AllMovie

An airborne bombing attack on New York City was the high point of the speculative WWI melodrama Womanhood, Glory of the Nation. Upon returning to America after a sojourn in Europe, Mary Ward (Alice Joyce) learns that war has been declared on the United States. She arrives in New York to find a metallic mass of smoking ruins -- and worse still, her mother and sister have been killed in the attack. After this powerhouse opening, the film settles down into a traditional romantic triangle, as Mary's affections and loyalties are torn between red-blooded American diplomat Paul Strong (Harry T. Morey) and suave enemy general Prince Dario (Joseph Kilgour). The film's closing reels drag in such uplifting story elements as blindness and disfigurement, with a bit of Joan of Arc-style martyrdom thrown in. Womanhood was originally filmed as The Battle Cry of War, and was intended as a sequel to the popular "preparedness" effort The Battle Cry of Peace.