The Sky Pilot

The Sky Pilot
File:Sky pilot.jpg Colleen Moore in a scene from The Sky Pilot.
Directed by	King Vidor
Produced by	Cathrine Curtis
Written by	Ralph Connor Faith Green John McDermott
Starring	John Bowers
Cinematography	L. William O'Connell Gus Peterson
Release dates	April 17, 1921 (1921-04-17)
Running time	77 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent

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.

Plot

The Sky Pilot (Bowers) arrives in a small rough-and-tumble cattle town in the north, 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

Background

This was the first film to be made in part at Vidor's new studio. The snow scenes were shot in Truckee where the weather did not cooperate: it snowed when the production needed sun, and was sunny when they needed a blizzard. When the snow would not let up, local townsfolk were hired to clear the snow manually for scenes that needed dry ground. Thereafter it stopped snowing: salt was used to simulate snow on the ground. The stampede scene was shot in Fresno, California.

DVD release

The Sky Pilot was also released on Region 0 DVD-R by Alpha Video on January 28, 2014.

External links

• The Sky Pilot at IMDb
• allmovie/synopsis: The Sky Pilot