The Fighting American

Last updated

The Fighting American
The Fighting American (1924) Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tom Forman
Written by Harvey Gates
Screenplay by Raymond L. Schrock
Story byWilliam Elwell Oliver
Based onAdaptation by Raymond L. Schrock of a screen story by William Elwell Oliver
Produced by Carl Laemmle
Starring Pat O'Malley
Mary Astor
Raymond Hatton
CinematographyHarry Perry
Production
company
Universal Pictures (as Universal Pictures Corporation)
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • May 26, 1924 (1924-05-26)
Running time
6 reels; 5,251 feet
Country United States
Languages Silent
English intertitles

The Fighting American (also known as The Fighting Adventurer) is a surviving 1924 American silent romantic drama film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures and directed by Tom Forman. The young Mary Astor plays a young college student who is the object of desire in the eyes of the hero. [1]

Contents

Plot

The full film

Bill Pendleton (Pat O'Malley), son of a wealthy shipowner, goes to fight in the war as a pilot. He has trouble concentrating on his studies and as a happy-go-lucky college student adept at both flying and football, he accepts a wager from his fraternity pals that he will propose to any female student they choose.

Mary O'Malley (Mary Astor) is chosen by his pals and, unaware of the wager, accepts Bill's fraternity pin. She is an old-fashioned young woman who is secretly in love with him. Bill having proposed to her in earnest, is also in love. Mary, however, hears about the wager and thoroughly disgusted with Bill, leaves college and goes to China to join her missionary father (Alfred Fisher).

A remorseful Bill ends up being kicked out of college, and his father also disowns him. He decides to follow Mary to China in order to redeem himself. He stows away on the same ship that Mary is taking to China.

When the Chinese revolutionary, Fu Shing (Warner Oland), kidnaps Mary, Bill has to figure out how to save her. He enlists the help of his friend, Danny Daynes (Raymond Hatton), an alcoholic war veteran now serving as a general in the Chinese army.

In an exciting battle in the sky, Bill ends up rescuing Mary and her father from a band of revolutionaries.

Cast

Production

The plot of The Fighting American was a romantic satire penned by William Elwell Oliver, the winner of a writing contest that Universal Studios held for college students. [2] The working title of the film was "The Throwback." [3]

A spectacular aerial stunt appeared in The Fighting American where two stuntmen fought on the wings of a Curtiss JN-4 with one stuntman falling off the wing. Instead of falling to his death, the falling stuntman doubled by former circus acrobat Russel Benton, swung in pendulum style onto the other wing tip. [4] [N 1]

Two Curtiss JN-4s flew out of Clover Field near Houston, with one acting as a camera platform flown by Frank Tomick and the other aircraft flown by Leo Nomis. [6]

Reception

The review in The New York Times considered The Fighting American as "pleasant nonsense". The review noted: "In the introductory title of "The Fighting American," the film presentation at the Broadway this week, Carl Laemmle, President of Universal Pictures Corporation, explains that the production is not one to tax the mentality of the spectators, who must look upon the narrative as nonsense." [3]

Reviewer Janiss Garza recounted in her review for Allmovie.com, that some aerial scenes in The Fighting American were exciting. [2]

Preservation

Prints of The Fighting American exist in private film collections [16mm reduction positives, 8mm reduction positives]. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Sky High</i> (1922 film) American silent Western film

Sky High is a 1922 American silent Western film written and directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring Tom Mix, J. Farrell MacDonald, Eva Novak and Sid Jordan. The action in Sky High takes place in 1922 and while the characters ride horses and fight in saloons, they also use telephones, automobiles and even an aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakima Canutt</span> American rodeo rider, actor and stuntman (1895–1986)

Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing them.

<i>Now Were in the Air</i> 1927 film

Now We're in the Air is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer, starring the late-1920s intermittent comedy team of Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton. In a supporting role, Louise Brooks plays twins, one raised French and the other raised German.

<i>The Mystery Squadron</i> 1933 American film

The Mystery Squadron is a 1933 American pre-Code 12-chapter Mascot film serial, directed by Colbert Clark and David Howard. The film was produced by Nat Levine, and stars Western star Bob Steele, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Lucile Browne, Purnell Pratt and Jack Mulhall. The Mystery Squadron made an impressive use of a great deal of aerial footage to enliven the action.

<i>The Grim Game</i> 1919 film directed by Irvin Willat

The Grim Game is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Irvin Willat and starring Harry Houdini and Ann Forrest. The basic plotline serves as a showcase for Houdini's talent as an escapologist, stunt performer and aviator. As the story unfolds, a series of Houdini's trademark set-piece stunts and escapes are performed. When his tormentors chain him up and imprison him on numerous occasions, Houdini escapes. The film concludes with a climactic mid-air collision following an aircraft pursuit. Following the collision, Houdini is reunited with his fiancée.

<i>Eagle of the Night</i> 1928 film

Eagle of the Night is a 1928 American drama film serial directed by James F. Fulton. Dismissed when released and completely forgotten in the modern era, the 10-chapter aviation serial starred real-life aviator Frank Clarke, a stunt pilot in such fare as Wings (1927), Hell's Angel (1930), and The Flying Deuces (1939).

Hung Yan-yan is a Hong Kong martial artist, actor, stuntman and action director originally from Liuzhou, Guangxi, China. He was the stunt double for martial arts superstar Jet Li.

<i>The Air Mail</i> 1925 film by Irvin Willat

The Air Mail is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Irvin Willat and starring Warner Baxter, Billie Dove, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. Filmed in Death Valley National Park and the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada, it was released in the United States on March 16, 1925.

<i>Riders of the Purple Sage</i> (1918 film) 1918 film

Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring William Farnum, Mary Mersch, and William Scott. The film is about a former Texas Ranger who goes after a group of Mormons who have abducted his married sister. This Frank Lloyd silent film was the first of five film adaptations of Zane Grey's 1912 novel.

<i>Road to Paradise</i> (film) 1930 film

Road to Paradise is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film produced and distributed by First National Pictures, and starring Loretta Young, Jack Mulhall and Raymond Hatton. It was directed by William Beaudine and is based on a 1920 play Dodson Mitchell by Zelda Sears called Cornered. The film was a remake of a 1924 silent version, entitled Cornered, which was also directed by William Beaudine.

<i>The Poor Boob</i> 1919 film by Donald Crisp

The Poor Boob is a lost 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Donald Crisp and produced by Paramount Pictures. It starred Bryant Washburn, Wanda Hawley, Richard Rosson, Theodore Roberts, Raymond Hatton, and Jay Dwiggins.

<i>Johnny Get Your Gun</i> 1919 film by Donald Crisp

Johnny Get Your Gun is a 1919 American comedy silent film directed by Donald Crisp and written by Edmund Lawrence Burke and Gardner Hunting. The film stars Fred Stone, Mary Anderson, Casson Ferguson, James Cruze, Sylvia Ashton, Nina Byron and Mayme Kelso. The film was released on March 16, 1919, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Worldly Goods</i> 1924 film by Paul Bern

Worldly Goods is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by Paul Bern and written by Sophie Kerr and A. P. Younger. The film stars Agnes Ayres, Patrick H. O'Malley, Jr., Victor Varconi, Edythe Chapman, Bert Woodruff, Maude George, and Cecille Evans. The film was released on November 24, 1924, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Tomorrows Love</i> 1925 film

Tomorrow's Love is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Paul Bern, written by Charles Brackett and Howard Higgin, and starring Agnes Ayres. Pat O'Malley, Raymond Hatton, Jane Winton, Ruby Lafayette, and Dale Fuller. It was released on January 5, 1925, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>A Hero for a Night</i> 1927 film by William James Craft

A Hero for a Night is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by William James Craft and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, cashing in on the "Lindy craze", generated by Charles Lindbergh's famous ocean crossing flight. The film stars Glenn Tryon, Patsy Ruth Miller and Burr McIntosh.

Roger Winston Tzi-Chun Yuan is an American martial artist, stuntman, actor, and fight choreographer.

<i>The Fighting Pilot</i> 1935 film directed by Noel M. Smith

The Fighting Pilot is a 1935 American action film directed by Noel M. Smith and starring Richard Talmadge, Gertrude Messinger and Robert Frazer. When an inventor develops a new type of aircraft, a crooked businessman attempts to steals the aircraft and its blueprints. The company test pilot, who is the boyfriend of the inventor's daughter, foil the criminals.

<i>Madonna of the Streets</i> (1924 film) 1924 film

Madonna of the Streets is a 1924 American drama film directed by Edwin Carewe and written by Frank Griffin, Frederic Hatton, and Fanny Hatton. It is based on the 1904 novel The Ragged Messenger by W. B. Maxwell. The film stars Alla Nazimova, Milton Sills, Claude Gillingwater, Courtenay Foote, Wallace Beery, and Anders Randolf. The film was released on October 19, 1924, by First National Pictures.

<i>Stunt Pilot</i> 1939 American film

Stunt Pilot is a 1939 American adventure film directed by George Waggner and written by Scott Darling and George Waggner. The film is based on the comic strip Tailspin Tommy by Hal Forrest and Glenn Chaffin. Stunt Pilot stars John Trent, Marjorie Reynolds, Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr., Pat O'Malley and George Meeker. Following the success of Mystery Plane (1939), Stunt Pilot, the second in the "Tailspin Tommy" series, was released on July 2, 1939, by Monogram Pictures.

<i>The Sky Spider</i> 1931 film

The Sky Spider is a 1931 American "youth-oriented" adventure film. Directed by Richard Thorpe, the film starred Glenn Tryon, Beryl Mercer, Blanche Mehaffey, Pat O'Malley and newcomer John Trent.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The stunt was accomplished by having wires tied to the stuntman's ankles and the aircraft landing gear, allowing a pendulum swing below the aircraft. [5]

Citations

  1. ↑ "Catalog: 'The Fighting American'. 'The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1921-30'. Los Angeles: The American Film Institute, c. 1971.
  2. 1 2 Garza, Janiss. "Review: The Fighting American." Allmovie, 2019. Retrieved: September 2, 2019.
  3. 1 2 ""Review: Pleasant nonsense." The New York Times, May 13, 1924.
  4. ↑ Wynne 1987, p. 36.
  5. ↑ Wynne 1987, p. 37.
  6. ↑ Santoir, Christian. "Review: The Fighting American." Aeromovies, July 29, 2010. Retrieved: September 2, 2019.
  7. ↑ Progressive Silent Film List: The Fighting American. silentera.com, 2019. Retrieved: September 2, 2019.

Bibliography

  • Wynne, H. Hugh. The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. ISBN   0-933126-85-9.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.