User Reviews

However minor this sort subject is, one cannot fail to notice that, given the date of conception and release, the subject matter(Reminding the general American public of the Jewish contribution to the Independence of the Nation through the portrayal of Haym Solomon)and the direction entrusted to the care of Michael Curtiz rather than, say B. Reeves Eason or Don Siegel, this is not just another short. Warners, at the time, peppered their films(the Sea Hawk is a good example) with allusions to the imminent conflict and this might have been a naive, but very dignified attempt at preparing the American moviegoer of 1939 to the inevitable moment when a decision would have to be taken. Anyway, it is also very much a Michael Curtiz film, even clocking at twenty minutes; Claude Rains is rather good, a bit solemn at times, but the subject demands it; the use of color is quite impressive, but not surprising for a director who experimented with it as early as 1932(Doctor X) and 1933(Mystery of the Wax Museum)and his trademark use of shadows is also present. A theme present in many Curtiz features finds its way in this tiny two-reeler, with Solomon having to make a choice, take sides and leave his mark in history, like Rick and Captain Renault in Casablanca, or Captain Blood... So, although minor, this is pretty much a typical Curtiz Warner film... to be found on DVD alongside a brilliant(But much funnier)film, the 1939 Curtiz/Flynn western Dodge City... not bad indeed.

Another Oscar-winning Technicolor short, a product this time of Warner Bros. rather than MGM; featuring the involvement of possibly their top director and such first-rate actors as Claude Rains and Gale Sondergaard, it is handled in the studio's recognizable style. The plot is a recreation of a historical incident from America's infancy, with various immigrants (led by a Jew, Haym Salomon) uniting into the titular 'resistance' group – that was also mentioned in D. W. Griffith's America (1924) – against the occupying British forces. With WWII looming, this clearly made for a stirring patriotic call to the masses: however, even when taken on its own merits, the film proves interesting (especially for the unenlightened) and entertaining.

CLAUDE RAINS gives an earnest performance as a rabbi Haym Salomon who finances Washington's troops during this historical short subject that appears on the Errol Flynn Signature Collection in collaboration with DODGE CITY.

GALE SONDERGAARD is his faithful wife who stands by while he courageously leads the rebels against The Crown in the fight for freedom. All the usual slogans denouncing tyranny and oppression are here, but the short is directed in firm style by the capable Michael Curtiz, who keeps things moving briskly throughout the twenty minutes of running time.

Seen briefly are JAMES STEPHENSON, DONALD CRISP, HENRY O'NEILL and, if you look closely, that's JOHN SUTTON as the horseback rider with a message for Rains. Photographed in Technicolor by Sol Polito, it's a fine example of the sort of shorts Warner Bros. made during the '30s and '40s to accompany feature films.

Claude Raines plays Haym Solomon, the man who spent his fortune helping to pay for the American Revolution.

Claude Rains seems an odd casting choice for what was essentially the role of an Eastern European Jew, and Michael Curtiz an odd choice to direct a short subject. You may argue that Warner Brothers took their Technicolor shorts very seriously, and spent freely on them all, let alone the serious historical ones You'd be correct, a far as that went, but I think these issues need to be viewed in the context of 1939, a moment we, with war in Europe on the horizon, were undergoing on of its bouts of isolationism, and anti-semitism -- and the Warners were Jewish. The message, that some Jews also spent their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in the cause of American liberty is just as important as any, from Crispus Attucks onward.

Sons of Liberty (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Oscar-winning short film from Warner takes place during the American Revolution as Claude Rains leads the group known as "Sons of Liberty" as they use their influence to battle anti-Semitism in the United States. This is a pretty impressive short and you can't help but notice how important this story must have been to Jack Warner for him to use a top-notch director like Curtiz and surround him with some great talent. Rains is terrific in his role and he is perfectly matched by Gale Sondergaard, Henry O'Neill, James Stephenson and Donald Crisp. The story itself is pretty bland but that doesn't take away any of the power, which was to be religiously strong as well as patriotic. Those things are what the film went for and it certainly got them. The Technicolor is perfectly used here and looks terrific. I just love seeing this early color tech and seeing how beautiful fires look using it.

In 1939, as the world perched on the brink of World War, "Sons of Liberty" served to remind the American public of the sacrifices necessary to preserve our freedoms, particularly freedom of religion. And its focus a Jewish patriot might be seen as an appeal to recognize the contributions of Jewish Americans during the American Revolution and to sympathize with Jews who were undergoing religious persecution in Germany and elsewhere.

One has to wonder how much of the story of "Sons of Liberty" is true. It feels like a fabrication with only the most basic facts being true. The use of the breathless voice-over, sounding like an episode of Zorro, only serves to heighten the feeling that "facts" were embellished and even created.

As a young student in the public school systems, I was familiar with the dramatized and sterilized versions of history--where the motives were so pure and the lines of conflict so clear. Such colorful but biased reconstructions of history only served as impediments in my later search for historical truth.

"Sons of Liberty" is so overly dramatized that its value as a revolutionary recounting is practically nil. It is understandable that Hollywood might produce such a piece in 1939 given the world situation. But now, its super-stylized, bombastic approach to story telling--with chronological events so condensed and orchestral flourishes for every scene--makes it only an interesting remnant of the run up to WWII.

Back in the days when a night at the movies meant a whole package of entertainment, the studios cranked out dozens of so-called "short subjects" as light filler material. They generally purported to be educational and many of them gave a potted history of some historical figure or process, with an emphasis on wholesome pop facts and just a cursory nod towards accuracy. They were usually rather cheap and cheerful affairs too. Sons of Liberty is an exception – a short subject which, despite its brevity, has been produced with all the lavishness of an A-grade feature.

For its cast, Sons of Liberty does not utilize the front rank of Warner Brothers stars, but certainly picks from the cream of character players. The lead role is given great weight and dignity by Claude Rains, whose charisma stems not from forcefulness but from a calm, thoughtful composure. It's also nice to see this stock baddie in a heroic role for once. In this respect, it almost seems like a cheeky in-joke that perennial female villain Gale Sondergaard is cast as his wife, especially since her part is so small and doesn't really use her talents much. There are also brief appearances by Donald Crisp and Montagu Love, which like Sondergaard's are so short they seem to be more to add class than actual quality.

The director is Michael Curtiz, at the time one of the most highly regarded of Warner's team. Curtiz always packed a lot of information into the frame in order to quickly establish meaning and context, so in many ways he is ideal for the whistle-stop pace of the short subject. There's a bit of typical Curtiz arty symbolism going on here with the Claude Rains character being repeatedly associated with flames. A bit superfluous perhaps, but the linking motif at least allows for a bit of smooth flow as Curtiz works a candle or a lantern into the beginning or end of a shot, which is often the only bit of vibrant colour in the scene.

Ultimately however, Sons of Liberty cannot rise above its short subject roots. Its prime function is to inform rather than entertain, and so like all short subjects it crams in info rather than allowing scenes to play for drama or excitement. Just as one scene begins to build, we get a bit of voice-over narration skipping us on to something else. Pretty as it looks, and finely acted as it is, Sons of Liberty really looks a bit like a twenty-minute trailer for a full-length feature, which in no way makes it a substitute for the real thing.

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.

This is a Michael Curtiz-directed 20-minute color short about a group of immigrants to the new country (America) who formed a group called "Sons Of Liberty." They were persecuted people who are happy to rid themselves of that and don't care to be persecuted again. They fear they are being "threatened, once again by the British," as Claude Rains' character "Haym Salomon" puts it.

In September of 1776, General Howe invades New York City and gets a "warm reception" from the group as they burn the docks where is ship and other British boats and storefronts are located. Donald Crisp plays "Alexander McDougall," Salomon's ally and leader of the SOL.

Salomon is taken by the Brits and charged with "aiding and abetting the enemy of the Crown." However, Soloman uses his intelligence and education to gain the British trust and become a spy for George Washington. However, he gets discovered hiding someone and is thrown in jail, to be hanged. He comforts some of the other prisoners, such as reciting the 23rd Psalm to one, who turns out to be Nathan Hale. Soloman once again escapes, and the scene quickly shifts to Philadelphia in the year 1781.

Shortly, we see George Washington (Montagu Love) and hear of the problems he's having with disgruntled and underpaid militia.

The story of how the Americans overcame adversity is the rest of it. One doesn't often see or hear of the Jewish people being involved with the American Revolution, so Soloman's character gives the story a new twist.

Patriotism? The Bible? The Torah? Yup, it's all here in spades, something dated but refreshing to see in a secular-dominated film industry would never make something remotely close to this today.

It was great that they honored the story of Haym Solomon, an under credited hero of the American Revolution. However, Claude Rains plays Solomon with a very British accent. Haym Solomon immigrated from Poland. There is nothing about Rains portrayal that indicates that he is of either European extraction or Jewish descent. Given that this short was made by Jewish Warner Bros and Jewish Michael Curtiz, it raises many questions as to what they were thinking and what were their motivations? Could it have been, as implied by some of the other reviewers, that Hollywood wanted to remind Americans, given the situation in 1939, that Jews were instrumental in the Amercian Revolution that led to our Freedom and that we should be prepared for a possible threat to our freedom? But, as was often of the mind set of pre-WWII Hollywood, they wouldn't want to make our Jewish protagonist too Jewish in fear of an American anti-semitic back lash. This walks a hypocritical tight rope. Oy Vey!

A refreshing little short about a little known element of our Revolutionary History. Someone who almost single handedly financed the Revolution should have gained a larger place in our history books, but sadly, he was relegated to the footnotes section. This short began by showing the Jewish Congregation in Philadelphia - the oldest synagogue in America. I was perplexed by the previous user from England who felt it was made as a slap in the face of the British as they were about to go to war. Ironically, the British were not heavily represented in this short at all, unless the subject of the Revolution, merely by its existence, is an insult to the British. If that's the way they felt at the outset of war I'm surprised they didn't deny our help feeling the insult would be too great to allow yanks to come to their assistance...or should I say win the war.

As Haym was represented gathering his funding and moving it around the country, it was ironically shown that his greatest antagonist was pursuit by the Hessian Soldiers...sure they were employed by the British...but if someone wanted to point out some pre-WWII propaganda elements in this film, you couldn't look any further than the brave little group of Jews being chased after by the Germans! I'm not a student of Haym Solomon history, but this element might even have been solely added for political effect and perhaps to cushion any anti-British sentiment in this subject. America has always been proud of its beginnings, and has made many movies/shorts in celebration. You also forget that even at this early point, it was a serious possibility that we could soon be entering a war. Patriotic symbolism in Hollywood was not aimed at the British, regardless of the British actors who obviously didn't think this was a slap.

The production was fine, nice color, acting was fine...nothing out of the ordinary, but still very enjoyable and very valuable for pre-WWII American cultural studies.

This fine short subject from Warner Brothers won an Academy Award as the Best Short Subject in 1939. An honor for its director Michael Curtiz who would win another Oscar for Best feature film four years later with Casablanca and one for himself as Best Director.

This film should be put in the context of the times. One of the criticisms of the Jewish movie moguls is that they did not use their influence to combat anti-Semitism in the USA. IF that was the the case the Brothers Warner redeemed themselves in a small way bringing the story of Haym Solomon to the screen, the Jewish individual among America's founding fathers.

Solomon had quite a career during the revolution as a spy and later helping to finance the American Revolution with Robert Morris. The expenses they personally signed for these two men dear in personal wealth and health. Claude Rains is a fine Haym Solomon, the part is almost a dress rehearsal for his later role in Mr. Skeffington.

I've a feeling that this might have started out as a feature film project for Paul Muni. It would have certainly been a perfect fit for him. Around this time Muni and Jack Warner were coming to a parting of the ways.

It's good short subject and kids you can actually use it as the basis of a book report.

It's too bad Warners didn't deem the material sufficiently interesting to make this into a full-length feature. God knows this short film is superior to much of the forgettable nonsense the studio was churning out at this time.

The only captivating reason to watch this is to see Claude Rains in glorious Technicolor. Let me be the first to tell you, he's looking extremely swoon-worthy. He's sporting a very dapper ponytail, wonderful breeches and the largest pair of brown doe-eyes you've ever seen. So for Claude Rains fans (and their number is legion), this is a must have movie for your collection.

I wish this material was given a longer treatment. It tells a story of a group of immigrants-centered on a Jewish man-that help out in the American cause of Independence by providing funds. As a two-reel this short is too short and the storytelling is very choppy. Curtiz and Rains get what they can out of the lackadaisical script; the storybook technicolor really helps.

Anyway, this film was made on the cusp of the US entering WWII and I suspect that it did sell a lot of war bonds-which is why it was made after all.