''Battling Bunyan'' is a 1924 American
silent sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Paul Hurst
Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, ba ...
and starring
Wesley Barry
Wesley Barry (August 10, 1907 – April 11, 1994) was an American actor, director, and producer. Barry began his career as a child actor in silent motion pictures and later became a producer and director of both film and television. As a direc ...
,
Frank Campeau
Frank Campeau (December 14, 1864 – November 5, 1943) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1911 and 1940 and made many appearances in films starring Douglas Fairbanks.
On Broadway, Campeau appeared in ''Rio Gr ...
, and
Molly Malone
"Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels" or "In Dublin's Fair City") is a traditional song set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become its unofficial anthem.
A statue representing Molly Malone was unveiled on Grafton Street by then Lo ...
. In order to raise cash in a hurry, a young man takes up
professional boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...
despite the fact he is totally unsuited to it.
Plot
As described in a review in a film magazine,
Bunyan (Barry), a young chap who has gained a lot of experience in the school of hard knocks, has a small position in a garage. The light-weight champion fighter (Ralesco) comes in and flirts with Bunyan’s girl Molly (Malone) and Bunyan tries to fight him. Jim Canby (Campeau), the local fight promoter, gets the idea of signing Bunyan up for fights to give his patrons a laugh, billing him as Red Aiken Bunyan, and it works. Bunyan knows he is a clown but the money helps to buy a partnership in the garage. Finally, the champion returns and again starts after Molly. The prize fight is to be a frame-up and Bunyan agrees at $200 a round. He takes a terrific beating and tries to stay out five rounds but only lasts four. Mollie, thoroughly won over by his gameness, tries to see Bunyan, but the champion intercepts her and tries to attack her when she repulses him. Bunyan jumps on him and finally beats him. Canby gives Bunyan the full thousand dollars prize and he buys into the garage partnership and then marries Molly.
Cast
Reception
While ''Battling Bunyan'' was acceptable in the United States, the
British Board of Film Censors
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...
banned the film when it was submitted for review in 1926.
Preservation
''Battling Bunyan'' has been released on dvd.
''Battling Bunyan''
at grapevinevideo.com
References
Bibliography
* Tim Lussier. ''"Bare Knees" Flapper: The Life and Films of Virginia Lee Corbin''. McFarland, 2018.
External links
*
Movie exhibit card with Barry
Metropolitan Museum of Art
1924 films
American sports comedy films
Films directed by Paul Hurst
American silent feature films
Pathé Exchange films
American black-and-white films
1920s sports comedy films
American boxing films
1924 comedy films
1920s English-language films
1920s American films
Silent American comedy films
Silent sports comedy films
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