The Drop Kick
"When a man's honor is at stake - he's got to fight!"
Plot
College football star Jack Hamill's promising career and reputation are jeopardized when he innocently visits the home of a married woman, Cynthia Gray, whose husband subsequently commits suicide. The scandal threatens to destroy Jack's standing at his university and his future prospects, as rumors and accusations swirl around his supposed affair with the grieving widow. Despite his protests of innocence, Jack faces ostracism from his teammates and the community, while Cynthia struggles with guilt over her role in the tragedy. The film follows Jack's fight to clear his name and restore his honor, culminating in a climactic football game where his character and athletic prowess are put to the ultimate test. Through perseverance and the support of loyal friends, Jack must overcome the shadow of scandal to reclaim his place both on and off the field.
About the Production
The Drop Kick was produced during the golden age of silent cinema and featured extensive football sequences that were considered groundbreaking for their time. The film utilized real college football players as extras to lend authenticity to the athletic scenes. Richard Barthelmess, one of the biggest stars of the era, performed many of his own stunts, including several dangerous football plays that required careful choreography. The production faced challenges in filming the football sequences, as the technology of the time made it difficult to capture fast-paced action clearly.
Historical Background
The Drop Kick was produced during a pivotal moment in American cinema history, arriving just months before the debut of The Jazz Singer would herald the end of the silent era. 1927 was a year of tremendous cultural change in America, with college football experiencing a surge in popularity that mirrored the nation's growing fascination with sports as entertainment. The film reflected contemporary anxieties about reputation, honor, and the rapidly changing social mores of the Roaring Twenties. It was also made during the height of the studio system's power, with First National Pictures competing fiercely with other major studios for box office dominance. The film's focus on college athletics tapped into the growing American obsession with amateur sports and the ideal of the scholar-athlete, a concept that would define American educational culture for decades to come.
Why This Film Matters
The Drop Kick holds an important place in cinema history as one of the earliest and most influential sports dramas, helping to establish conventions that would define the genre for decades. The film's portrayal of college football culture contributed to the romanticization of American sports and helped cement football's place in the national consciousness. It was among the first movies to explore themes of athletic honor and redemption, creating a template that countless sports films would later follow. The movie also reflected and reinforced early 20th-century American values regarding masculinity, honor, and the importance of maintaining one's reputation in the face of scandal. As a late silent film, it represents the artistic pinnacle of visual storytelling before the transition to sound, with its athletic sequences demonstrating the sophisticated visual techniques that had been developed by the late 1920s.
Making Of
The production of The Drop Kick was marked by meticulous attention to the football sequences, which were unprecedented in their complexity and realism for a silent film. Director Millard Webb, leveraging his own football background, insisted on authentic gameplay and worked closely with real college coaches to choreograph the action scenes. Richard Barthelmess underwent intensive football training for several weeks before filming began, learning proper techniques for running, tackling, and kicking. The film's most challenging sequence involved a climactic game scene that required multiple cameras and innovative filming techniques to capture the fast-paced action. The production team constructed special camera platforms to get dynamic shots of the gameplay, and they experimented with slow-motion effects to emphasize key moments. The romantic subplot between Barthelmess and Barbara Kent was developed during production, with script revisions made to enhance their on-screen chemistry. The controversial suicide scene was filmed in a single take to maintain its dramatic impact, though it faced censorship challenges in several states.
Visual Style
The cinematography of The Drop Kick was particularly notable for its innovative approach to filming sports action, utilizing multiple cameras and dynamic angles that were ahead of their time. Cinematographer Ira H. Morgan employed groundbreaking techniques to capture the football sequences, including camera placements on the field and elevated platforms to provide sweeping views of the gameplay. The film made extensive use of close-ups during emotional moments and wider shots during action sequences, creating a visual rhythm that enhanced both the dramatic and athletic elements of the story. Morgan experimented with slow-motion effects for key plays, a technique that was still relatively new in 1927 and required careful timing in the development process. The lighting design emphasized the contrast between the bright, sunny football scenes and the darker, more shadowy interiors during the dramatic sequences, visually reinforcing the film's themes of honor and scandal.
Innovations
The Drop Kick was technically innovative for its time, particularly in its approach to filming sports action sequences. The production team developed special camera rigs that could move alongside the players, creating a sense of immersion that was rare in 1920s cinema. The film employed early forms of slow-motion photography to emphasize key athletic moments, requiring precise timing in both filming and development. The football sequences were among the first to use multiple cameras simultaneously, allowing for dynamic editing that created a sense of continuous action. The production also pioneered techniques for safely filming dangerous stunts, developing padding and camera placement methods that would influence later sports films. The movie's special effects, particularly for the more dangerous football plays, were achieved through clever editing and camera tricks rather than post-production manipulation, showcasing the ingenuity of silent era filmmakers.
Music
As a silent film, The Drop Kick was originally accompanied by a musical score performed live in theaters, with cue sheets provided to theater musicians. The score was composed by Cecil Copping, who created original themes for the main characters and dramatic motifs for key plot points. The football sequences featured upbeat, march-like music that enhanced the excitement of the games, while the romantic scenes utilized more melodic, emotional themes. Theaters often augmented the provided score with popular songs of the era, particularly during scenes set at college social events. The suicide scene was accompanied by somber, dissonant music that heightened the dramatic impact of the moment. Modern screenings of the film typically feature newly composed scores or period-appropriate compiled soundtracks that recreate the silent era's musical experience.
Did You Know?
- Richard Barthelmess was one of the highest-paid actors of the silent era, commanding $7,500 per week for this film
- The film's football sequences were filmed at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California
- Barbara Kent was only 19 years old when she appeared in this film, early in her career
- The Drop Kick was one of the first films to realistically depict college football culture
- Director Millard Webb was a former football player himself, which helped bring authenticity to the sports scenes
- The film's title refers to a football kicking technique that was relatively new and exciting to audiences in 1927
- Dorothy Revier, who played the femme fatale role, was known as 'The Queen of the B-Movies' in the silent era
- The film was released just weeks before the arrival of sound in motion pictures, making it part of the last wave of major silent dramas
- Real college football teams from Southern California were used as background players in the game sequences
- The suicide scene was considered controversial for its time and was cut in some markets
What Critics Said
Contemporary critics praised The Drop Kick for its exciting football sequences and Richard Barthelmess's compelling performance, though some found the melodramatic plot somewhat predictable. The New York Times noted the film's 'thrilling athletic scenes' and commended Barthelmess for bringing 'genuine emotion' to his role as the troubled football star. Variety magazine highlighted the film's technical achievements in capturing football action, calling it 'the most realistic sports picture yet produced.' Modern critics and film historians view the movie as an important example of the sports genre's early development, though it's often overshadowed by more famous silent films of the era. The film is appreciated today for its authentic depiction of 1920s college football culture and its role in establishing sports movie tropes that continue to influence cinema.
What Audiences Thought
The Drop Kick was a moderate box office success upon its release, particularly appealing to young male audiences and college students who were drawn to its realistic football sequences. The film benefited from the growing popularity of college football in America, with many viewers attending specifically to see the groundbreaking sports action. Richard Barthelmess's star power ensured strong opening weekend attendance, though the film's controversial elements, including the suicide subplot, limited its family appeal in more conservative markets. Audience reactions were generally positive, with many viewers praising the authenticity of the football scenes and the emotional intensity of the drama. The film developed a cult following among sports enthusiasts and remained popular enough to be re-released several times during the early 1930s, even as the silent era was ending.
Film Connections
Influenced By
- The Freshman (1925)
- Brown of Harvard (1926)
- The Quarterback (1926)
- College
- 1927
- ],
- influencedFilms
- The Spirit of Notre Dame (1931),The Horsemen (1931),The Player Coach (1933),Saturday's Heroes (1937)
- similarFilms
- The Freshman (1925),Brown of Harvard (1926),College (1927),The Spirit of Notre Dame (1931),Knute Rockne All American (1940)
- famousQuotes
- A man's good name is worth more than all the gold in the world.,When you're down, the only way is up.,Football isn't just a game - it's a test of character.,Honor is something you can't buy or borrow - you have to earn it.
- memorableScenes
- The climactic football game sequence where Jack Hamill makes the game-winning drop kick while the entire stadium watches in suspense, representing his ultimate redemption and vindication of his honor.
- preservationStatus
- The Drop Kick is considered a partially lost film. While some reels and fragments survive in various film archives, including the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art, no complete version of the film is known to exist. The surviving footage includes portions of the football sequences and several dramatic scenes, but key moments, including parts of the climax, are missing. The film was included on the American Film Institute's list of Most Wanted Lost Films. Restoration efforts have been ongoing, with historians attempting to reconstruct the film from surviving fragments and production stills.
- whereToWatch
- Due to its incomplete preservation status, The Drop Kick is not commercially available on home video or streaming platforms. Film enthusiasts can view surviving fragments at specialized film archives, including the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art's film department, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Occasionally, film preservation societies or silent film festivals screen the surviving portions of the film as part of special programs on lost or incomplete cinema. Some fragments may be available for academic study through university film departments or specialized cinema research institutions.