The Sky Pilot

The Sky Pilot (1921)

Four thousand maddened steers in terrific stampede charge straight for the helpless girl. the Sky Pilot leaps to veer them, And they thunder right down on him!

Arthur Moore, a missionary preacher, attempts to fit into the cowboy community so he can set up a church in the local saloon. Gwen, daughter of the "Old Timer," is injured in a stampede and loses her ability to walk. Though rejected by the townsfolk, the preacher's wisdom and love are needed if the young girl is to be healed. Shot in 'Vidor Village', Vidor's ill-fated studio property in California's High Sierra.

Date of release
1921-04-16
TMDB
5.4 / 10 (7)
Runtime
1h 17m
Genres
Drama, Western
Director
King Vidor

Casting

Interesting facts

The Sky Pilot is a 1921 American silent drama film based on the novel of the same name by Ralph Connor. It was directed by King Vidor and features Colleen Moore. In February 2020, the film was shown in a newly restored version at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.

Production

The Sky Pilot was filmed in part at Vidor's new studio, Vidor Village and marked a break from the “stage-bound” feature The Family Honor (1920), a comedy-romance he had just completed for First National exhibitors. Shot largely in the High Sierra near Truckee, California, this big budget western was plagued by bad weather. Costly efforts to create landscapes on location produced budget overruns diminishing the profitability of the film.

These financial setbacks signaled the demise of King Vidor Productions. Courts ordered the dismantling of Vidor Village, and though Vidor would briefly regain control of the studio operations there were not revived. He sold the property in January 1923.

Vidor and his leading lady, Colleen Moore, fell in love during the filming of The Sky Pilot. Vidor and Moore would pursue their love affair until 1924. Married at the time to his childhood sweetheart and film actress Florence Vidor, Vidor and his spouse divorced in 1926.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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