The Little American (Artcraft, 1917). Fine- on Linen. One Sheet (27" X 41").. ...

Description

The Little American (Artcraft, 1917). Fine- on Linen. One Sheet (27" X 41").
Known to millions as "America's Sweetheart," Pickford stars as Angela Moore, a young American heiress torn between two World War I soldiers, Karl Van Austriem, a German-American (Jack Holt), and Count Jules de Destin, a French aristocrat (Raymond Hatton). The film was directed by Cecil B. DeMille, whose style clashed with Pickford, though he created a memorable scene in the sinking of the "Veritania," clearly based on the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, in which nearly 2,000 people, including 128 American civilians, perished (among them, a close friend of DeMille's). This scene is vital to the plot of the movie, because Pickford is going to France on the Veritania to her French boyfriend, but a German U-boat sinks her ship, and she is rescued and ends up with the German boyfriend, but when she sees that he is inhuman she becomes a spy for the French. The movie was intended to stir up American support for entering World War I, and this one sheet (probably the only surviving example of this poster) has a great stone litho image of a waving Pickford with the tagline "A Stirring Photo-play of Great Patriotic Appeal." Also cast were Wallace Beery and Ramon Novarro, both at the beginning of their careers. Professional restoration included touchup to the folds, especially to the vertical fold, crossfolds, chips, scattered tears, and lettering. Parts of the borders were replaced the borders and parts of the image were airbrushed. The linen was trimmed to the border edge.


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