Charles E. Hughes speaking during campaign, Duquesne, Pa., 1916

Charles E. Hughes speaking during campaign, Duquesne, Pa., 1916 (1916) blends Documentary elements. Top cast includes Charles Evans Hughes and William H. Coleman. The plot follows a central conflict that grows in scope as the film progresses.

Actor: Charles Evans Hughes

Presidential candidate Charles Evans Hughes campaigns in Pittsburgh vicinity on Sept. 27, 1916. Hughes was on a strenuous tour in an attempt to knit together various Republican factions. In Pittsburgh area he was joined by Republican notables, some of whom had been at odds with him: Senator Boies Penrose, Philander Knox, William Flinn. Hughes spoke in opposition to the eight-hour day and was silent on female suffrage. In film Hughes is attended by an official who appears, according to newspaper accounts and photos, to be William H. Coleman, Republican County Chairman. There are three different sequences: Hughes shaking hands with official, both apparently on a flag-draped platform, with young girls in background; Hughes addressing crowd of men in front of stone building; and Hughes speaking to group of workers in street, with background view of row houses. Women and children are visible on house porches. Interior title lists location as Duquesne, Pa.