''The Skyrocket'' is a 1926 American silent

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by Marshall Neilan and starring Peggy Hopkins Joyce. The film was based on the 1925 novel of the same name by Adela Rogers St. Johns and scripted by Benjamin Glazer.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, young Sharon Kimm and Mickey live in the tenements and are childhood chums until they are separated. A few years later, Sharon becomes one of the bathing beauties on a comedy film lot, but because she attracts the director, the female star becomes jealous and causes her to be discharged. Dark days follow for her and Mickey, who is endeavoring to become a scenario writer. The young woman attracts the attention of a world-famed director and her career rises like a skyrocket to fame and position. Her love for her childhood chum Mickey is given a shock from the effects of flattery upon her as she acts like a star. At the height of her luxurious and exotic life, the skyrocket bursts and her film career comes to a sudden end. Through her suffering the real woman in her is reborn and true love bursts forth. There is a happy ending for Sharon, who has learned her lesson.

Cast

Production

Director Marshall Neilan was announced by ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film fan magazines, its title another word for screenplay. It was founded in Chicago in 1911. Under early editors Julian Johnson and James R. Quirk, in style and reach it became a pacesetter for fan m ...

'' as the director in July, 1925. Peggy Hopkins Joyce was a one-time

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

showgirl who became a media figure in the late 1910s and early 1920s for dating, marrying, and divorcing wealthy men, acquiring a sizable collection of expensive jewelry and furs and wearing fashionable clothes. ''The Skyrocket'' was Joyce's first full-length feature and was intended as a vehicle to launch her acting career as she was largely known only for her colorful personal life. The film's distributor, Associated Exhibitors, launched a massive publicity campaign to promote the film. While Joyce earned mainly positive reviews for her performance, the film barely earned back its budget in box office returns. She would appear in only one more film, '' International House'' (1933), before fading into obscurity.

Reception

''Photoplay'' magazine called Joyce one of the six best performances of the month for its January, 1926 edition. They further noted that she was "the surprise of the picture".

Preservation

No prints of ''The Skyrocket'' are located in any film archives,The Library of Congress / FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''The Skyrocket''
/ref> making it a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

Gallery of stills

File:The Skyrocket (1926) - 1.jpg, alt= File:The Skyrocket (1926) - 2.jpg, alt= File:The Skyrocket (1926) - 7.jpg, alt= File:The Skyrocket (1926) - 8.jpg, alt= File:The Skyrocket 1926 Photoplay.jpg, alt=

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skyrocket, The 1926 films 1926 lost films 1926 romantic drama films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films 1920s independent films American black-and-white films American independent films American silent feature films Associated Exhibitors films English-language independent films English-language romantic drama films Films about actors Films based on American novels Films based on works by Adela Rogers St. Johns Films directed by Marshall Neilan Lost American romantic drama films Lost silent American films Silent American romantic drama films