The Galloping Fish

The Galloping Fish is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by Del Andrews and starring Louise Fazenda, Syd Chaplin, Ford Sterling, Chester Conklin, Lucille Ricksen, and John Steppling. It is based on the 1917 novel Friend Wife by Frank R. Adams.^[1] The film was released by First National Pictures on March 10, 1924.^[2][3]

The Galloping Fish
Lobby card
Directed by	Del Andrews
Written by	Will Lambert (adaptation)
Based on	Friend Wife by Frank R. Adams
Starring	Louise Fazenda Syd Chaplin Ford Sterling Chester Conklin Lucille Ricksen John Steppling
Cinematography	Max Dupont Conrad Wells
Production company	Thomas H. Ince Corporation
Distributed by	First National Pictures
Release date	March 10, 1924 (1924-03-10)
Running time	46 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The film was later re-released by Selected Pictures in 1930 with talking sequences.^[4]

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,^[5] Freddie, a trained seal, is smuggled out of a theatre using an ambulance by George Fitzgerald, the fiancé of his owner, Undine, a vaudeville performer, to escape seizure for debt. Freddy Wetherill, George's friend, assists. The latter is notified that his rich uncle is dying and wants Wetherill's wife Hyla to nurse him. But the husband and wife have quarreled, so Undine substitutes for the wife and is accompanied by George, as Wetherill's valet. A flood engulfs the uncle's house. The occupants seek the roof, where escaping animals from a circus also find refuge. They are all finally rescued by the seal, who conveys them ashore with the aid of a telegraph pole.

Cast

• Louise Fazenda as Undine
• Syd Chaplin as Freddy Wetherill
• Ford Sterling as George Fitzgerald
• Chester Conklin as Jonah
• Lucille Ricksen as Hyla Wetherill
• John Steppling as Cato Dodd
• Freddie the Seal as The Trained Seal
• Willie Aligator as The Aligtaor (uncredited)
• Lloyd Ingraham as Process Server (uncredited)
• Eugene Pallette as Anti-Volstead Esquire (uncredited)
• Truly Shattuck as Mrs. Dodd (uncredited)

Preservation

Prints of the film survive at the Filmoteka Narodowa in Warsaw, Poland and Cineteca Italiana in Milan, Italy.^[6]