''Racing Luck'' is a 1924 American silent

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

Herman C. Raymaker Herman C. Raymaker (22 January 1893 – 6 March 1944) was an American film director and actor. He directed 51 films between 1917 in film, 1917 and 1934 in film, 1934. His last two films as director were ''Trailing the Killer'' (1932) and ''Jo ...

and starring

Monty Banks Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States. Career Banks was born Mario ...

Helen Ferguson Helen Ferguson (July 23, 1901 – March 14, 1977) was an American actress later turned publicist. Biography Born in Decatur, Illinois, in 1901, Ferguson graduated from Nicholas High School of Chicago and the Academy of Fine Arts. Ferguson wa ...

, and

Lionel Belmore Lionel Belmore (12 May 1867 – 30 January 1953) was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century. Life and career Onstage, Belmore appeared with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, ...

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Mario, a young Italian immigrant, comes to New York City and falls in love with a Rosina, a young woman. They become dancing partners in a cafe. Mario raises a drink to toast the Statue of Liberty but a policeman stops him, the

Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...

having established the

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

alcoholic drink An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

s. Gang leader Tony Mora is jealous of him and gives Mario some rough moments, but he whips several of Tony's crowd and knocks out the leader. Having learned to drive a Ford, he is induced to enter a road race. Conspirators lock his racing car in high gear and it has no brakes. As the machine cuts circles, hops out into fields, and performs all sorts of incredible antics, the fun grows fast and furious as onlookers alternately rock with laughter and gasp in sympathy with the amateur driver in his hairbreadth escapes from sudden death. While Mario finds himself in serious difficulties, he wins the affections of Rosina and all ends well.

Cast

Preservation

Prints of ''Racing Luck'' are held in the collections of Cinémathèque royale de Belgique in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Gosfilmofond Gosfilmofond is a state film archive in Russia. It is the main film archive of the Russian Federation and a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). It is a state cultural institution — curator of films collection and oth ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

.Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''Racing Luck''
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References

Bibliography

* Munden, Kenneth White. ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

* * 1924 films 1924 comedy films American auto racing films Silent American comedy films American silent feature films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films Films directed by Herman C. Raymaker Associated Exhibitors films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub