Publicity Madness
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Malcolm Stuart Boylan
| Publicity Madness | |
|---|---|
 Advertisement | |
| Directed by | Albert Ray |
| Screenplay by | Andrew Bennison Malcolm Stuart Boylan |
| Story by | Anita Loos |
| Produced by | William Fox |
| Starring | Lois Moran Edmund Lowe E. J. Ratcliffe James Gordon Arthur Housman Byron Munson |
| Cinematography | Sidney Wagner |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 60 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Publicity Madness is a lost 1927 American comedy film directed by Albert Ray and written by Andrew Bennison and Malcolm Stuart Boylan.[1] The film stars Lois Moran, Edmund Lowe, E. J. Ratcliffe, James Gordon, Arthur Housman and Byron Munson.[2] The film was released on October 2, 1927, by Fox Film Corporation, in a rush to capitalize on the publicity surrounding transatlantic flight of Charles Lindbergh.[3]
Pete Clark, advertising and publicity manager for the Henly soap manufacturing company, puts up $100,000 of the company's money for a promotional contest, but endangers his job, in the process.
Believing that no one would be so foolhardy as to compete for a prize involving a nonstop flight from the Pacific Coast to Hawaii, when Charles Lindbergh makes headlines crossing the Atlantic, Pete realizes the flight across the Pacific is possible. After taking a "crash" cours eon aviation, Pete decides to enter the race himself so as to collect the prize money and save himself from disgrace.
After a series of amazing stunts, Pete does reach Hawaii and thereby wins the admiration of Violet, the boss's daughter. He also saves his job.
Cast
- Lois Moran as Violet Henly
- Edmund Lowe as Pete Clark
- E. J. Ratcliffe as Uncle Elmer Henly
- James Gordon as Brutus Banning
- Arthur Housman as Oscar Hawks
- Byron Munson as Henry Banning
- Norman Peck as Wilbur
Production
Aviation historian Michael Paris in From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema(1995) described the frenzy of trying to woo Lindbergh to do a film. Hollywood resorted to a spate of aviation-related features including Publicity Madness (1927), Flying Romeos (1928) and A Hero for a Night, even the Walt Disney Studios' Plane Crazy (1928), all comedy spoofs of the Lindbergh transatlantic flight.[4][N 1]