Flyin' Thru (aka Flying Through) is a 1925 American silent Western and aviation film directed by Bruce M. Mitchell and starring Al Wilson, Elinor Fair, and George B. French. The film was written and produced by Al Wilson."Overview:'Flyin' Thru'." TCM, 2019. Retrieved: June 21, 2019. Flyin' Thru was one of a series of films that showcased the exploits of the stunt pilots in Hollywood."Data: 'Flyin' Thru'." silentera.com, 2019. Retrieved: June 21, 2019.
Plot Aviator Lt. Al Wilson returns home from World War I combat duty in France to find his father, a cotton farmer, in jail for the murder of neighbour Jud Blair. This was a crime actually committed by dancehall proprietor Melvin Parker. Al becomes partners with an ex-sergeant he knew in France, and they buy an aircraft with which they go barnstorming around the country, all the while looking for clues to reveal the real murderer.
At a bullfight across the border, Sybil, Parker's dancehall sweetheart, becomes infatuated with Al and betrays Parker. Parker flees in an automobile, but Al flies after him, leaps from his aircraft into the speeding automobile, and overcomes Parker. His father is set free, and Al weds Ann, Blair's daughter, in an aircraft far above the clouds.
Cast
Al Wilson as Lt. Wilson Elinor Fair as Anne Blair George B. French as Judson Blair (Credited as George French) James McElhern as Jim Willis Clarence Burton as Melvin Parker Fontaine La Rue as Sybil Garry O'Dell as Bill Goofus Zella Ingraham (uncredited)
Production Al Wilson was not only the star of Flyin' Thru but he also wrote and produced as well as flying as a "stunt pilot" in the film.Wynne 1987, p. 39. After Wilson became a flying instructor and a short period as manager of the Mercury Aviation Company, founded by one of his students, Cecil B. DeMille, Wilson became more and more skilled in performing stunts, including wing-walking, and left the company to become a professional stunt pilot, specializing in Hollywood aviation films.Wynne 1987, pp. 16–17.
Wilson worked together with stuntmen like Frank Tomick, Frank Clarke and Wally Timm and also worked independently for film companies. After numerous appearances in stunt roles, he started his career as an actor in 1923 with the serial The Eagle's Talons.Later in his film career, Wilson worked exclusively with Universal Pictures.Wynne 1987, pp. 5–17.
Wilson produced his own movies until 1927, when he went back to work with Universal.
Reception Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo, in Aviation in the Cinema (1985) said Flyin' Thru was only one of a long list of aviation films that showcased Wilson's talents. He 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, p. 7.
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. .
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