User Reviews

Wallace Reid is an American doctor in the Philippines. He organizes a native militia and gets a few rifles. Pauline Bush is a n American teacher. Jessalyn Van Trump is a native girl. When the Spanish fort kicks out David Kirkland for conduct unbecoming, he incites an attack on the village, which Reid and his militia defend against.

There's lots of literal flag waving by the ladies, and grinning by Kirkland, which make this an unthinking propaganda piece. Even more, I am uncertain of when this is taking place. During the Spanish-American War? Then what are these American civilians doing there? After? Then why are there Spanish forces present?

A two reel action film of the time, from the Universal brand "101 Bison". Their specialty was western adventure, and this film is on pretty familiar ground, a slightly reworked Mexicans vs. Spanish story such as in "Zorro", or even Americans vs. British in Revolutionary War stories. The Spanish-American War had been over for fifteen years, and the occupation had been, after an initial few years of fighting an insurrection by local terrorists, a peaceful affair. So I'm assuming this film is supposed to be happening just prior to the opening of the war. (No effort whatsoever is made to have the girl's clothes look like it was 1898, and the Spanish uniforms don't exactly look kosher either.) The passions of 1898 had cooled considerably, so it would seem that they made this film just to break up the steady stream of lookalike oaters with a novel setting. There's an American School with a stars n' stripes flying teacher instructing the Filipino kids, and an American Doctor who's trying to organize a home-grown militia of Phillipine natives who has ties to the War department. It would seem there's some kind of conspiracy here, as the Spanish are evidently still in power, their army camp is just over the hill. There's also a camp of American soldiers, rough and ready for action, just over the other hill. How can these all be there at the same time? Other things are unexplained, such as one of the Spanish officers is court martialed and discharged. Just why, we don't know (it may have been explained in the missing first minute of the film). He goes on to attack one of the girls in the school, proving he's a rat, but he goes back to the soldiers that dismissed him to fink on the locals. The soldiers act as the brutal authoritarians that King Alphonso's colonial troops were famous for being. I guess it's justification for the rather overt American subversion. Technically, the film is very average for its time. No close-ups, lots of action unnaturally crowded into frame space, and little character or personality development. Wallace Reid was a huge favorite when he died ten years later, but any man could have been used here. Just a routine, no frills, actioner. As for the overpolitical review previously posted- the flag the Filipinos happily wave here, (The US flag) was their flag. It was the one that represented the nation that liberated them from oppressive foriegn masters twice in forty-six years, handing them the power of their own destiny less than a year after the victory over their Japanese occupiers. Many thousands of Americans suffered and died for Phillipine freedom, including some in my own family. To choke out a hate screed aginst America, incited by this harmless little antique is irrational.

Alas, wrong flag! (from a Filipino point of view) Considering the grim realities of the brutal US colonisation of the Philippines, to which the events in this film are supposed to be a prelude,this is a very unpleasant piece of patriotic flummery. The US treachery that robbed the Philippines of its independence after the defeat and dignified withdrawal of the Spanish is of course not mentioned. Manila would become its centre for operations in the Pacific and the China Seas. Nothing could better illustrate the fact that the US had joined the club of the imperialist powers than the ease with which it here adopts their hypocritical and patronising rhetoric. The caricature of the Spanish was typical of US propaganda that filled the US yellow press at the time and prepared the way for the later demonisation of the Kaiser once the US condescended to join the war against him.

Note the neat double-edged compliment in the contemporary review that points out that the film was quite obviously shot anywhere near the Philippines. In fact it is not much of an improvement over the "re-enactments" that Sigmund Lubin used to turn out in his backyard in Chicago at the tie of the war itself.

Power to your elbow, manly citizen Duterte!

This is a lively two-reel story of the Philippines. Though taken in California the setting carries a strong atmosphere of the islands. Pauline Bush and Jessalyn Van Trump make their first appearance with the Bison company, the former as the American school teacher and the latter as Bonita, a native girl. The hero is a tall young fellow of prepossessing appearance, who looks the part of a soldier of fortune acceptably. Historically this offering is probably at fault, as there were no American school teachers in the Philippines at the time there was fighting between the Spanish and American troops. The photography in this is good and the action stirring. - The Moving Picture World, May 31, 1913