The Washington herald., 1913-07-15
OFFICIALS See war
SHOWN BY FILMS
'Vietory," Five-Part Photo Drama.
Depicts United States Battle
ship in Action.
SPECIAL EXHIBITION IS GIVEN

Victory" a five-part photo drama real
istically depicting naval scenes as they
would appear In case Of war, and pre-
pared with the permission and aid Of the
Navy Department, was presented by the
Victory Company. of New York City. at a
private exhibition yesterday afternoon at
the Belasco Theater in the presence OF
army and navy officers, officials of the
government departments. members of
both Houses of Congress, and many 9TH
ers, constituting an audience that filled
the playhouse to its capacity.
Among the naval officials included in
the cast were Secretary of the Navy
Josephus Daniels, Admiral Badger. COM
mander-in-chief of the Atlantic fleet;
Commander Benson, formerly Of, the bat
tleship Utah: Lieut.. Commander Bassett.
Lieut. Commander Butler, Flag Lieut..
McCandlass, Capt Bryant. of the Yank-
ton; Commander Doyle, of the destroyer
Paulding. and Lieut.. John II. Towers. the
aviator, who recently fell LOO feet at
Annapolis
The drama showed several scenes at
the Navy Department in Washington. but
the major portion of the films were taken
in the vicinity of Guantanamo and San
tiago, Cuba. Battleships are shown in
action. realistic warfare is represented,
and hydroaeroplanes are depicted In
flight.
The plot of the drama deals with a
conspiracy TO blow up the American fleet
in a Cuban harbor. There is interviewer
a love story that adds interest and TO-
nance to the action. Lieut.. Ward. of
the Utah. is stationed at the American
Embassy at Faldivia, the capital OF An
tillas, to keep in touch with the action
of the foreign government. He falls in
love with Helen Gordon. daughter Of
the American Ambassador. who. at a
ball, overhears n conversation concern
ing a conspiracy to set of a mine in the
harbor where the battleship fleet is lying.
Lieut.. Ward flies in a hydroaeroplane to
the harbor. many miles away, and warns
the fleet just in time to escape being
blown to pieces. The firing of the mine
and the big explosion are graphically
represented.
The fleet opens fire on Moro Castle.
and in the midst OF the fight. Lieut..
Ward drops a bomb into the stronghold
from a hydroaeroplane. Later. the
American marines are landed, and fight
a battle with the natives at Las Palmas.
The Americans are victorious: and as a
conclusion to the drama, Lieut.. Ward
proves that he is as successful in love
as in war, winning the hand of the
heroic Helen.
The gunboats Prairie, Castine. Tona-
pah, and Yankton were utilized to rep
resent the foreign fleet in the naval bat
tie that followed the attempt to blow
up the American ships The pictures OF
Lieut.. Towers. who took the part of
Lieut. Ward in the serial trips. were
taken during the remarkable hydroaero-
plane flight from Guantanamo to SAN
tiagc, a distance OF forty-two miles in
thirty-six minutes. Lieut. Towers flew
more than 100 miles for the production
of the pictures.
]. Parker Read. jr.. and c. A. Willat
were in charge of the production and
presentation of the films. The Navy De-
partment furnished the battleships and
mines for use in the staging Of the photo
drama