''Walking Back'' is a 1928 American silent

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

Rupert Julian Rupert Julian (born Thomas Percival Hayes; 25 January 1879 – 27 December 1943) was a New Zealand cinema actor, director, writer and producer. During his career, Julian directed 60 films and acted in over 90 films. He is best remembered for di ...

and an uncredited

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

. Prints of the film exist.

Plot

A young jazz hound, "Smoke" Thatcher (Richard Walling), is failing his academic studies due to his fondness for partying and liquor. His foremost concern is to convince his pragmatic father (Robert Edeson) to allow him to use the family car so he can accompany bob-haired

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered accepta ...

Patsy Schuyler (Sue Carol) to a ritzy party. His father refuses to loan Smoke the car and chides him for lacking proper respect for authority, but his speech is interrupted by the maid announcing the arrival of the dad's private bootlegger. Undaunted, an enterprising Smoke steals the neighbor's car and drives to Patsy's house. He arrives too late. Patsy has already gone to the party with Smoke's arch-nemesis Pet Masters (Arthur Rankin). Smoke nonetheless proceeds alone to the party and intrudes upon inebriated couples dancing the Charleston. Jealous and possessive, Smoke causes an ugly scene. Smoke convinces Patsy to leave with him, and they walk to the parking lot. While attempting to leave with Patsy in the stolen car, Smoke becomes engaged in an automobile battle against Masters which ends with the near ruin of both vehicles. Smoke and Patsy drive the neighbor's wrecked car to a nearby garage. To pay for the considerable repairs, Smoke naively agrees to act as a chauffeur for several men on a routine trip. However, their trip is revealed to be a bank holdup, and Smoke's father is shot by the robbers. A remorseful Smoke foils the bank robbers by crashing their vehicle through a

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, ...

window and then confesses to his misdeeds.

Cast

* Sue Carol as Patsy Schuyler * Richard Walling as Smoke Thatcher *

Ivan Lebedeff Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev ( rus, Иван Васильевич Лебедев), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his no ...

as Beaut Thibaut *

Robert Edeson Robert Edeson (June 3, 1868 – March 24, 1931) was an American film and stage actor of the silent era and a vaudeville performer. Life and career Edeson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of manager and actor George R. Edeson. Afte ...

as Mr. Thatcher Sr. *

Jane Keckley Jane Keckley (September 10, 1876 – August 14, 1963) was an American actress of the silent and sound film eras. Biography Keckley was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and went to school there and in Georgia. Before she acted in films, Kec ...

as Mrs. Thatcher * Florence Turner as Mrs. Schuyler * James Bradbury Sr. as Gyp * Arthur Rankin as Pet Masters * Ray Cooke as Party Boy (uncredited) *

Joseph Depew Joseph Depew (July 11, 1912 – October 30, 1988) was an American television director and producer and actor. Career Born in Harrison, New Jersey, Depew began his career as a child stage actor at the age of three. He was influenced by his moth ...

(uncredited) *

(uncredited) * George Stone as Crook (uncredited) * Billy Sullivan as Crook (uncredited) * Florence Turner as Mrs. Schuyler (uncredited)

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' observed that the film is "about that younger azz Agegeneration whose status was originally promulgated by

Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

." The paper further observed that the film "is no worse than the general average of those dealing with wine, automobiles and the biological

groping In a sexual context, groping is the act of intentionally touching another person in a sexual manner without their consent. The term generally has a negative connotation in many societies, and the activity may be considered sexual assault or o ...

s of persons under the age of 24. As a matter of fact, it is a little better. Miss Carol, as Patsy, is pretty, and Mr. Walling, as Smoke, looks as though if he had the right opportunity to be intelligent, he might fool everyone." Sidne Silverman wrote in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' that the film captured the era's "jazz mad world" and was likely intended by

Pathé Exchange Pathé Exchange, commonly known as Pathé, was an American film production and distribution company, largely of Hollywood's silent era. Known for its groundbreaking newsreel and wide array of shorts, it grew out of the American division of the m ...

to catapult Sue Carol's nascent career and to make her the new "It" Girl à la

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

. Silverman asserted that the film's best sequence "is an auto duel between two youths over who is going to take the girl home. Youngsters start bumping and chasing each other around the yard until both cars are practically demolished." '' Film Daily'' described ''Walking Back'' as a "drama of modern youth" and as "fair entertainment of youth and jazz made for the flapper and college vote." The newspaper noted that "they were making his_subgenre_of_film.html" ;"title="subgenre.html" ;"title="his subgenre">his subgenre of film">subgenre.html" ;"title="his subgenre">his subgenre of filmtwo years ago along the same pattern" and, consequently, "nothing new has been added, but there is a certain freshness in the work of Sue Carol and especially Richard Walling that makes it fairly entertaining."

References

External links

* *
Stills
at rarefilm.net

at silentsaregolden.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Walking Back 1928 films 1928 drama films 1928 independent films Silent American drama films American silent feature films Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille Films directed by Rupert Julian American black-and-white films American independent films Pathé Exchange films 1920s American films