''The Cloud Rider'' is a 1925 American silent action adventure aviation film directed by Bruce M. Mitchell and starring

Al Wilson Aldra Kauwa Wilson (born June 21, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Tennessee, and ...

and

Virginia Lee Corbin Virginia Lee Corbin (December 5, 1910 – June 4, 1942) was an American silent film actress. Early years Corbin was born Laverne Virginia Corbin in Prescott, Arizona to Leon Ernest Corbin and Virginia Frances (Cox) Corbin, and she had a siste ...

. It was distributed by

Film Booking Offices of America Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the Silent film, silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an ...

.''The Cloud Rider'' was one of a series of films that showcased the exploits of the stunt pilots in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine, champion aviator Bruce Torrence (Wilson) and member of the secret service has a formidable rival for the hand of Zella Wingate (Ferguson) in the person of Juan Lascelles (von Meter), who owns a fleet of airplanes used to smuggle drugs. Thinking to get rid of Bruce, Juan loosens a wheel on the airplane. Zella goes up in the machine and is saved from death by Bruce who makes a thrilling transfer to the airplane in midair. Later, Bruce finds Zella in Juan's arms. Zella's little sister Blythe (Corbin), forbidden to attend a party, goes to the beach and finds Juan talking to his henchmen. Reporting to Bruce, he starts out after Juan's machine. Blythe hides in the fuselage and accidentally wrecks the airplane by monkeying with the control wires. Bruce and Blythe find themselves in the woods and Bruce realizes that it is Blythe that he loves. They are captured by Juan who takes Blythe away in his airplane. Bruce escapes with the aid of a former buddy among Juan's henchman. Bruce gives chase. Blythe operates the controls and causes the airplane to drop into the water. Bruce jumps from his machine and saves Blythe and captures Juan. Bruce and Blythe start out on their aerial honeymoon.

Cast

as Bruce Torrence *

as Blythe Wingate *

Harry von Meter Harry von Meter (March 20, 1871 – June 2, 1956; sometimes credited Harry van Meter) was an American silent film actor. He starred in about 200 films in the period from 1912 through 1929. He retired from acting just as sound films were beginni ...

as Juan Lascelles *

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 ...

as Zella Wingate * Frank Rice as Hank Higgins *

Melbourne MacDowell Willet Melbourne MacDowell (November 22, 1856 – February 18, 1941) was an American stage and screen actor. He began on the legitimate stage in the 1870s and first appeared on the silent screen in 1917. He used the stage name Virginia Drew Pres ...

as David Torrence *

Brinsley Shaw Brinsley Shaw (1876–1931) was an American stage, director and film actor of the silent era. He worked in over 150 films from 1910 to 1927.Katchmer p. 348 Selected filmography * '' Across the Plains'' (1911) * '' The Tomboy on Bar Z'' (1912) * ...

as Peter Wingate * Frank Tomick as Pilot * Boyd Monteith as Pilot * Frank Clarke as Pilot

Production

was not only the star of ''The Cloud Rider'' but also gathered together friends who would form a "flying circus". Wilson worked together with stuntmen like Frank Clarke and

Wally Timm Wally Timm (August 8, 1896 – April 29, 1978) was an American aircraft designer, pilot and manufacturer. Early life Wally Timm was born in Lakefield, Minnesota, and with his family moved to Windom, Minnesota. He worked closely alongside his brot ...

primarily for film companies, flying as a "stunt pilot" in the films. After Wilson became a flying instructor and a short period as manager of the

Mercury Aviation Company Mercury Aviation Company was one of the first commercial airline services founded in 1919 by Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille, Hollywood American film director and producer, was one of the first to see the aircraft's potential in commercial airline serv ...

, founded by one of his students,

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

. Wilson became more and more skilled in performing stunts, including wing-walking, and left the company to become a professional stunt pilot, specializing in

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

films. After numerous appearances in stunt roles, he started his career as an actor in 1923 with the serial ''

The Eagle's Talons ''The Eagle's Talons'' is a 1923 American film serial directed by Duke Worne. The film is considered to be lost. Cast * Fred Thomson - Jack Alden * Ann Little - Enid Markham * Al Wilson - Charles Dean * Herbert Fortier - Gregory Markham * J ...

''.Wynne 1987, p. 38. ''The Cloud Rider'' was one of the first films in a five-year period where Wilson alternately wrote, acted and flew in a career that "spanned more than 10 years, and he acted in more films than any other professional pilot."Pendo 1985, pp. 7–8, 11. Wilson produced his own movies until 1927, when he went back to work with

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, where he had made strong business connections.

Reception

Wilson made an appearance in person on stage when ''The Cloud Rider'' was premiered at the California Theatre in down-town Los Angeles. Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo, in ''Aviation in the Cinema'' (1985) said ''The Cloud Rider'' was only one of a long list of aviation films that showcased Wilson's talents.Pendo 1985, p. 7. The film featured a dangerous aerial stunt where a transfer from aircraft to aircraft involved a "missing wheel" that had to be re-attached. "Further aerial action included a plane crash in the ocean."

Preservation

A copy of ''The Cloud Rider'' is preserved in the

Cineteca Italiana Cineteca Italiana is a private film archive located in Milan, Italy, established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996. History Established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996, the Cineteca Italiana houses over 20,000 films and more than 100,000 p ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

."Catalog: 'The Cloud Rider'."
''The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival'', 2019. Retrieved: June 20, 2019.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* *
Lobby poster, color
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloud Rider, The 1925 films American silent feature films American aviation films Film Booking Offices of America films American black-and-white films 1920s action adventure films English-language action adventure films Films directed by Bruce M. Mitchell 1920s American films Silent American action adventure films 1920s English-language films