''The Galloping Ghost'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

Mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

serial film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

co-directed by B. Reeves Eason and Benjamin H. Kline. The title is the nickname of the star, real life

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American professional American football, football Halfback (American football), halfback who played for the Chicag ...

. 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.

Plot

Red 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

* Harold 'Red' Grange as Red Grange, Clay College football star *

Ralph Bushman Ralph Everly Bushman (May 1, 1903 – April 16, 1978) was an American actor who appeared in 55 films between 1920 and 1943. In his early film career, he often was credited as Francis X. Bushman Jr. The son of notable silent film star Francis ...

as Buddy Courtland * Dorothy Gulliver as Barbara Courtland (Red's girlfriend) * Tom Dugan as Jerry, Red's sidekick *

Gwen Lee Gwen Lee (born Gwendolyn Lepinski; November 12, 1904 – August 20, 1961) was an American stage and film actress. Lee began her career as a model before being discovered and signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She was typically cast in supporting ...

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 Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (May 30, 1902 – November 19, 1985), better known by his stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black ...

as Snowball *

Wilfred Lucas Wilfred Van Norman Lucas (January 30, 1871 – December 13, 1940) was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Lucas was born in Norfolk County, Ontario on January 30, 1871,US ...

as a Sportscaster * Frank Brownlee as Tom, garage manager * Ernie Adams as Brady,

henchman A henchman is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organisation: minions whose value lies primarily in their unquestioning ...

Dick Dickinson Dick Dickinson (September 16, 1895 – July 27, 1956) was an American stunt performer and actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1920 and 1954. Approximately three months before his death, an article in ''The Pittsburgh Press'' du ...

as Mogul Taxi Clerk, henchman *

Tom London Tom London (born Leonard T. Clapman; August 24, 1889 – December 5, 1963) was an American actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to ''The Guinness Book of Movie Records'', London is credited with appearing in the most films in ...

as Mullins, henchman *

Yakima Canutt Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen performing them ...

as a henchman (uncredited) * Lon Chaney Jr. as a henchman (uncredited) - unverified *

Fred Toones Fred "Snowflake" Toones (January 5, 1906 – February 13, 1962) was an American actor and comedian. He appeared in over 200 films in his career spanning 23 years. Career He appeared in over 200 films between 1928 and 1951. His standard cha ...

as a Football Fan (uncredited)

Production

Grange 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. Director B. Reeves Eason was reportedly fired during filming and replaced by the uncredited Benjamin H. Kline.

Stunts

This serial was filmed at a time before "stuntmen did mostly everything" which meant that Grange had to do a lot of his own stunts.

Chapter titles

# 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:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galloping Ghost (serial), The 1931 films 1930s English-language films 1931 crime films American football films American black-and-white films Mascot Pictures film serials Films directed by B. Reeves Eason Films produced by Nat Levine American crime films 1930s American films English-language crime films