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Flames (1926 film)

1926 film directed by Lewis H. Moomaw

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 3, 2026
Entity authorityQ5457202 ↗
Source-derived summary

Flames is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Lewis H. Moomaw and starring Eugene O’Brien, Virginia Valli, Jean Hersholt, and Boris Karloff. Its plot follows a railroad laborer who, while working on a bridge in rural Oregon, must face off with a desperado who kidnaps his boss's daughter.

One reel of the feature survives at the Library of Congress, though the remaining five are lost. The film was shot on location in Portland, Oregon, as well as Oregon's Cascade Mountain range in the fall of 1925. Though mostly filmed in black and white, the film's climactic sequence, which features a forest fire, was shot in color.

Plot

Herbert Landis is sent to supervise the construction of a bridge in Oregon by James Travers, a railroad magnate and father of Anne Travers, who Herbert is smitten by. Herbert is dismayed when Anne invites Hilary Fenton, high-society playboy, to accompany them to a rural encampment where the project is headquartered. Anne is attended by Mrs. Edgerton, who acts as a chaperone.

Herbert is dismayed by Anne's interest in Hilary, who is wooing her in an attempt to access her family's fortune.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Flames (1926 film)” as 1926 film directed by Lewis H. Moomaw. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Flames, film and directed.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1926, 1925—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1926-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Flames, film and directed providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Flames (1926 film)”, the useful work is to connect “1926 film directed by Lewis H. Moomaw” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5457202. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926 and 1925.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Flames (1926 film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Flames (1926 film) primary sources, Flames (1926 film) archive and Flames research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Flames (1926 film)”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Flames (1926 film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.