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HISTORY

Production was completed by mid-June 1919, as several local newspapers, including a [Visalia, CA] Visalia Morning Delta item on 15 June 1919, reported that actor Charles Ray was still “nursing a bruised cheek and sprained knee” after finishing the picture.
       A Paramount-Artcraft Pictures advertisement in the 23 August 1919 Moving Picture World noted that The Egg Crate Wallop marked Charles Ray’s first picture “under the Selective Booking Plan.” Another article in the same publication, which mentioned that Ray “has appeared in almost every kind of athletic role,” stated that the film’s climactic fight scene was shot that the Thomas H. Ince studio in Culver City, CA. In addition, “300 fight fans were invited over from Vernon, the scene of many a big battle in the good old days, to act as extras in the various capacities of trainers, advisors and seconds. There was a real referee, Dewitt Van Court, trainer and instructor at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, who had a hand in teaching Corbett, Jeffries, Britt and a lot of others how to fight. George Williams, manager of the Vernon fights, and Fred Moore, his assistant, were there to see that things were technically correct.” Charles Ray reportedly trained “many weeks” and “went up against an experienced professional boxer in the big scene.”
       The review in the 11 October 1919 Motion Picture News by J. S. Dickerson stated: “Charlie Ray’s latest is slender in plot with many sequences having little to do with the story, yet it will be accepted by Ray’s followers as one of the best of his recent pictures…The star gives an excellent performance in ...

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Production was completed by mid-June 1919, as several local newspapers, including a [Visalia, CA] Visalia Morning Delta item on 15 June 1919, reported that actor Charles Ray was still “nursing a bruised cheek and sprained knee” after finishing the picture.
       A Paramount-Artcraft Pictures advertisement in the 23 August 1919 Moving Picture World noted that The Egg Crate Wallop marked Charles Ray’s first picture “under the Selective Booking Plan.” Another article in the same publication, which mentioned that Ray “has appeared in almost every kind of athletic role,” stated that the film’s climactic fight scene was shot that the Thomas H. Ince studio in Culver City, CA. In addition, “300 fight fans were invited over from Vernon, the scene of many a big battle in the good old days, to act as extras in the various capacities of trainers, advisors and seconds. There was a real referee, Dewitt Van Court, trainer and instructor at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, who had a hand in teaching Corbett, Jeffries, Britt and a lot of others how to fight. George Williams, manager of the Vernon fights, and Fred Moore, his assistant, were there to see that things were technically correct.” Charles Ray reportedly trained “many weeks” and “went up against an experienced professional boxer in the big scene.”
       The review in the 11 October 1919 Motion Picture News by J. S. Dickerson stated: “Charlie Ray’s latest is slender in plot with many sequences having little to do with the story, yet it will be accepted by Ray’s followers as one of the best of his recent pictures…The star gives an excellent performance in a characteristic, made-to-order part and is ably supported. In construction and theme this resembles one of Ray’s early hits, ‘The Pinch Hitter.’ It has not, however, the real underlying ‘uplift’ thought nor the plausibility of the story of the last named picture.”
       According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant and located at the Gosfilmofond of Russia in Moscow.

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GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
ETR
18 Oct 1919
p. 1723
Motion Picture News
11 Oct 1919
p. 2899
Moving Picture World
23 Aug 1919
---
Moving Picture World
23 Aug 1919
p. 1126
Moving Picture World
20 Oct 1919
p. 1013
New York Morning Telegraph
20 Jul 1919
---
New York Times
29 Sep 1919
p. 16
Variety
3 Oct 1919
p. 57
Visalia Morning Delta [Visalia, CA]
15 Jun 1919
p. 8
Wid's
12 Oct 1919
p. 19
DETAILS
Release Date:
28 September 1919
Production Date:

Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Thos. H. Ince
5 August 1919
LP14065
Physical Properties:
Silent
Black and White
Length(in feet):
5,314
Length(in reels):
5
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

An assistant to freight express agent Dave Haskell in the town of Pitt's Junction, Jim Kelly develops strong biceps lifting egg crates onto the daily train. Jim falls in love with Dave's daughter Kitty, who, he worries, is interested in city slicker Perry Woods. When Woods steals $2,000 from the station safe, Jim, thinking that Dave took the money, confesses the crime and leaves for Chicago. He meets two fighters headed for a gym and, impressing them with his "egg crate wallop," lands a job as a training assistant. When Jim knocks out "Battling" Miller, who is about to throw a fight, Jim takes Miller's place against boxer "Young Howard," who is really Woods. After taking four rounds of brutal beatings, Jim connects in the fifth with his wallop and knocks out Woods. When a patched bill missing from the safe is found on Woods, Jim, now a hero, wins ...

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An assistant to freight express agent Dave Haskell in the town of Pitt's Junction, Jim Kelly develops strong biceps lifting egg crates onto the daily train. Jim falls in love with Dave's daughter Kitty, who, he worries, is interested in city slicker Perry Woods. When Woods steals $2,000 from the station safe, Jim, thinking that Dave took the money, confesses the crime and leaves for Chicago. He meets two fighters headed for a gym and, impressing them with his "egg crate wallop," lands a job as a training assistant. When Jim knocks out "Battling" Miller, who is about to throw a fight, Jim takes Miller's place against boxer "Young Howard," who is really Woods. After taking four rounds of brutal beatings, Jim connects in the fifth with his wallop and knocks out Woods. When a patched bill missing from the safe is found on Woods, Jim, now a hero, wins Kitty.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.