The Declaration of Independence
1938 | 17m | English
Popularity: 0.2 (history)
| Director: | Crane Wilbur |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Charles L. Tedford |
| Staring: |
| This historical featurette focuses on Caesar Rodney of Delaware who in the summer of 1776 cast the deciding vote, at the meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, so that the Declaration of Independence was adopted. | |
| Release Date: | Nov 26, 1938 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Crane Wilbur |
| Writer: | Charles L. Tedford |
| Genres: | Drama, History |
| Keywords | independence, american revolution, revolutionary war, freedom fighters |
| Production Companies | Warner Bros. Pictures, The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Jan 30, 2026 Entered: May 05, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| John Litel | Thomas Jefferson |
| Ted Osborne | Caesar Rodney |
| Rosella Towne | Betsy Kramer |
| Richard Bond | Thomas Lynch Jr. |
| Owen King | Edward Rutledge |
| Lionel Belmore | The Innkeeper (uncredited) |
| Sidney Bracey | Congress Clerk (uncredited) |
| Tom Chatterton | Richard Henry Lee (uncredited) |
| Hal Craig | Man Shooting at Rodney (uncredited) |
| Henry Hall | John Hancock (uncredited) |
| John Harron | Rodney's Messenger (uncredited) |
| Boyd Irwin | Thomas McKean (uncredited) |
| Charles Frederick Lindsley | Narrator (voice) (uncredited) |
| Wilfred Lucas | John Dickinson (uncredited) |
| William Orlamond | Matthew Kramer (uncredited) |
| Bert Stevens | Ratification Meeting Member (uncredited) |
| Ferris Taylor | John Adams (uncredited) |
| Emmett Vogan | George Reed (uncredited) |
| Walter Walker | Benjamin Franklin (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Charles L. Tedford | Screenplay |
| Howard Jackson | Music |
| W. Howard Greene | Director of Photography |
| Everett Dodd | Editor |
| Hugh Reticker | Art Direction |
| Milo Anderson | Costume Design |
| Robert B. Lee | Sound |
| Crane Wilbur | Director |
| Name | Title |
|---|
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
| 2024 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Trending Position
With the slightly incongruous strains of “God Save The King” accompanying this short feature, it offers us a zealous and simplistic, “Janet and John” guide to those brave men who decided to separate from the mother country and set out on their road to freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I ... t’s the sort of film you might show to young children to excite their interest in history, or dressing up, or both - but the only actual political point it seems to me to promote is one that says: if I don’t do what you want to do at gunpoint, you will do what I want at gunpoint instead. It’s probably fine if you are ten years old, but otherwise it’s all far too overly condensed to do anything like justice to the prologues and visceral debates across the thirteen states that were nowhere near as unanimous and back-slapping as this suggests the process was. Maybe they could have credited the writers of Magna Carta in here too?