In this 1926 film, black fighter pilot Captain Billy Stokes, played by Laurence Criner, returns home from World War I a hero and resumes his civilian career as a railroad detective. The role of pilot Ruth Sawtelle, played by Kathryn Boyd, is inspired by aviator Bessie Coleman. Coleman had been in talks with race film studio Norman Productions to star in a film about her life when she was killed during a flight in Jacksonville, Florida.
Description:
This movie herald has an orange background and features a large square in the middle of the sheet depicting several black and white scenes from the movie: a man (Lawrence Criner) in a WWI uniform, a heart-shaped vignette of man embracing a woman in an air pilot's uniform, and a man parachuting from a burning plane and the text [Thrills! / Action! / Punch!]. Above the vignettes is the title: [The Norman Studios Presents the Super Feature Photoplay/ THE FLYING ACE/ Sensation of the Year] and below is printed cast and production information. Across the very top, in a white rectangle, is black text reading [Coming to this theatre].
