|
The Power God
(1925) United States of America
B&W : Serial / 15 chapters / 31 reels
Directed by Francis Ford and Ben Wilson
Cast: Ben Wilson [Jim Thorpe (chapters 1-15)], Neva Gerber [Aileen Sturgess (chapters 1-15)], Allan Garcia [Weston Dore (chapters 1-13, 15)], Ruth Royce [Carrie Dore (chapters 1-15)], Lafe McKee [Professor Daniel Sturgess (chapters 1-2, 5)], Grover Eagle Wing (Chief Eagle Wing) [Sabo, the Hindu (chapters 1-2, 4-12, 15)], William H. Turner [Jarvis Humphries (chapter 1)], Catherine Kent [Mrs. Thorpe, Jim’s mother (chapters 3, 11-13)], Nelson McDowell [‘Doctor’ Clack (chapters 4-5)], Sam Allan (Sam Allen) [John Morgan (chapters 4-5)], Jesse Cavin [Bernard A. Christman, an artist (chapters 11-15)], Jack Henderson [the village justice of the peace (chapter 13)], Francis Ford [Secret Service agent (chapter 15)], John Battaglia, Mary Brooklyn, Mary Crane, [?] ? [the marriage officiant (chapter 2)], [?] ? [Doctor Brown (chapters 2-3)], [?] ? [Brown’s wife (chapters 2-3)], [?] ? [the Sturgess estate attorney (chapters 2-3)], [?] ? [the minister (chapters 2-3)], [?] ? [the truck driver (chapter 3)], [?] ? [the first Dore thug (chapters 3-10)], [?] ? [the second Dore thug (chapters 3-10)], [?] ? [the third Dore thug (chapters 3-10)], [?] ? [Clack’s matron (chapter 4)], [?] ? [the first sanitarium guard (chapters 4-5)], [?] ? [the second sanitarium guard (chapter 5)], [?] ? [the insane prisoner in the next cell (chapter 5)], [?] ? [the first gravedigger (chapter 5)], [?] ? [the second gravedigger (chapter 5)], [?] ? [the little girl in the road (chapters 7-8)], [?] ? [the moustached expert (chapters 8-10)], [?] ? [the bearded expert (chapters 8-10)], [?] ? [the spectacled expert (chapters 8-10)], [?] ? [the first Dore gang member (chapters 9-10)], [?] ? [the second Dore gang member (chapters 9-10)], [?] ? [the third Dore gang member (chapters 9-10)], [?] ? [the fourth Dore gang member (chapters 9-10)], [?] ? [the male impersonator Dore gang member (chapters 9-10)], [?] ? [the female impersonator Dore gang member (chapters 9-10)], [?] ? [the “Humpy, the Blind Man” Dore gang member (chapters 9-10)], [?] ? [Christman’s model (chapters 11-12)], [?] ? [the necktie neighbor of the Thorpes’ (chapter 13)], [?] ? [the bowtie neighbor of the Thorpes’ (chapter 13)], [?] ? [the village motorcycle cop (chapter 13)], [?] ? [the village sheriff (chapter 13)], [?] ? [the railroad station master (chapter 13)], [?] ? [the railroad yard superintendant (chapter 13)], [?] ? [the reluctant railroad worker (chapter 13)], [?] ? [the number 1342 engineer (chapter 14)], [?] ? [the tire-changing driver (chapter 14)], [?] ? [the bearded detective (chapter 15)], [?] ? [the clean-shaven detective (chapter 15)]
[?] Ben Wilson Productions and/or J. Charles Davis Productions? production; distributed on State Rights basis by Davis Distributing Division, Incorporated, through Vital Exchanges, Incorporated [A Ben Wilson Production; A Goodwill Chapter Play]. / Produced by J. Charles Davis. Screen adaptation (scenario) by George W. Pyper, from a screen story by Rex Taylor and Harry Haven. Photography (cinematography) by Alfred Gosden and T.F. Jackson. Film editor, Earl C. Turner. / 15 chapters (two reels each): [1] “The Ring of Fate,” released 1 May 1925 (three reels); [2] “Trapped,” released 8 May 1925; [3] “The Living Dead,” released 15 May 1925; [4] “Black Shadows,” released 22 May 1925; [5] “The Death Chamber,” released 29 May 1925; [6] “The House of Peril,” released 5 June 1925; [7] “Hands in the Dark,” released 12 June 1925; [8] “The 59th Second,” released 19 June 1925; [9] “Perilous Waters,” released 26 June 1925; [10] “The Bridge of Doom,” released 3 July 1925; [11] “Treachery,” released 10 July 1925; [12] “The Storm’s Lash,” released 17 July 1925; [13] “The Purloined Papers,” released 24 July 1925; [14] “The Flaming Menace,” released 31 July 1925; [15] “Wages of Sin,” released 7 August 1925. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / Wilson directed chapters 1-4, with Ford directing the remainder. [?] Surviving film prints credit Ford exclusively with the direction; possibly the result of revised release prints distributed by Goodwill Pictures, Incorporated? The serial was distributed by Goodwill after Davis and Vital went bankrupt. The serial was released in the United Kingdom by International Cinema in 1926.
Drama: Crime: Action.
Survival status: Prints exist [16mm reduction positives].
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Accidents: Automobile - African Americans - Amnesia - Animals: Cats (Black, Kittens), Horses - Artists - Blackface - Blueprints - Boathouses - Buildings: Apartments, Cabins, Cellars, Fire escapes, Houses, Roofs - Business - Chases - Clocks: Cuckoo clocks - Coffins - Communication: Telephones - Crime: Theft - Criminals: Gangs - Deceit - Disguises - Elopements - Escapes - Estates: Wills - Explosives: Nitroglycerine, Time bombs - Fights: Fistfights - Furniture: Beds, Chairs - Gambling: Craps - Games: Mumblety-peg - Gas stations - Handwriting - Impersonation: Blind persons, Female, Male - Laboratories - Law: Attorneys, Law enforcement (Policemen) - Lookouts - Marriages: Licenses - Money - Notes - Oligarchs - Piers - Power: Electric, Political - Railroads: Stations - Rope - Sanitariums - Secret passages - Serials - Shoes - Threats (Murder) - Tobacco: Cigarettes, Pipes - Trains: Locomotives - Transportation: Automobiles (Stolen, Taxis), Boats (Ferries, Motorboats, Rowboats), Motorcycles, Trains, Trucks - Tunnels (Secret) - Turbans - Water: Lakes, Oceans, Rain - Weapons: Handguns, Knives (Switchblades) - Weather: Rain, Wind
Listing updated: 31 October 2025.
References: Film credits, film viewing : Lahue-Bound p. 95; Lahue-Continued pp. 248-249, 287; Limbacher-Feature p. 289; Stedman-Serials p. 43 : Website-IMDb; Website-SerSq.
Home video: DVD.
|
