The Skyrocket
| The Skyrocket | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Marshall Neilan |
| Written by | Benjamin Glazer (adaptation and scenario) |
| Based on |
The Skyrocket by Adela Rogers St. Johns |
| Starring | Peggy Hopkins Joyce |
| Cinematography | David Kesson |
Production company |
Celebrity Pictures |
| Distributed by | Associated Exhibitors |
Release dates | February 14, 1926 |
Running time | 80 min. (8 reels, 7350 ft.) |
| Country | United States |
| Language |
Silent English intertitles |
The Skyrocket is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Marshall Neilan.
Production background
The film was based on the 1925 novel of the same name by Adela Rogers St. Johns and scripted by Benjamin Glazer.[1] The movie stars Peggy Hopkins Joyce, a one-time Ziegfeld Follies showgirl who became a media figure in the late 1910s and early 1920s for dating, marrying and divorcing wealthy men, acquiring a sizable collection of expensive jewelery and furs and wearing fashionable clothes.[2]
The film was Joyce's first full length feature and was intended as a vehicle to launch her acting career as she was largely known only for her colorful personal life. The film's distributor, Associated Exhibitors, launched a massive publicity campaign to promote the film.[3] While Joyce earned mainly positive reviews for her performance, the film barely earned back its budget in box office returns.[4] The film caused the Wisconsin state legislature to introduce a bill that would allow for the censorship of all movies entering the state.
Joyce would appear in only one more film, International House (1933), before fading into obscurity.[5]
Cast
- Gladys Brockwell - Rose Kimm (prologue)
- Charles West - Edward Kimm (prologue)
- Muriel McCormac - Sharon Kimm as a girl (prologue)
- Junior Coghlan - Mickey as a boy (prologue)
- Peggy Hopkins Joyce - Sharon Kimm
- Owen Moore - Mickey Reid
- Gladys Hulette - Lucia Morgan
- Paulette Duval - Mildred Rideout
- Lilyan Tashman - Ruby Wright
- Earle Williams - William Dvorak
- Bernard Randall - Sam Hertzfelt
- Sammy Cohen - Morris Pincus
- Bull Montana - Film Comedian
- Arnold Gray - Stanley Craig
- Ben Hall - Peter Stanton
- Nick Dandau - Vladmir Strogin
- Hank Mann - Comedy Producer
- Joan Standing - Sharon's Secretary
- Eugenie Besserer - Wardrobe Mistress
- Edward Dillon - the Comedy Director
- Hank Mann - the Comedy Producer
Preservation status
No prints of The Skyrocket are known to exist and the film is now presumed a lost film.[6]
References
- ↑ The Skyrocket at silentera.com
- ↑ Freudenheim, Milt (June 23, 1957). "The Legend of Peggy Hopkins Joyce: She Collected Men, Chinchilla, Diamonds". The Toledo Blade. p. 2. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ↑ Rosenblum, Constance (2000). Gold Digger: The Outrageous Life and Times of Peggy Hopkins Joyce. Metropolitan Books. pp. 148–149. ISBN 0-805-05089-2.
- ↑ Rosenblum 2000 p.151
- ↑ Gabler, Neal (2011). Life: The Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality. Random House LLC. p. 161. ISBN 0-307-77325-6.
- ↑ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Skyrocket