Eagle of the Night (1928) - Real stunts and shaky wings

If you're into old-school aviation and don't mind the flickering of a 1920s silent serial, this is actually pretty fun to sit through. It’s definitely for people who like seeing real planes do real things, but if you hate cliffhangers that feel a bit forced, you might get annoyed by chapter four.

I watched this the other night and was mostly struck by how brave (or maybe just crazy) these stunt pilots were. Frank Clarke, who plays the hero, was an actual aviator in real life, and it shows.

He doesn't really 'act' as much as he just exists near a cockpit. But honestly, that’s fine because the flying is the real star here anyway. ✈️

The whole plot is about this 'silent motor' invention. Which is kind of hilarious when you think about it, because it’s a silent movie.

Everyone keeps talking about how quiet the engine is through title cards. You just have to take their word for it, I guess.

Shirley Palmer plays the main girl, and she has this one specific look of terror. She clutches her neck and stares off-camera whenever a villain enters the room.

She does it a lot. Like, maybe too much. It starts to feel like a reflex after a while.

The bad guys are led by Jack Richardson. He has the kind of mustache that tells you exactly what his intentions are within five seconds of him appearing on screen.

There is a scene where a car tries to race a plane on a dirt road. It’s clearly going about 20 miles per hour, but the editing tries so hard to make it look like The Fast and the Furious. 🚗

It reminded me a little bit of the energy in False Trails. Just that raw, 'we’re making this up as we go' feeling that early action movies had.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Eagle of the Night (1928) through its definitive frames.

Some of the aerial shots are genuinely dizzying. The camera shakes so much you can almost feel the wind hitting the lens.

I noticed a dog in one of the ground scenes that looked completely bored. It was just sitting there while people were screaming about the secret motor. 🐕

The middle chapters definitely drag. They keep getting kidnapped, escaping, and then getting cornered in the exact same shack or a very similar looking one.

It’s not as tightly put together as something like The Paleface, but it has more heart than most modern stuff. You can tell they were really risking their necks for these shots.

One of the villains wears a hat that is way too big for his head. I spent about ten minutes just wondering if it was going to fall off during the fight scenes.

It didn't. Which was actually a bit disappointing.

The night scenes are almost impossible to see. It’s just black shapes moving around in a gray soup, but you can hear the vibe of the struggle.

If you enjoy seeing how movies used to handle 'high tech' before computers, the 'silent motor' box is a treat. It’s basically just a wooden crate with some random dials glued to the front.

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. But for a Sunday afternoon when you want to see some cool biplanes, it hits the spot perfectly.

It’s a bit messy, and the pacing is all over the place. Still, I’m glad I watched it just for that one wing-walking stunt at the end.