Mary Pickford | ... | Angela Moore | |
| Jack Holt | ... | Karl von Austreim | |
| Raymond Hatton | ... | Count Jules de Destin | |
| Hobart Bosworth | ... | German Colonel | |
| Walter Long | ... | German Captain | |
| James Neill | ... | Senator John Moore | |
| Ben Alexander | ... | Bobby Moore | |
| Guy Oliver | ... | Frederick von Austreim | |
| Edythe Chapman | ... | Mrs. von Austreim | |
| Lillian Leighton | ... | Angela's Great Aunt | |
| DeWitt Jennings | ... | English Barrister | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
German-American Karl and French-American Jules are in love with Angela when each returns to his country as war breaks out. She sails for France and while there is nearly raped by Karl as the Germans invade. She is later arrested for sending secret messages to Jules but Karl defends her. Both are saved from execution by the arrival of the French forces and Count Jules Written by Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Taglines:
Mary Pickford in a stirring photoplay of great patriotic appeal See more »Certificate:
Not RatedParents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
12 July 1917 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
A Pequena Americana See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$166,949 (estimated)Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
SilentColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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See more »
Did You Know?
Goofs
When Angela is returning to her bedroom after taking of the German commander's boots, the shot of her approaching the door is shown twice. See more »Quotes
Angela Moore: [To Karl] If there's a spark of manhood left in you - go and save those women!See more »
Alternate Versions
The George Eastman House version in their Motion Picture Study Collection has an uncredited piano score and runs 76 minutes. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Mary Pickford ("Born on the Fourth of July" as Angela Moore) is "The Little American" (of French heritage); she falls in love with Jack Holt (as Karl Von Austreim), who had moved to America with his German father and American mother. French-American Raymond Hatton (as Count Jules de Destin of the "Fighting Destins") has fallen in love with Ms. Pickford. The love triangled threesome eventually wind up in France, with the Great War (World War I, in hindsight) complicating their lives considerably.
A mostly entertaining, if propagandistically flawed, Cecil B. DeMille film. The torpedoing, and sinking, of a ship carrying Pickford is "Titanic"-like. The war intrigue gets dramatic as Pickford slowly becomes an undercover spy for France, while the Germans occupy her ancestral home. Of course, German lover Holt arrives. It was difficult to believe they took so long to recognize each other as he moved in for the rape, but it was dark; and, prior events had them believe each other dead. The film goes WAY over-the-top in its symbolism. Pickford was, by the way, Canadian - though, few could deny she wasn't a "Little American", for all intents and purposes.
FUN to spot "extras" who later became major stars include Wallace Beery, Colleen Moore, and Ramon Novarro - especially, watch for Mr. Novarro exhibiting "star" quality during one of the film's more memorable sequences: Pickford and the wounded soldier saluting each other as he is taken by her on a stretcher. Novarro even gets Mary Pickford to write a letter for him; obviously, he's got a future in pictures. Also future-bound is Ben Alexander, who plays the boy "Bobby"; he becomes a dependable child actor, and grows up to become a Jack Webb partner on "Dragnet".
******* The Little American (7/12/17) Cecil B. DeMille ~ Mary Pickford, Jack Holt, Raymond Hatton