This story must have been very popular, with several silent versions being made before this short.
In this color film, John Litel plays a solider circa 1805 who gets mixed up in Aaron Burr's plan to create another army. Litel is arrested, and comdemns the United States, saying he hopes he never hears of, or sees, the United States again. Well, he gets his wish, as he is sent off to a variety of ships where no one mentions "T-- U----- S-----." Meanwhile, Gloria Holden, who plays his vampire lover, keeps asking every President to pardon him. Finally, Lincoln (Charles Middleton, no less) does, but Holden croaks in his office. Litel finally gets word, and he croaks, but the ghost of Holden spirits him off to the Promised Land. Be prepared for several doses of "Beautiful Dreamer," "There's No Place Like Home," and "My Country Tis of Thee."
This is cornball in the extreme, but not badly done. As a trivia note, Burr is played by Holmes Herbert, who played the lead in the 1917 version. That version is contemporaneous, as Herbert refuses to go off to fight in WW I. He is given the book "The Man Without a Country" and re-enacts the story within the story. He then is inspired to enlist. Perhaps the main reason to watch this version is to see the lovely Florence La Badie, making her final appearance before an untimely death.
In this color film, John Litel plays a solider circa 1805 who gets mixed up in Aaron Burr's plan to create another army. Litel is arrested, and comdemns the United States, saying he hopes he never hears of, or sees, the United States again. Well, he gets his wish, as he is sent off to a variety of ships where no one mentions "T-- U----- S-----." Meanwhile, Gloria Holden, who plays his vampire lover, keeps asking every President to pardon him. Finally, Lincoln (Charles Middleton, no less) does, but Holden croaks in his office. Litel finally gets word, and he croaks, but the ghost of Holden spirits him off to the Promised Land. Be prepared for several doses of "Beautiful Dreamer," "There's No Place Like Home," and "My Country Tis of Thee."
This is cornball in the extreme, but not badly done. As a trivia note, Burr is played by Holmes Herbert, who played the lead in the 1917 version. That version is contemporaneous, as Herbert refuses to go off to fight in WW I. He is given the book "The Man Without a Country" and re-enacts the story within the story. He then is inspired to enlist. Perhaps the main reason to watch this version is to see the lovely Florence La Badie, making her final appearance before an untimely death.