War Brides
Joan is loved by a young man of the village and they are married. In a few weeks the husband, a soldier, is sent to the war-front along with his three brothers. Word is received that her husband has b…
War Brides
Joan is loved by a young man of the village and they are married. In a few weeks the husband, a soldier, is sent to the war-front along with his three brothers. Word is received that her husband has been killed in battle and Joan's first impulse is suicide by she is pregnant and her prospective motherhood makes her realize her new responsibility. The military authorities start a movement to get the young women of the country to marry departing soldiers, so that the empire may have another generation of fighting men. Word is received that the King is to pass through their village and Joan organizes the women in a general protest against the war. She leads them all, dressed in black, in a long procession to meet the Monarch. The soldiers threaten to shoot her unless she turns the women back, buy Joan comes face-to-face with the ruler and kills herself, as her message from the women that they refuse to make another generation victims of a ruthless militarism. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net. The story first shows the life of the peasants of the mythical kingdom in which the scenes take place. The poor people have been oppressed by a grasping owner of a factory, and in a strike which ensues the workers are led by Joan. The workers win, and celebrate their victory at a picnic, where Joan meets Franz, a young farmer, one of four brothers, who live with their widowed mother, and their sister, Amelia. Franz and Joan become lovers and are betrothed, when the shadow of war is seen on the horizon of the country. Franz is eager to fight for his country, but Joan is filled with apprehension. They cease working on the little home they had begun to build, but before Franz leaves with the troops they are married. As the brief honeymoon passes Joan becomes more and more depressed by a sense of impending tragedy, and at length the young husband leaves with his regiment. One by one the other brothers are drafted into the ranks, until at last the bride, the sister and the mother are left alone to weep and hope against fear for the return of the loved ones. Then comes news of a great battle, and with it information that Franz has been killed. Joan. in her desperation, first thinks only of her bereavement, and is determined to end her own life as well. But the aged mother of the dead husband reminds her of a new duty which confronts her. A sewing basket filled with baby garments in the making brings Joan back to a realization of her responsibility to a child which will be born fatherless. So she sadly takes up the thread of her existence once more. Meanwhile soldiers are falling by thousands in the battles, and the military authorities conceive the idea of compelling the young, unmarried women to marry soldiers on the eve of their departure for the war, so that in the years to come there may be more soldiers to carry out the imperial ideas of power. To Joan, in her grief-burdened state, the idea is revolting. Her old talents for leadership, developed in the strike, come to the surface, and she goes among the women, arguing against permitting themselves to be made victims and tools of the ruling powers. This action brings Joan under the displeasure of the military authorities, and when she persuades her sister-in-law, Amelia, not to become the war bride of the commander in the village, Lieutenant Hoffman, Joan is ordered shot. When it is learned that she is to be a mother, however, the order is rescinded, and she is sent to jail. In her cell Joan learns that the king is to pass through the village, and working upon the sympathies of the woman jailer she escapes and spreads the news. Mourning has been forbidden by royal edict, but Joan persuades the women to disobey, and in deepest black they go to meet the monarch, carrying their babes in their arms, as a protest against the war. She promises to deliver a message to the king that may perhaps bring their loved ones back from the trenches. The king approaches, and the women go to meet him. Without using violence the civil and military authorities are unable to stem the tide of distressed humanity, and as women are now held immune from punishment for purposes of state the women march on. As they near the royal entourage the soldiers make a desperate effort to stop them by threatening to shoot their leader, Joan. But the fearless woman darts to where the king is watching the strange scene and there delivers a message, her own message, in her own way, typifying the revolt of the women of the country against the oppression under which they have suffered. —Moving Picture World synopsis
War Brides
Drama,Romance,War
Film Details
Joan is loved by a young man of the village and they are married. In a few weeks the husband, a soldier, is sent to the war-front along with his three brothers. Word is received that her husband has been killed in battle and Joan's first impulse is suicide by she is pregnant and her prospective motherhood makes her realize her new responsibility.
The military authorities start a movement to get the young women of the country to marry departing soldiers, so that the empire may have another generation of fighting men. Word is received that the King is to pass through their village and Joan organizes the women in a general protest against the war. She leads them all, dressed in black, in a long procession to meet the Monarch.
The soldiers threaten to shoot her unless she turns the women back, buy Joan comes face-to-face with the ruler and kills herself, as her message from the women that they refuse to make another generation victims of a ruthless militarism. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net. The story first shows the life of the peasants of the mythical kingdom in which the scenes take place.
The poor people have been oppressed by a grasping owner of a factory, and in a strike which ensues the workers are led by Joan. The workers win, and celebrate their victory at a picnic, where Joan meets Franz, a young farmer, one of four brothers, who live with their widowed mother, and their sister, Amelia. Franz and Joan become lovers and are betrothed, when the shadow of war is seen on the horizon of the country.
Franz is eager to fight for his country, but Joan is filled with apprehension. They cease working on the little home they had begun to build, but before Franz leaves with the troops they are married. As the brief honeymoon passes Joan becomes more and more depressed by a sense of impending tragedy, and at length the young husband leaves with his regiment.
One by one the other brothers are drafted into the ranks, until at last the bride, the sister and the mother are left alone to weep and hope against fear for the return of the loved ones. Then comes news of a great battle, and with it information that Franz has been killed. Joan.
in her desperation, first thinks only of her bereavement, and is determined to end her own life as well. But the aged mother of the dead husband reminds her of a new duty which confronts her. A sewing basket filled with baby garments in the making brings Joan back to a realization of her responsibility to a child which will be born fatherless.
So she sadly takes up the thread of her existence once more. Meanwhile soldiers are falling by thousands in the battles, and the military authorities conceive the idea of compelling the young, unmarried women to marry soldiers on the eve of their departure for the war, so that in the years to come there may be more soldiers to carry out the imperial ideas of power. To Joan, in her grief-burdened state, the idea is revolting.
Her old talents for leadership, developed in the strike, come to the surface, and she goes among the women, arguing against permitting themselves to be made victims and tools of the ruling powers. This action brings Joan under the displeasure of the military authorities, and when she persuades her sister-in-law, Amelia, not to become the war bride of the commander in the village, Lieutenant Hoffman, Joan is ordered shot. When it is learned that she is to be a mother, however, the order is rescinded, and she is sent to jail.
In her cell Joan learns that the king is to pass through the village, and working upon the sympathies of the woman jailer she escapes and spreads the news. Mourning has been forbidden by royal edict, but Joan persuades the women to disobey, and in deepest black they go to meet the monarch, carrying their babes in their arms, as a protest against the war. She promises to deliver a message to the king that may perhaps bring their loved ones back from the trenches.
The king approaches, and the women go to meet him. Without using violence the civil and military authorities are unable to stem the tide of distressed humanity, and as women are now held immune from punishment for purposes of state the women march on. As they near the royal entourage the soldiers make a desperate effort to stop them by threatening to shoot their leader, Joan.
But the fearless woman darts to where the king is watching the strange scene and there delivers a message, her own message, in her own way, typifying the revolt of the women of the country against the oppression under which they have suffered. —Moving Picture World synopsis.