The Galloping Ghost is a 1931 American pre-Code Mascot serial film co-directed by B. Reeves Eason and Benjamin H. Kline. The title is the nickname of the star, real life American football player Red Grange. Serial historian Raymond William Stedman lists Lon Chaney Jr. as appearing in Ghost in a small uncredited part as a henchman, but this has never been verified.[1][2]
The Galloping Ghost | |
---|---|
Directed by | B. Reeves Eason Benjamin H. Kline |
Written by | Ford Beebe Wyndham Gittens Helmer Walton Bergman |
Produced by | Nat Levine |
Starring | Harold "Red" Grange Dorothy Gulliver Tom Dugan Gwen Lee Ralph Bushman |
Cinematography | Tom Galligan Benjamin H. Kline Ernest Miller |
Edited by | Ray Snyder Gilmore Walker |
Music by | Lee Zahler |
Distributed by | Mascot Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 12 chapters (226 minutes) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Plot
editRed Grange is thrown off the Clay College football team in disgrace when his friend, Buddy Courtland, takes a bribe to throw the big game and Red attacks him in anger. Red then proceeds to investigate and hunt down the head of the gambling ring responsible, a criminal enterprise operated out of the Mogul Taxi company offices. Red eventually clears his name, and both he and Buddy are reinstated on the team.
Cast
edit- Harold 'Red' Grange as Red Grange, Clay College football star
- Ralph Bushman as Buddy Courtland
- Dorothy Gulliver as Barbara Courtland (Red's girlfriend)
- Tom Dugan as Jerry, Red's sidekick
- Gwen Lee as Irene Courtland, Buddy's wife
- Theodore Lorch as Dr. Julian Blake, brain surgeon
- Walter Miller as George Elton
- Edward Hearn as Coach Harlow
- Edward Peil, Sr. as Coach of Baxter Team
- Stepin Fetchit as Snowball
- Wilfred Lucas as a Sportscaster
- Frank Brownlee as Tom, garage manager
- Ernie Adams as Brady, henchman
- Dick Dickinson as Mogul Taxi Clerk, henchman
- Tom London as Mullins, henchman
- Yakima Canutt as a henchman (uncredited)
- Lon Chaney Jr. as a henchman (uncredited) - unverified
- Fred Toones as a Football Fan (uncredited)
Production
editGrange received this starring role thanks to his business manager, and theater owner, Frank Zambrino. The serial took three weeks to film and Grange earned $4,500 overall.[3]
Director B. Reeves Eason was reportedly fired during filming and replaced by the uncredited Benjamin H. Kline.[citation needed]
Stunts
editThis serial was filmed at a time before "stuntmen did mostly everything" which meant that Grange had to do a lot of his own stunts.[3]
Chapter titles
edit- The Idol of Clay
- Port of Peril
- The Master Mind
- The House of Secrets
- The Man Without a Face
- The Torn $500 Bill
- When the Lights Went Out
- The Third Degree
- Sign in the Sky
- The Vulture's Lair
- The Radio Patrol
- The Ghost comes Back
Source:[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The Galloping Ghost". March 7, 2014.
- ^ Stedman, Raymond William (1971). Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-0927-5.
- ^ a b Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "5. Real Life Heroes "Just Strangle the Lion in Your Usual Way"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9.
- ^ Cline, William C. (1984). "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 204. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.