Fighting the Flames

1925 film by B. Reeves Eason

August 23, 1925 (1925-08-23)

Running time

6 reelsCountryUnited StatesLanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Fighting the Flames is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by B. Reeves Eason.^[1]

Plot

As described in a film magazine and newspaper reviews,^[1]^[2]^[3] Horatio Manly, the dissolute son of Judge Manly, is rescued drunk from a burning hotel and is arrested. His father disowns him and forbids him from coming home until he can make a man of himself. Horatio makes friends with Mickey, the small son of a pick-pocket named Blacky. The child prevails on Manly to quit drinking alcoholic liquor and become a fireman. Horatio also becomes friendly with Alice Doran, a dressmaker who lives in the upper part of the house where he and Mickey live. Blacky has been doing time, and, when he is released, he tries to make Mickey become a crook. In a struggle with the boy and Alice, Blacky starts a fire in the building that is home for the other three. Manly’s company answers the alarm and Manly rescues Alice and the boy. Blacky is killed and young Manly and his father are reconciled as a result of his heroism.

Cast

William Haines as Horatio Manly Jr.
Dorothy Devore as Alice Doran
Frankie Darro as Mickey
David Torrence as Judge Manly
Sheldon Lewis as Big Jim
William Welsh as Charlie Ryan
Charles Murray as the pawnbroker

Production

During the filming of the scene where William Welsh goes into a burning building to rescue its occupants, a burning ceiling fell on top of him. He escaped serious injury after William Haines quickly lifted the ceiling off of him.^[4]

Preservation and status

A mostly complete copy, with the end of the final reel missing, is held at the Library of Congress.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "Fighting the Flames (1925)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
^ "Fighting the Flames". Chillicothe Gazette. 30 July 1925. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
^ "New Pictures: Let's Go, Gallagher", Exhibitors Herald, 23 (02), Chicago, Illinois: Exhibitors Herald Company: 76, 3 October 1925, retrieved 3 October 2022 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ "Near Tragedy Marks Filming the Fire Picture, "Fighting the Flames"". Albuquerque Journal. 17 November 1925. p. 3. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
^ "Fighting The Flames [motion picture]". American Silent Feature Film Survival Database. Retrieved 2023-10-11.