Nine and Three-Fifths Seconds
| Nine and Three-Fifths Seconds | |
|---|---|
.jpg) newspaper ad | |
| Directed by | Lloyd B. Carleton |
| Written by | Roy Clements |
| Produced by | A. G. Steen |
| Starring | Charles Paddock Helen Ferguson |
| Cinematography | Edward Henderson Gordon Pollock |
| Distributed by | B. A. Goodman Productions (US) Ideal Films (UK, August 1926), as Breaking Records |
Release date |
|
Running time | 5 reels (5600 ft) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Nine and Three-Fifths Seconds is a 1925 American silent comedy film starring Olympic sprint champion Charley Paddock in his screen debut.
Cast
- Charles Paddock as Charles Raymond
- Helen Ferguson as Mary Bowser
- George Fawcett as Jasper Raymond
- Jack Giddings as Walter Raymond
- Peggy Schaffer as Lucille Pringle
- G. Raymond Nye as Link Edwards
- Otis Harlan as Motherbund
- W. Lawson Butt[1]
- Caroline Putney[1]
Plot
Devoted athlete Charles Raymond (Paddock) is disowned by his wealthy father (Fawcett). An excellent student, Charles discovers a formula useful to his father’s soapmaking business, but his brother (Giddings) steals it, seeking to inherit his father’s fortune. Charles is kicked out of the house, robbed on a freight train, and left with only his running spikes. After a fight on the train, he’s thrown off, dressed in hobo clothes. Mary, the pretty daughter (Ferguson) of a ranch owner takes him in. Charles impresses her father by racing the fastest horse around, beating it in the last 10 yards.[1][2] When Mary is kidnapped, Charles chases on foot to rescue her. In the climax, he breaks the world sprint record in the Olympics and wins Mary.[3]
Background
Charley Paddock won the 100-meter dash (plus two other sprint medals) at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. In 1921, newsmen awarded him a new—and unofficial—title: World’s Fastest Human.[4] It enshrined him as one of the big sports celebrities of the 1920s.
But before he was a champion sprinter, he was a teenage dramatist, writing, directing, and acting in school plays at Throop Polytechnic, Pasadena, California.[5]
Meanwhile, neighboring Hollywood grew into the national center of filmmaking. A minor trend, which Paddock wrote about, was the attempt to turn sports stars into film stars, including Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Johnny Weissmuller, Gertrude Ederle, Duke Kahanamoku, etc.[6] With Nine and Three-Fifths Seconds, Paddock resurrected his acting skills and joined the pattern.[6]
The title, Nine and Three-Fifths Seconds, referred to the world record in the 100-yard dash (9.6) tied by Paddock in 1924.[7] In that era, running times were often recorded or cited in fifths of a second.
Notes
The film includes slow motion shots of Paddock running on the track.[1]
Motion Picture News called Paddock “a very pleasing personality and actor of considerable merit for a novice.”[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 “Charley Paddock in 5-Reeler at B’Way”, Herald Statesman (Yonkers, New York), January 22, 1926.
- ↑ “Charley Paddock and Tom Mix Share Honors for Week-End at Broadway”, Herald Statesman, January 23, 1926.
- 1 2 George T. Pardy, 9 and 3/5 Seconds, Motion Picture News, November 21, 1925.
- ↑ Samuel Hawley, I Just Ran: Percy Williams, World’s Fastest Human (Vancouver, B.C.: Ronsdale Press, 2011), 38.
- ↑ E.g., “Scott’s Novel Dramatized By Boy”, The Pasadena Star, June 12, 1914.
- 1 2 Charley Paddock, “Why Athletes Fail in Pictures”, Photoplay, September 1928.
- ↑ Associated Press, “Charley Paddock Equals 100-Yard World’s Record”, April 25, 1924.