''The Galloping Fish'' is a 1924 American silent

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Del Andrews and starring

Louise Fazenda Louise Fazenda (June 17, 1895 – April 17, 1962) was an American film actress, appearing chiefly in silent comedy films. Early life Fazenda was born in her maternal grandparents' house in Lafayette, Indiana, the daughter of merchandise bro ...

Syd Chaplin Sydney John Chaplin (; 16 March 1885 – 16 April 1965) was an English actor. Chaplin was the elder half-brother of actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin and in later life, served as his business manager. Through their mother Hannah, they were ...

Ford Sterling Ford Sterling (born George Stitch; November 3, 1883 – October 13, 1939) was an American comedian and actor best known for his work with Keystone Studios. One of the 'Big 4', he was the original chief of the Keystone Cops. Early years Sterli ...

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with ...

Lucille Ricksen Lucille Ricksen (born Ingeborg Myrtle Elisabeth Ericksen; August 22, 1910 – March 13, 1925) was an American motion picture actress during the silent film era. She died of tuberculosis on March 13, 1925, at the age of 14. Early life Ingebor ...

, and John Steppling. It is based on the 1917 novel ''Friend Wife'' by Frank R. Adams. The film was released by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

on March 10, 1924. The film was later re-released by Selected Pictures in 1930 with talking sequences.

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Freddie, a trained seal, is smuggled out of a theatre using an ambulance by George Fitzgerald, the fiancé of his owner, Undine, a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performer, to escape seizure for debt. Freddy Wetherill, George's friend, assists. The latter is notified that his rich uncle is dying and wants Wetherill's wife Hyla to nurse him. But the husband and wife have quarreled, so Undine substitutes for the wife and is accompanied by George, as Wetherill's valet. A flood engulfs the uncle's house. The occupants seek the roof, where escaping animals from a circus also find refuge. They are all finally rescued by the seal, who conveys them ashore with the aid of a telegraph pole.

Cast

Preservation

Prints of the film survive at the Filmoteka Narodowa in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Cineteca Italiana Cineteca Italiana is a private film archive located in Milan, Italy, established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996. History Established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996, the Cineteca Italiana houses over 20,000 films and more than 100,000 ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

.American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''The Galloping Fish''
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References

External links

* 1924 films 1924 comedy films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films English-language comedy films Films based on American novels Films directed by Del Andrews First National Pictures films Silent American comedy films Surviving American silent films {{Silent-comedy-film-stub