''The Silent Flyer'' is a 1926 10-episode (chapter) American

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

directed by

William James Craft William James Craft (1886 – 30 June 1931) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 60 films between 1910 and 1931. He is also credited with writing for 12 films between 1920 and 1928. Craft was born in Toronto ...

. The film serial was sold to

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 ...

for $75,000 with the resulting funds used in the founding of

Mascot Pictures Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged with several other c ...

.Tuska 1999, pp. 10-11.

Plot

Scientist Benjamin Darrell (

Anders Randolf Anders Randolf (December 18, 1870 – July 2, 1930) was a Danish American actor in American films from 1913 to 1930. Biography Anders was born in Viborg, Denmark, where he became a professional soldier in the Danish army and a world-class sw ...

) has invented a silent aircraft motor of tremendous potential benefit to aeronautical and military concerns. A plot is underway to steal the invention. Lloyd Darrell (

Malcolm McGregor Malcolm McGregor (October 13, 1892 – April 29, 1945) was an American actor of the silent era. McGregor appeared in more than 50 films between 1922 and 1936. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and died in Hollywood, California. A cross bet ...

), a secret service agent, disguises himself as Bill Smith and covertly endeavors to prevent the theft. Together with pretty Helen Corliss (

Louise Lorraine Louise Lorraine (born Louise Escovar; October 1, 1904 – February 2, 1981) was an American actress. Life and career Louise Lorraine was born Louise Escovar in San Francisco, California. One day, a photography salesman knocked on the door of t ...

), and most importantly, Silver Streak, a clever German shepherd, the trio serve to foil any criminals.

Chapter titles

#The Jaws of Death #Dynamited #Waters of Death #The Treacherous Trail #Plunge of Peril #Flight of Honor #Under Arrest #Flames of Terror #Hurled Through Space #Love and Glory

Cast

as Lloyd Darrell, posing as Bill Smith *

as Helen Corliss * George B. Williams as John Corliss (credited as George Williams) * Albert J. Smith as Jack Hutchins *

as Benjamin Darrell *

Edith Yorke Edith Yorke (born Edith Murgatroyd; 23 December 1867 – 28 July 1934) was an English actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1919 and 1933. Biography Yorke was born in Derby; her family later moved to Croydon, Surrey. Edith re ...

as Mrs. Darrell * Arthur Morrison * Robert Walker * Dorothy Tallcot (as Dorothy Talcott) * Thur Fairfax *

Hughie Mack Hughie Mack (November 26, 1884 – October 13, 1927) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1910 and 1928. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was working as a mortician when he paid a casua ...

* Silver Streak as Silver Streak, a dog

Production

Enterprising producer Nat Levine shot the entire ''The Silent Flyer'' serial on location and on rented stages, managing to bring all 10 chapters in on a budget of 70,000 dollars. Instead of releasing his first serial on the usual "States Rights basis", Levine sold ''The Silent Flyer'' to Universal for 75,000 dollars, the profits going toward establishing Mascot Pictures, a

Poverty Row Poverty Row is a slang term used to refer to Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the 1950s by small (and mostly short-lived) B movie studios. Although many of them were based on (or near) today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did n ...

film company that would continue the serial tradition into the "talkies" era.Wollstein, Hans
"Review: 'The Silent Flyer'."
''Allmovie.com'', 2019. Retrieved: July 24, 2019.

Reception

''The Silent Flyer'', produced independently by the enterprising Nat Levine, was a low-budget 10-chapter action serial that featured Danish-born character actor Anders Randolph. Levine also introduced a four-footed star, Silver Streak, a clever German shepherd, that was his answer to

Rin Tin Tin Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, L ...

, a consistent money-maker for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

Preservation status

''The Silent Flyer'' is considered to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

. Only a trailer remains, resident at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

."Data: 'The Silent Flyer'."
''silentera.com'', 2019. Retrieved: July 24, 2019.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation''. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. . * Tuska, Jon. ''The Vanishing Legion: A History of Mascot Pictures, 1927-1935''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1999. .

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silent Flyer, The 1926 films 1926 adventure films 1926 lost films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent serial films American aviation films Films directed by William James Craft Films produced by Samuel Bischoff Lost American films Mascot Pictures film serials American adventure films Films produced by Nat Levine Lost adventure films 1920s American films Silent adventure films