The Lone Eagle is a 1927 American silent

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

directed by

Emory Johnson Alfred Emory Johnson (March 16, 1894 – April 18, 1960) was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. As a teenager, he started acting in silent films. Early in his career, Carl Laemmle chose Emory to become a Universal studio leading ...

, based on the story by

Emilie Johnson Emilie Johnson (1867 – 1941) was a Swedish-American author, scenarioist, and movie producer. She was the mother of American actor, director, producer, and writer Emory Johnson. In 1912, Emory Johnson dropped out of college and embarked upon a ...

, and starring

Raymond Keane Raymond Keane, born Raymond Kortz, (1906–1973) was an American actor during the silent film era. He was tall and striking. He was the son of jeweler Harry Kortz. He died in Los Angeles. Selected filmography * '' The Midnight Sun'' (1926) * ' ...

Barbara Kent Barbara Kent ( Barbara Cloutman) December 16, 1907 – October 13, 2011) was a Canadian film actress, prominent from the silent film era to the early talkies of the 1920s and 1930s. In 1925, Barbara Kent won the Miss Hollywood Beauty Pageant. ...

and

Nigel Barrie Nigel Barrie (5 February 1889, in Calcutta, British India – 8 October 1971, in South Africa) was an Indian-born British actor. Biography Barrie's background as a dancer and actor on legitimate stages and in vaudeville in both Great Britain an ...

. It was released by

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 ...

on September 18, 1927.

Plot

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, American pilot Lieutenant William (Billy) Holmes (

) accepts an assignment with the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. The unit location is on the Western Front and has seen plenty of action. During Billy's first air battle, he is accused of cowardice. He meets an attractive French woman named Mimi (

). They start to fall in love, but the cowardice accusation continues to dog Billy. Mimi stirs Billy's emotions, and he becomes determined to prove his mettle in battle. The unit receives its next flying mission. The group takes to the sky and encounters a squadron of German aircraft. American ace Red McGibbons (Donald Stuart) is one of Billy's best friends. During the

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

, Red manages to shoot down a German plane, but is also killed. The pilot of the downed German aircraft turns out to be the brother of the leader of the German squadron. Lebrun (Cuyler Supplee), the squadron leader, is the top German ace of the squadron. He is determined to avenge his brother's death. He challenges the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

to an aerial fight. Still thinking of his best friend, Billy accepts the challenge from LeBrun. Mimi tries to dissuade him, but fails. He jumps in the cockpit of his

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

, takes off in pursuit of Lebrun. An epic air duel breaks out, and Lebrun shoots down Billy's aircraft. Billy survives, then commandeers another aircraft from his friend Sven Linder (

Jack Pennick Ronald Jack Pennick (December 7, 1895 – August 16, 1964) was an American film actor. After working as a gold miner as a young man, serving as a US Marine, he would go on to appear in more than 140 films between 1926 and 1962. Pennick was a ...

). He returns to the air and shoots the German ace down. Billy is a hero and soon the Allies and the Germans sign the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

. With the war over, Billy returns to the United States along with his new bride – Mimi.

Cast

as Lieutenant William Holmes *

as Mimi *

as Captain Richardson *

as Sven Linder *

Oskar Marion Oskar Marion (2 April 1896 – March 1986) was an Austrian film actor. Life Born as Oskar Viktor Lepka in Brno on 2 April 1896. His parents were physician Antonín Lepka and Žofie Lepková (née Müller). Marion went to study medicine to Vienn ...

as Captain W.Buehl *

Wilson Benge George Frederick "Wilson" Benge (1 March 1875 – 1 July 1955) was an English actor who mostly featured in American films from the silent days. He appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1955. Along with actors Charles Coleman and Rob ...

as Truck Driver * Donald Stuart as Red McGibbons * Cuyler Supplee as Lebrun * Frank Camphill as Lieutenant at Desk *

Marcella Daly Marcella Daly (1901–1966) was an American film actress of the silent era. Daly was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. H. Daly and a graduate of the Whittier School and Hollywood High School. In June 1924, Daly received publicity when casting dir ...

as Nannette * Eugene Pouyet as Innkeeper * Brent Overstreet as Aviator * Egbert Cook as Aviator

Production

The credits of ''The Lone Eagle'' claim that Emilie Johnson only “assisted” in the screenwriting. Principal photography took place on location at a small airport near

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California.

Reception

Aviation film historian James Farmer in ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1984) noted, despite the film's tagline:

Greatest of all airplane stories taken from the great war. . .''The Lone Eagle'' was a cheaply produced World War I air drama.

Preservation status

A report created by film historian and archivist David Pierce for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

claims: * 75% of original silent-era films have perished. *14% of the 10,919 silent films released by major studios exist in their original 35mm or other formats. *11% survive in full-length foreign versions or on film formats of lesser image quality. Many silent-era films did not survive for a multitude of

reasons In the most general terms, a reason is a consideration which justifies or explains an action, a belief, an attitude, or a fact. ''Normative reasons'' are what people appeal to when making arguments about what people should do or believe. For exa ...

directed 13 films - 11 were silent, and 2 were

Talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

.''The Lone Eagle'' was the second film in Emory Johnson's eight-picture contract with

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

. The film's original length is listed at 6 reels. According to the

website, this film has the status of - No holdings located in archives; thus, it is presumed all copies of this film are

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''The Lone Eagle'' - No holdings located in archives
/ref>

Gallery

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lone Eagle, The 1927 adventure films 1920s romance films 1920s war films 1927 films 1927 drama films American action adventure films American adventure films American aviation films American black-and-white films American romance films American romantic drama films American silent feature films American war films 1920s English-language films Film Booking Offices of America films Films set in France Melodrama films Lost American films Universal Pictures films American World War I films 1927 lost films Films directed by Emory Johnson 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent adventure films Silent American drama films