''The Flying Torpedo'' is a 1916 American silent drama directed by

John B. O'Brien John B. "Jack" O'Brien (December 13, 1884 – August 15, 1936) was an American actor and film director of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1909 and 1936. He also directed 53 films between 1914 and 1926. Biography O' ...

and

Christy Cabanne William Christy Cabanne (April 16, 1888 – October 15, 1950) was an American film director, screenwriter, and silent film actor. Biography Born in 1888, Cabanne (pronounced CAB-a-nay) started his career on stage as an actor and director. He a ...

. It was produced by the

Fine Arts Film Company Fine Arts Film Company produced dozens of movies during the silent film era in the United States. It was one of the film production studios in Triangle Film Corporation, each run by one of the parent company's vice-presidents: D. W. Griffith, Thoma ...

and distributed by the

Triangle Film Corporation Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922. History The studio was founded in July 1 ...

. The film was written by John Emerson (who also stars), Robert M. Baker and D. W. Griffith (who was not credited). The film is now considered

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 ...

Plot

Spottiswoode Aitken and John Emerson in The Flying Torpedo

In 1921, novelist Winthrop Clavering (Emerson), known as "The World's Greatest Detective", befriends young inventor Bartholomew Thompson (

Spottiswoode Aitken Frank Spottiswoode Aitken (16 April 1868 – 26 February 1933) was a Scottish-American actor of the silent era. He played Dr. Cameron in D. W. Griffith's epic drama ''The Birth of a Nation''. Early years Aitken was born 16 April 1868 in Edin ...

), who has just invented a radio controlled flying bomb (weaponry that would come to be known as

guided missiles In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

). Bartholomew is soon murdered by spies, described as "yellow men from the East" in the film, who steal his new invention. Clavering and his Swedish maid Hulda (

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned e ...

) set out to find the spies who have been invading the United States. Clavering and Hulda catch up with spies just as they invade

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and force them out of the country with the same device they stole.

Cast

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...

played a small supporting role as an evil German officer.

Production notes

Bessie Love and John Emerson in The Flying Torpedo

John Emerson had previously portrayed the role of Winthrop Clavering in the play ''The Conspiracy'', from December 1912 to March 1914. Bessie Love as Hulda in The Flying Torpedo

Bessie Love as Hulda in The Flying Torpedo

The film was produced by D. W. Griffith's film production company Fine Arts and was distributed by

. Griffith also helped to write the film's scenario with lead John Emerson and Robert Baker. Griffith was also responsible for casting a teenage Bessie Love in the film whom he discovered and cast in several of his films in 1915. Filming began in July 1915 under the working title ''The Scarlet Band''.

directed the battle sequences.

References

;Citations ;Works cited *

External links

* * * * *
Lobby poster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flying Torpedo, The 1916 drama films 1916 lost films 1916 films American black-and-white films Silent American drama films American silent feature films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Christy Cabanne Films set in 1921 Films set in the future Lost American films Triangle Film Corporation films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films