The Boston Tea Party (1915 film)
1915 silent short film directed by Eugene Nowland
The Boston Tea Party is a 1915 American silent historical film directed by Eugene Nowland. The film is an extended remake of the 1908 film of the same name, also from Edison Studios, and depicts the events of the December 16, 1773, Boston Tea Party.
Plot
Described by Edison as "an adaptation of the memorable historical incident of Colonial times", the plot synopsis was:
"Ethan Ward tells Barbara, his sweetheart, that he is trying to foment a rebellion among the Colonists. At a gathering of the Colonists for the purpose of a free discussion on the subject of taxation without representation, Sam Fleet, a Tory, in league with the British soldiers, stationed in and about Boston, slips in and after he has learned the plans of the Colonists, hurries to Captain Crewe of the British and tells him young Ethan Ward is at the head of the plot. Barbara is attending the Governor's ball when Fleet enters to impart his knowledge to Captain Crewe. She does some eavesdropping and on a pretext that she is ill, leaves the Governor's mansion and hurries off to warn Ethan that Captain Crewe's men will be in search of him shortly. She stops in a wayside tavern while repairs are being made to the carriage and sees Sam Fleet, intoxicated and asleep. With assistance, she carries him to the carriage and takes him to Ethan's farm, a prisoner. She changes clothes with Ethan, and when the soldiers are nearing the house, she rides away on horseback, with the soldiers in hot pursuit. She proves herself to be an accomplished equestrienne, and the exhibition of riding is unusual.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Boston Tea Party (1915 film)” as 1915 silent short film directed by Eugene Nowland. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1915 silent short film directed by Eugene Nowland. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q21184237. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1915, 1908 and 1773.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Boston Tea Party (1915 film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Boston Tea Party (1915 film) primary sources, The Boston Tea Party (1915 film) archive and Boston research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Boston Tea Party (1915 film)”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Boston Tea Party (1915 film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.