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The Sky Pilot
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Wikipedia article
'The Sky Pilot' is a 1921 American silent drama film based on the novel of the same name by Ralph Connor. It is directed by King Vidor and features Colleen Moore. In February 2020, the film was shown in a newly restored version at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.
Plot
The Sky Pilot (Bowers) arrives in a small rough-and-tumble cattle town in Canada, intent on bringing religion to its tough residents. At first they reject him, but in time he wins the residents over with his prowess. A plot to steal cattle is uncovered and disrupted. Gwen, daughter of the "Old Timer," is injured in a stampede, loses her ability to walk, but recovers thanks to the power of love.
Cast
* John Bowers as The Sky Pilot
* Colleen Moore as Gwen
* David Butler as Bill Hendricks
* Harry Todd as The Old Timer
* James Corrigan as Honorable Ashley
* Donald MacDonald as The Duke
* Kathleen Kirkham as Lady Charlotte
Production
'The Sky Pilot' was filmed in part at Vidor's new studio, Vidor Village and marked a break from the stage-bound feature The Family Honor (1920), a comedy-romance he had just completed for First National exhibitors. Shot largely in the High Sierra near Truckee, California, this big budget western was plagued by bad weather. Costly efforts to create landscapes on location produced budget overruns diminishing the profitability of the film. First National released the picture but declined to finance any further film projects by Vidor.Baxter 1976 p. 11-13
These financial setbacks signaled the demise of King Vidor Productions. Courts ordered the dismantling of Vidor Village, and though Vidor would briefly regain control of the studio operations there were not revived. He sold the property in January 1923.Durgnat and Simmons, 1988 p. 25-26
Vidor and his leading lady, Colleen Moore, fell in love during the filming of 'The Sky Pilot'. Vidor and Moore would pursue their love affair until 1924. Married at the time to his childhood sweetheart and film actress Florence Vidor, Vidor and his spouse divorced in 1926.Baxter 1976 p. 15
Higham 1972: "King Vidor's romance with Colleen Moore (b. 1900) is already a Hollywood legend. They first met in 1921, when he was married to his boyhood sweetheart, Florence Vidor: he directed Colleen in The Sky Pilot. They fell in love, and their affair continued until 1924."
Tonguette, 2011: She was the great love of his life, I should think. King had three wives. I think two had died. Colleen Moore had three husbands and all had died. He didnt marry her, which was a big loss to him because he really absolutely loved Colleen Moore.
Theme
The film serves to showcase Vidor's faith in the power of positive thinking, free of puritanism or Christian moralizing, which celebrates the virtues of self-reliance and the inherent vitality of rural communities.Drugnat and Simmons, 1988 p. 38-39
The precise theme of the film remains ambiguous. According to sources, Vidor attempts to entertain the audience with a light farce and sanctimoniously impress them with spectacular natural scenery, the latter "which is closest to Vidors heart." The redemptive value of "individualist" faith provides a subtext for the movie, as John Bowers as the manly Sky Pilot adroitly converts local ruffians to Christian-like virtues. When cowboy Bill Hendricks (David Butler is bested by the Sky Pilot in a fist fight he confesses: "When a mans religion will let him do what you done and live, there must something in it."Baxter 1976, p. 13; Durgnat and Simmons, 1988 p. 41-42
DVD release
'The Sky Pilot' was also released on Region 0 DVD-R by Alpha Video on January 28, 2014.
Footnotes
References
*Baxter, John. 1976. 'King Vidor'. Simon & Schuster, Inc. Monarch Film Studies. LOC Card Number 75-23544.
*Durgnat, Raymond and Simmon, Scott. 1988. 'King Vidor, American.' University of California Press, Berkeley.
*Higham, Charles. 1972. "Long Live Vidor, A Hollywood King" https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/03/archives/long-live-vidor-a-hollywood-king-long-live-vidor-who-was-a-king-of.html Retrieved June 10, 2020
*Tonguette, Peter. 2011. 'Journey to Galveston: An Interview with Catherine Berge on King Vidor'. Senses of Cinema, June 2011 Feature Articles Issue 59. http://sensesofcinema.com/2011/feature-articles/journey-to-galveston-an-interview-with-catherine-berge-on-king-vidor-2/ Retrieved June 10, 2020
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