Give Me Liberty

It's surprising to see how perfected three-strip Technicolor was, as early as 1936, when GIVE ME LIBERTY was filmed, an historical short subject starring JOHN LITEL as Patrick Henry giving his famous "Give Me Liberty!" speech in Virginia during the American Revolution.

This short appears on the Errol Flynn Signature Collection for CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, and is evidence that the handsomely mounted Technicolor short was the Warner way of testing its color equipment in preparation for the full-length features to come.

It's the sort of film we used to see in the school auditorium when I was a kid, educational and usually not very well acted or produced. This is fairly well done, although I have to admit that--much as I like John Litel as a character actor in the Warner stock company--his flamboyant method of delivering the speech is more than a little over the top for dramatic effect.

Again, the most impressive thing about the feature is the Technicolor photography which makes the costumes and sets glow with vivid shades of color that are pleasing to the eye.