WHAT HER EYES HAVE SEEN, YOUR EYES SHALL SEE:

Rita Jolivet and Lest We Forget.

Rita Jolivet, stage actress and shipwreck survivor, did Dorothy Gibson, Titanic survivor, one better, appearing in two separate films about the Lusitania disaster, Her Redemption (1916) and Lest We Forget (1918). Little is known about Her Redemption, but the semi-autobiographical Lest We Forget was one of the better- publicized (and easier to document) lost films from the Great War Years.

Lest We Forget is the story of Rita Heriot, a French opera singer sentenced to death after being captured by the Germans while volunteering as a telegraph operator. She escapes at the last minute and after an interlude in Paris travels to New York where she becomes "the toast of Broadway" and is courted by the evil German Baron Von Bergen. He warns her not to return to Europe aboard the Lusitania, knowing that it will be destroyed. She survives the sinking, and when Baron Von Bergen attempts to kill her to eliminate her knowledge of the plot to destroy the Lusitania, she strangles him and is then reunited with her American millionaire boyfriend whom she believed to have been killed at the beginning of the film.

Though the advertising and publicity for Lest We Forget implied, strongly, that it was Jolivet's story, it is evident from the various synopses that some slight artistic liberties were taken. Rita produced the film herself, in part with money borrowed from her parents, and it is evident from surviving stills and contemporary reviews, that little expense was spared in making Lest We Forget a 'spectacular.' Publicity for the film claimed (and probably exaggerated greatly) that the model of the Lusitania used during the voyage and sinking sequences cost $75,000.00. 200 'expert swimmers' struggled in New York Harbor in front of a bank of cameras, reenacting the post-sinking carnage. A captured German Liner, described as the Martha Washington in the publicity releases, doubled as the Lusitania for the interior and deck sequences, and, ultimately, it would be claimed that 3000 extras had been utilized for the battle and sinking sequences. Leonce Perret, best remembered for his work with Gloria Swanson in the lost 1925 version of Madame Sans-Gene, was credited as both director and author. Total investment: $250,000.00

The film opened in January 1918 to glowing reviews. The New York Evening World's critique read, in part: Affords onlookers more excitement in ten minutes than the average film thrills does in an hour. It holds interest from start to finish. Replete with stirring incidents. Jolivet is admirable as the heroine. The New York Telegraph opined: Jolivet's acting is as full of vivacity and power as her performances in the theatre. “Strikingly dramatic and forceful”,. while the New York Call stated: “Logical and sane. A dignified unbiased indictment of German Militarism.” Reviews from other cities, such as Indianapolis, Baltimore and San Francisco were equally enthusiastic. Rita Jolivet staged what in later years would be called a road show, 'opening' her film in cities across the US throughout 1918. It is possible to determine, from reviews of her personal appearances, that she was a captivating public speaker who could easily win audiences over. In the course of her speech, she would use her Lusitania life jacket (or possibly a prop approximating it) as a visual aid. The last round of reviews for the film came in early 1920 as, evidently, it ran out of steam as a commercial vehicle and opened in small towns where, despite its age, it continued to garner good reviews.

Jim Kalafus