Lightnin' | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Ford |
Written by | Frances Marion |
Based on | Lightnin' by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon |
Starring | Jay Hunt Wallace MacDonald |
Cinematography | Joseph H. August |
Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Lightnin' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by John Ford. [1] It was based on a successful play of the same name. The original run of the play started in 1918 at the Gaiety Theatre and continued for 1,291 performances, breaking the record for longest running play at that time. [2] [3] The film was remade in 1930 by Henry King for Fox as an early talkie starring Will Rogers with support from Louise Dresser and Joel McCrea.
As described in a film magazine reviews, [4] war veteran Lightnin’ Bill Jones is a likeable old man who has a friend in every acquaintance, and loves his dog and his liquor. His wife and he operate a hotel. When some swindlers from the city seek to get possession of the property, Lightnin’ Bill Jones sees through their scheme and refuses to sign the deeds. His wife construes his refusal as a malicious move and sues him for divorce. In the courtroom, she relents and, at the moment before the decree is handed down, they become reconciled.
Kenneth Daniel Harlan was a popular American actor during the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer roles. His career extended into the sound film era, but during that span he rarely commanded leading-man roles, and became mostly a supporting or character actor.
Wallace Archibald MacDonald was a Canadian silent film actor and film producer.
John Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed forty-four silent films from 1912 to 1917.
Otis Harlan was an American actor and comedian. He voiced Happy, one of the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This made him the earliest born actor to feature in a Disney film and one of the earliest born known American voice actors.
A Slave of Fashion is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Norma Shearer and Lew Cody, with William Haines. A young Joan Crawford had an early uncredited role as a mannequin.
Claire McDowell was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 350 films between 1908 and 1945.
The Road to Yesterday is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film was based on a 1908 play of the same name by Beulah Marie Dix and Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland and was adapted by Dix and Jeanie MacPherson. Art direction for the film was done by Paul Iribe, Anton Grot, Mitchell Leisen, and Max Parker.
Thank You is a lost 1925 American comedy film directed by John Ford. This film is based on a 1921 Broadway play, Thank You, by Winchell Smith and Tom Cushing.
The Fighting Heart is a lost 1925 American silent drama film directed by John Ford.
Dollar Down is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Tod Browning. A print in the UCLA Film and Television Archive has one of its six reels missing. Filmed in April 1924 at the F.B.O Studios in Santa Monica, California, Dollar Down was the first of two features produced by star Ruth Roland and Browning's production company, Co-Artists Productions.
The White Desert is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker. The film stars Claire Windsor and Pat O'Malley, with Robert Frazer, Frank Currier, and Sōjin Kamiyama. It is written by Monte M. Katterjohn and Gordon Rigby and adopted from Denver author Courtney Ryley Cooper's novel The White Desert (1922). This B movie was produced to keep the Loew circuit and other cinemas supplied. The title refers to the snow covered Colorado landscape during winter.
The Primitive Lover is a 1922 American silent drama film produced by and starring Constance Talmadge and distributed by Associated First National. Sidney A. Franklin served as the director of the movie and Frances Marion wrote the scenario based on a play, The Divorcee, by Edgar Selwyn. This film survives and has been released on DVD.
Sally is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film starring Colleen Moore. The film was directed by Alfred E. Green, produced by Moore's husband John McCormick, and based on the musical Sally written by Guy Bolton and Clifford Grey that was adapted to film by June Mathis. The play was a Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. production written specifically for Marilyn Miller that opened on December 21, 1920, at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway. It ran for 570 performances.
Where Was I? is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Reginald Denny. Based upon a short story by Edgar Franklin, it was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures under their Jewel banner.
What Happened to Jones is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Reginald Denny. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is based on the 1897 Broadway play What Happened to Jones by George Broadhurst.
Fine Clothes is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by John M. Stahl and starring Lewis Stone, Percy Marmont, and Alma Rubens. It is based on a play adapted from Ferenc Molnár's original.
Drusilla with a Million is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by F. Harmon Weight and written by Lois Zellner. It is based on the 1916 novel Drusilla With a Million by Elizabeth Cooper. The film stars Mary Carr, Priscilla Bonner, Kenneth Harlan, Henry A. Barrows, William J. Humphrey, and Claire Du Brey. The film was released on June 18, 1925, by Film Booking Offices of America.
The Marriage Whirl is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Alfred Santell and written by Bradley King. It is based on the 1922 play The National Anthem by J. Hartley Manners. The film stars Corinne Griffith, Kenneth Harlan, Harrison Ford, E. J. Ratcliffe, Charles Willis Lane, Edgar Norton, and Nita Naldi. The film was released on July 19, 1925, by First National Pictures.
His Buddy's Wife is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Tom Terriss and starring Glenn Hunter, Edna Murphy, and Gordon Begg.
Red Love is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Edgar Lewis and starring John Lowell, Evangeline Russell, and Ann Brody.