''The Johnstown Flood'' is a 1926 American silent epic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Irving Cummings Irving Caminsky (October 9, 1888 – April 18, 1959) was an American movie actor and director. Career Born in New York City, Cummings started his acting career at age 16 in ''Diplomacy''. His Broadway, performances included ''In the Long ...

, that addresses the Great Flood of 1889 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The film stars George O'Brien,

Florence Gilbert Florence Gilbert (born Florence Ella Gleistein; February 20, 1904 – February 27, 1991) was an American silent film actress of the 1920s. She was renowned for playing supporting roles alongside such actors as William Fairbanks and Jack ...

, and

Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (late ...

Plot

Tom O'Day becomes engaged to Gloria Hamilton even though Anna has love for Tom, unbeknownst to him. Gloria's father, John Hamilton, owns a lumber camp outside of Johnstown, Pennsylvania and has control of the dam upriver. To satisfy obligatory contracts he has to make sure he clears as much trees as possible. To do this, John has made sure the water level behind the dam is at maximum capacity but Tom knows there is a fault in the dam. Tom has to do everything he can to convince John to open the flood gates before disaster strikes Johnstown in the valley below.

Cast

Preservation

''The Johnstown Flood'' is a surviving film with a print held in the

George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection The George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York comprises about 28,000 titles, including features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and experimental moving images. The collection is renowned for its holdings of silent f ...

.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Johnstown Flood''
at silentera.com

References

External links

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Lantern slide ''The Johnstown Flood''
1926 films American silent feature films American epic films American black-and-white films Fox Film films Films directed by Irving Cummings 1926 drama films Silent American drama films Films with screenplays by Robert Lord (screenwriter) 1920s American films Silent adventure films {{1920s-drama-film-stub