Reliving the American Revolution: USA250 Anniversary Program Part 1

Utah Humanities is kicking off a five-session series at the Salt Lake City Public Library on Wednesday, October 21, as part of the USA250 anniversary program. The first evening, Reliving the American Revolution: USA250 Anniversary Program Part 1, runs from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the Nancy Tessman Auditorium.

The whole series is built around Old Glory, a patriotic film series Warner Bros. Studios put out between 1936 and 1940. These shorts were recently restored to their original Technicolor, and they serve as the starting point for each night's look at the American War of Independence (1775–1783). The format is the same every time: a 15- to 20-minute screening of one of the short reels, an introduction by film historian Dr. James V. D'Arc, a response from a contemporary historian, and a Q&A. This first session features Sons of Liberty, a 1939 short from the series, with BYU historian Christopher Hodson providing the response.

Dr. James V. D'Arc handles the film side of things. He's the retired curator of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections' Motion Picture Archive and the BYU Film Music Archive, and he wrote When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Movie Making in Utah. Beyond the Revolution itself, the series also looks at how the U.S. film industry interpreted those events during the Great Depression, so you'll be seeing the 1770s through the lens of the 1930s.

It's a free program, open to all ages, and the first of five sessions Utah Humanities is hosting at the library. Sons of Liberty screens Wednesday, October 21, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the Nancy Tessman Auditorium at the Salt Lake City Public Library, 210 East 400 South.