''Laughing at Death'' is a 1929 American film directed by

Wallace Fox Wallace Fox (March 9, 1895 – June 30, 1958) was an American film director. He directed more than 80 films between 1927 and 1953. He was born in Purcell, Oklahoma, and died in Hollywood, California. Selected filmography * ''Trail of Cour ...

for

Film Booking Offices of America Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the Silent film, silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an ...

. The script was written by

Frank Howard Clark Frank Howard Clark (1888 – January 19, 1962) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 100 films between 1913 and 1946. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * '' Bull's Eye'' ...

and Helen Gregg, and the film stars Bob Steele and

Natalie Joyce Natalie Joyce (born Natalie Marie Johnson; November 6, 1902 – November 9, 1992) was an American actress. Biography Born as Natalie Marie Johnson on November 6, 1902, one of eight children to Henry and Elizabeth Johnson in Norfolk, Virginia, ...

Plot

A young American college

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

meets the prince of a European country while spending time on an

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

liner over his summer

vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or school or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for sp ...

. The two look practically identical, and he agrees to help the prince escape a plot against him by switching places for a period of time. Trouble ensues.

Cast

* Bob Steele as Bob Thornton *

as Sonia Petrovich * Captain Vic as Alexis * Kai Schmidt as Emil Orloff *

Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, from 1923 to 1962. Laidlaw was born in Bu ...

as Karl Petrovich

References

1929 films 1920s American films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Film Booking Offices of America films Films about lookalikes Films about princes Films about vacationing Films directed by Wallace Fox Films set on cruise ships {{1920s-US-film-stub