MOVIE AD FOR "FLYING ACE"

"The Flying Ace" promised a lot of "punch"!  As an ad trumpeted for this Jacksonville flick, get ready for "real stunts, loops, parachute jumps, changing planes, flying upside down, (and) flights on land as well as in the air." Special effects included a dummy airplane with a real engine.  During the 1920s, this thriller proved one of the most sophisticated movies that featured an all-African American cast.  

"The Flying Ace," however, did not feature any mammies, Uncle Toms, or Step n' Fetchits.  Its filmmaker was Richard Norman, a white man who was based in the Arlington neighborhood and who hailed from Middleburg, Florida.  Norman also shot other silent movies with all-black casts.  Compared to fellow directors at the time, Norman portrayed his characters in a positive light.  Unfortunately, very little of his film footage has survived.  Many of his studio's old Arlington buildings, though, still stand and will be preserved.

Source of image: The fascinating website "Separate Cinema,"

at www.separatecenima.com -- Used with permission)

  THANK YOU...  

       FOR VISITING THE JACKSONVILLE STORY,

        YOUR TIME MACHINE TO THE PAST