BLACK LIGHTNING (1924) Clara Bow & Thunder the Marvel Dog Adventure Silent Film

Description

Vintage original 27 x 41 in. (68 x 102 cm.) stone lithograph one-sheet poster
from the 1920's silent
film
action/adventure drama,
BLACK LIGHTNING
, released in 1924 by Lumas Film Corporation and
directed by James P. Hogan
.
With the murder of Frank Larned (James P. Hogan), his sister Martha (Clara Bow), and her little brother were left unprotected and the object of unwelcome attentions from Jim Howard (Mason) and his half-witted brother. Roy Chambers (Harold Austin), who was gassed in France during World War I, is ordered by the doctor to go to the mountains. Chance brings him with a police dog (Thunder the Marvel Dog) he has picked up to the Larned home. He finds that Martha is the sister of his buddy in France who saved his life and Thunder being the dog that came to his rescue. Learning the situation, he decides to stay awhile. Joe gets hurt and Roy rides for a doctor. Ez (Eddie Phillips), the half-witted chap, shoots him. Martha sends Thunder to find him and Jim comes and tries to get into the Larned home. Ez kills him and then attacks Martha, but Thunder comes to her rescue. Martha and Roy then journey to the preacher together.
This "Style A" one-sheet poster is a stone lithograph, which features rich, vibrant colors and fine detail. The artwork depicts Ez Howard (
Eddie Phillips
) entering the home of Martha Larned (
Clara Bow
) and Roy Chambers (
Harold Austin
) and Thunder (
Thunder the Marvel Dog
) react to the man's unwanted arrival. Professionally linen-backed, it is in near-fine condition with light restoration along the folders and in a few other areas. Prior to being linen-backed,
there was scattered paper loss in all border areas, which have been air-brushed. The rich color tints are fresh and vibrant without any signs of fading and the poster is now in excellent condition.
Amazingly, this film, featuring one of Clara Bow’s earliest supporting film roles, was discovered in a full-print version in Russia in 2000. Of course, Thunder the Marvel Dogwas the real star: German shepherds such as Rin-Tin-Tin and Strongheart were popular with post-World War I audiences. Thunder was a dog that had actually been decorated for his valor at Verdun during the war.
Prints of
Black Lightning
are now preserved at the Russian state film archive Gosfilmofond and in California at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.