Behind the Lines

In this 1926 Vitaphone short, Elsie Janis—the legendary 'Sweetheart of the A.E.F.'—recreates her iconic frontline performances for the camera. Stationed on the makeshift stage of a truck bed, Janis delivers a high-energy routine designed to boost the morale of the Allied forces. The film captures her inviting a French poilu to join her in a duet, followed by a spirited dance to an American tune that rallies the surrounding troops. The performance concludes as she shares the stage with a British Tommy, symbolizing the unified spirit of the Allied powers. It is less a narrative film and more a rhythmic, sonic time capsule of Vaudeville grit meeting the technological dawn of sound cinema.