“Janice Meredith” – 1924 Silent Film Showcases American Revolution

Back in 1924, silent films were all the rage. Bernardsville was just becoming a borough and separating from Bernards Township, but there was still only one movie theater, The Liberty Theater. How fortunate was the theater to feature the film “Janice Meredith”, a film about the American Revolution featuring the famous General Charles Lee. The question is, did they show the infamous Lee capture at Widow White’s in Basking Ridge?
We have the complete film at the end of the story.

Janice Meredith is a 1924 American silent film directed by E Mason Hopper and produced by William Randolph Hearst through his Cosmopolitan Productions. Based on the 1899 novel by Paul Leicester Ford, the movie tells the story of Janice Meredith, the spirited daughter of a New Jersey loyalist, who is drawn into the fight for independence and crosses paths with figures like George Washington and Paul Revere. Released on December 8, 1924, the film was an ambitious historical epic featuring Marion Davies in the title role, with Harrison Ford, a silent film star, portraying her patriot love interest, Charles Fownes. The cast also included Holbrook Blinn, Macklyn Arbuckle, and a young W C Fields in a memorable comic turn as a British sergeant, rounding out a large ensemble that brought the sweeping drama of the American Revolution to the screen.

Film

It is 1774, the eve of the American War of Independence. Janice comes from a Tory household. She cavorts with Americans and Britons alike, is pursued by Charles Fownes, patriot and friend of General Washington. Fields is a comic, drunken British sergeant. The film is based on the novel Janice Meredith, a Story of the American Revolution by Paul Leicester Ford (New York, 1899). The film ran 11 reels, lasted 118 minutes, and was released on December 8, 1924. The actors include Marion Davies, who played Janice Meredith. Harrison Ford (not the one from Raiders of the Lost Ark) played Charles Fownes. The famous actor, W.C. Fields, portrayed a British Sergeant. And for those who know the part about Basking Ridge, they will want to know that Gen. Charles Lee was played by Walter Law.

The Film’s Plot

Silenthollywood.com describes the film: “Following a disappointment in love, Lord Brereton assumes the name of Charles Fownes, arranges passage to the American Colonies as a bondservant, and finds a place with Squire Meredith, a wealthy New Jersey landowner. When Charles falls in love with the squire’s daughter, Janice, she is sent to live with an aunt in Boston. Janice learns of the planned British troop movement to the Lexington arsenal and issues the warning that leads to Paul Revere’s ride. Charles reveals his true station and becomes Washington’s aide. When he is captured by the British, Janice arranges his escape and later helps him learn the disposition of the British troops at Trenton. Janice returns home and agrees to marry Philemon Hennion, an aristocrat her father has chosen.

Charles and some Continental troops halt the wedding and confiscate the Meredith lands. Janice flees to Philadelphia, and Charles follows her. He is arrested but is freed when the British general, Howe, recognizes Charles as his old friend, Lord Brereton. Janice and her father retire to Yorktown with the British. During the bombardment by Washington’s forces, Lord Clowes binds Janice and abducts her in his coach. Charles rescues her. With peace restored, Janice and Charles meet at Mount
Vernon, where they are to be married in the presence of President Washington.  

The film Janice Meredith was produced in the United States by William Randolph Hearst’s Cosmopolitan Productions and released through Metro Goldwyn. Although the story is set across New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic during the Revolutionary War, the production itself was staged hundreds of miles to the north. For its large battle scenes and sweeping outdoor sequences, the studio selected locations in upstate New York where open land and river frontage allowed the crew to build entire eighteenth-century landscapes.

A full-scale recreation of Revolutionary-era Trenton was constructed near the rifle range at the Barracks in Plattsburgh, and the Saranac River was used to stand in for the Delaware during the famous crossing. Additional scenes were filmed in the Lake Placid region, whose terrain offered dramatic backdrops for the film’s military marches and encampments. The result was a grand historical setting created far from the places it portrayed yet convincing enough to bring New Jersey’s Revolutionary era to life for audiences of the silent film age.

The Liberty Theater – Bernardsville

The Liberty Theater was the premier movie house in the area. While another existed in Peapack, the Liberty Theater was the premiere venue for silent movies in the 1920s.

Built in 1910 by Frank Allen, Bernardsville’s only cinema was renamed the Columbus Theater in 1913 by Joseph DeBelloni. Silent films were shown with dramatic piano accompaniment to enhance the experience. The venue was sold in 1918 to Harry Miller and was patriotically renamed the Liberty Theater. Talkies came in 1929.

In 1933, the theater was given permission to show motion pictures on Sundays. It has continued to operate as a cinema since its opening and has changed little on the exterior. The grand, 400-seat theater with a balcony was converted to a triplex theater in the late 1980s.

When the film Janice Meredith arrived at the Bernardsville theater in the spring of 1925, the local newspaper promoted it as a sweeping Revolutionary War drama “based on occurrences around Basking Ridge, Princeton, Trenton, and the capture of Lee in the Tavern at Basking Ridge.” It was clever small-town marketing. Early theaters often tailored their advertisements to connect a national movie to local pride, even when the event itself never appeared on screen. The film contains no reenactment of General Charles Lee’s dramatic 1776 capture at Widow Whites Tavern, yet Bernardsville audiences were invited to believe their own hometown history had inspired scenes in a major motion picture. The result is a charming example of how local theaters in the silent era blended Hollywood storytelling with community identity to fill their seats.

What Did Happen at Widow White’s Tavern in 1776

At about noon time on December 13, 1776, General Charles Lee (1731-1782) was alarmed by Major Wilkinson while he was writing a letter to General Gates about George Washington in an upstairs bedroom of the Widow White’s Tavern. General Charles Lee was played by Walter Law, an American actor who appeared in 47 films between 1915 and 1936. Janice Meredith was his 26th movie. The question is, will the film showcase General Lee’s capture? Let us know what you find.

In the film, General Charles Lee appears only briefly and serves mainly as part of the political and military backdrop rather than as a central figure in the action. He is shown as an officer whose pride and impatience set him apart from Washington’s steadier command, and his scenes underline his reputation as a brilliant yet difficult subordinate. Throughout the story, he is depicted arguing strategy and positioning himself as a man who believes he should be leading the army rather than taking orders. His ambition and temper place him at odds with Washington and with other officers, and his dismissive attitude toward the dangers around him foreshadows his historical downfall. The film does not dramatize his actual capture at Widow White’s Tavern; within the narrative, he simply fades from the main storyline as Washington and the patriot cause move forward without him. His disappearance from the plot mirrors the novel’s treatment, in which Lee becomes a cautionary figure whose pride sidelines him as the war progresses beyond his grasp.

Widow White’s Tavern, Ebenezer White’s wife Mary Brown White, became the centerpiece of Revolutionary War history on that day, because It was on this most unfortunate day for General Lee that General Lee became a prisoner of the British Army, leaving General Washington in a precarious position. Who would have guessed that the Widow White’s Tavern capture might have turned into a blessing in disguise for the young Continental Army?

The Film Janice Meredith

Apologies that I couldn’t watch the entire film, but it was great to scan through it and see how you portray the American Revolution in a silent film.

Cast

Janice Meredith played by Marion Davies
Lord Clowes played by Holbrook Blinn
Charles Fownes played by Harrison Ford
Squire Meredith played by Macklyn Arbuckle
General George Washington played by Joseph Kilgour
Mrs Meredith played by Hattie Delaro
Lord Howe played by George Nash
Lord Cornwallis played by Tyrone Power Sr
Susie played by May Vokes
A British Sergeant played by W C Fields
Philemon played by Olin Howland
Squire Hennion played by Spencer Charters
General Charles Lee played by Walter Law
Captain Mowbrary played by Douglas Stevenson
Thomas Jefferson played by Lionel Adams
Louis XVI played by Edwin Argus
Benjamin Franklin played by Lee Beggs
Lafayette played by Nicolai Koesberg
Paul Revere played by Ken Maynard
Alexander Hamilton played by Burton McEvilly

Additional Information

• IMDB – Janice Meredith
• Amazon – Buy the DVD
• History – Widow White’s Tavern
• What Happened to Widow White’s Tavern

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