Richard Dix stars as a pacifist sculptor turned bloodthirsty World War I Ace of Aces. Morality story with good action, complicated character. With Elizabeth Allan.
Pershing’s Crusaders (1918), Collection of Images and Ephemera
A glance at Pershing’s Crusaders (1918) through clippings, advertisements, a review excerpt, and an old movie card image of Blackjack Pershing himself.
The Patent Leather Kid (1927) Starring Richard Barthelmess and Molly O’Day
Silent film from First National Pictures, directed by Alfred Santell. The Patent Leather Kid is a boxing-war-romance that earned Richard Barthelmess and Academy Award nomination and features a breakout performance by Molly O’Day.
Jack Dempsey’s War Record and The Patent Leather Kid (1927)
Slacker charges against champion Jack Dempsey influence First National’s The Patent Leather Kid, released in 1927 just ahead of the Dempsey-Tunney rematch in 1927.
They Gave Him a Gun (1937) Starring Spencer Tracy, Gladys George, Franchot Tone
Story of romance and brotherhood spread across a movie neatly divided between the war and gangster genres. They Gave Him a Gun stars Spencer Tracy, Gladys George, and Franchot Tone. Released as MOD DVD-R by Warner Archive.
The Last Flight (1931) – John Monk Saunders Hijacks Hemingway’s Lost Generation
Upon publication reviews called John Monk Saunders anything from a hack to a plagiarist when his Single Lady cashed in as an inferior version of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. Adapted as The Last Flight, Saunders’s story emerges as perhaps the best of any film about The Lost Generation. Directed by William Dieterle, with excellent performances from Richard Barthelmess and Helen Chandler.
First Impressions: King Vidor’s The Big Parade (1925)
Thoughts upon watching King Vidor’s 1925 epic of love and war, The Big Parade, for the first time. The MGM classic stars John Gilbert and Renee Adoree with Karl Dane and Tom O’Brien.
The Lost Squadron (1932) Starring Richard Dix, With Erich von Stroheim
RKO’s The Lost Squadron (1932) is a war movie that isn’t a war movie. Veterans return home to find work as Hollywood stunt fliers under Erich von Stoheim’s command. Starring Richard Dix, Robert Armstrong, Joel McCrea, Hugh Herbert, Mary Astor and Dorothy Jordan. Directed by George Archainbaud.
The Solitaire Man (1933) Starring Herbert Marshall and Lionel Atwill
MGM tries to capitalize upon Herbert Marshall’s success in Trouble in Paradise with The Solitaire Main (1933). With Lionel Atwill, Elizabeth Allan, May Robson and Mary Boland.
Actor Frank Keenan Auctions Film Star Photo Album for $7,500 – in 1918
Report of a 1918 Los Angeles charity auction which saw actor Frank Keenan play auctioneer for the Red Cross. A movie star photo album goes for big bucks.
