New-York tribune., 1918-12-22
By Virginia Tracy

NOV WV
:, Permanent Crouch, did you ever
,rs Of them that really got you?"
a,,+ are they all ovcr?" meditatcd
ne movie fan.
avOt really we replied to both
,rs "Most Of the war films I've
have had their moments but
.,,r The Little Americana
awsll don't begin ON The Little
.-;csn' again. Besides. that was
lust the European part of the war
.,.rt in the person Of one little stray
:, no never got IN It's the war since
,,..,b 1917, that keep running round
,ser in pictures and not catching"
ave cot in far enough in The Battle
cr Of Peace" the n.ovie fan pro-
,..ted "And that was in the very be-
.;,,;nr-the first time I ever heard of
propagands."
sounds like the prehistoric age!
{, impressive, at any rate, was The
n...,s Crv of Peace" we Joined forces
18th the Crouch, that can't now re
...rbpr whether what it was crying for
-. cesce or war. l remember the
..uhsrs falling in on Charlie Richman
~ was it on his mother And I re-
n.mber the Germans marching up
Roadway and entering our parlors and
II our servants-if we had any-turn-
w. ant 10 be German spies who helped
10 soldiers shoot US, and the Capitol
st Washington burning to ashes and
tho National Guard kneeling in an
,nnsv lot with its last round of am
run;tion and ladies releasing doves at
neace congress, with tears straight
rom the eye-dropper rolling down
,bsir cheeks in close-ups. But which
s;se was the propaganda propping,
Peace or Preparedness? Come on in,
or keep OUT
@yell il seems to me-" cried the
movie fan. "the less you say. then, the
better.'
"Not at all. That's the very point
its up to them to make me remember.
If you think its my memory that's at
fsnlt examine ne on The Birth of a
Nation
But you've seen something since
then. haven't you? What did you get
out of it,
"Why, cut Of the serials, for in
stance, didn't we all get pretty good
fun? enjoyed seeing Pearl White in
The Exploits of Elaine doing her
pleasant, athletic best to save America
from invasion. It's true she never en-
trely reassured me on that point for
when. in about the central instalment
she lost so good a fighter as Arnold
DAILY for the hero l thought it began
to look bad for the cause, especially as
dt tHc SAINT IlOil0At ASiOISA 'etA ; iAAOl
appeared as the invading william, aban-
doning the submarine that had brought
him to our coast with so magnificent
dive and reaching shore with so superb
stroke of overland confidence that /
really didn't sec how America was to
resist him. Since then how many spies
hove Of llf n
submarines! Fortunately, we have had
Secret Service heroes of our own. And
heroines, when not able as nurses,
have rushed into spying as a godsend.
Surely We can none of US have forgot
ten Mrs. Castle, swirling, swimming,
riding, dressing, dancing and other
wise stunting her way through spy
life in 'Patria.' Patria was a patriotic
girl whose father had taken the pre-
caution to leave her solid gold brick
fortune in the cellar to save the coun-
try with; it had to remain in the
cellar as the safest place and the spy
Ing Germans had to be spied upon to
"~~P eHCllt iAO4u SSbtliiS III e~A AeNA ~, lOi
II they got it the country was lost.
Patria must either have liked the life
OF else have felt a deep-rooted distrust
Of her country's authorities, as she
never once thought of calling the
police to her assistance. Then in TO
hell With the Kaiser film with many
effective punches and much fierce ex
element we'll brought off, Olive Tell
spied on her German lover like his
own mirror till the scenarioist, losing
MS head over SO lovely lady, gave her
the Kaiser to capture and bring into
eamp--just exactly as all-the-world's
Charlie did in his beloved, funny,
mocking. wistful fantasy of homesick-
ness and Jack-the- -Giant-Killer courage,
Shoulder Arms!' SO that if TO He'll
With the Kaiser hadn't the lively per-