The Breath of a Nation
About The Breath of a Nation
Prohibition has just started. Judge Rummy's wife throws out his liquor and means to have a temperance lecturer use him as a warning. While he waits, he sees a crowd at Silk Hat Harry's soda fountain. Harry's substitute drink has a strong effect of its own.
Cast & crew
More about The Breath of a Nation
Gregory La Cava directed this Judge Rummy cartoon, from Tad Dorgan's comic strip. William Randolph Hearst produced it. International Film Service released it on 29 June 1919. Judge Rummy and Silk Hat Harry are the strip's dog characters.
Themes
Background
The short was released in June 1919, as national Prohibition was being put in place. The Volstead Act took effect the following January.
Notes
- The title plays on The Birth of a Nation.
- Other 1919 Judge Rummy shorts include Snappy Cheese, The Sawdust Trail, and Good Night Nurse.
- La Cava, Jack King, Burt Gillett, and Grim Natwick directed cartoons in the series between 1918 and 1922, for International Film Service and Bray.
Scenes
- The wife dumps the judge's bottles.
- The soda fountain turns out to sell a drink with a kick.
Influenced by
- Judge Rummy (Tad Dorgan comic strip)
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-the-breath-of-a-nation)
