Old Ironsides (film)

Old Ironsides
Directed by	James Cruze
Written by	Dorothy Arzner
Starring	Charles Farrell Esther Ralston Wallace Beery George Bancroft
Cinematography	Alfred Gilks
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	6 December 1926
Running time	111 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent film English intertitles

Old Ironsides (1926) is a silent film starring Charles Farrell, Esther Ralston, Wallace Beery, and George Bancroft.^[1]

Production background

The movie was directed by James Cruze in a widescreen process that Paramount promoted as "Magnascope".

This lavish oceangoing epic features battle scenes with sailing ships and pirates; Beery would revisit the genre and play Long John Silver in Treasure Island eight years later. The film is a wide-ranging ensemble piece, with Farrell and Beery playing equally large roles, and detailed subplots about the country's atmosphere before the conflict as well as Stephen Decatur's early naval exploits.

Box office receipts from the premier at the Rialto Theater went to the USS Constitution restoration fund.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City exhibited a restored 35mm print of the film in December 2008.

Cast

• Charles Farrell as "The Commodore"
• Esther Ralston as Esther
• Wallace Beery as Bos'n
• George Bancroft as Gunner
• George Hill Mailes ... Captain Preble
• Johnnie Walker ... Lieutenant Stephen Decatur (billed as Johnny Walker)
• Eddie Fetherston ... Lieutenant Somers
• George Godfrey ... The Cook
• William Conklin ... Esther's Father
• Nick De Ruiz ... The Bashaw
• Effie Ellsler ... Esther's Mother
• Frank Jonasson ... Pirate Captain
• Duke Kahanamoku ... Pirate Captain
• Boris Karloff ... A Saracen Guard
• Fred Kohler ... Second Mate

Production

• The film was originally released with two sequences filmed in a widescreen process that Paramount called "Magnascope".^[2]
• The Maine-built ship, Llewellyn J. Morse, was refitted as the USS Constitution.
• A real 1886 ship, the S. N. Castle was burned and sunk for the film off of Catalina Island.^[3]
• A closeup of a tattoo on George Bancroft's arm reveals that his character's name is also "G. Bancroft".

See also

• List of American films of 1926
• Boris Karloff filmography

References

1. ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: Old Ironsides". Silent Era. http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/O/OldIronsides1926.html. Retrieved 2008-04-06. 
2. ^ David Coles, "Magnified Grandeur, Widescreen 1926-1931"
3. ^ IMDB entry

External links

• Old Ironsides at the Internet Movie Database