Conductor 1492

A delightful comedy with romance and a great chase scene at the end. Johnny Hinds plays Terry O'Toole, a young Irishman who emigrates to America and becomes a streetcar conductor. He rescues the young son of the company president from death, foils the attempts of crooks to take over the company and then marries the boss's daughter. Along the way, Hinds finds time to do a dance duet in a camel suit. One of the big hits at Cinefest 2003 in Syracuse New York.

I saw this last year at a film festival and I was really surprised. Johnny Hines was a kind of everyday Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in that he was resourceful, determined, smart and could overcome any obstacle in the name of love and justice. But best of all, this is funny throughout most of the picture. See it if you get a chance!

Though it has been some years since I saw this film at The Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles, I still remember it as terrific fun.

One scene in particular was such a spectacular, gracefully athletic, even if apparently unmotivated, stunt -- a display of the lead character's joy -- the audience with me broke into spontaneous cheers and applause.

I urge anyone who likes movies to grab at any opportunity to watch this.

We need to write Turner Classic Movies about "Conductor 1492" and urge that network to get a copy, even if TCM shows it only on its Silent Sunday.

There are some wonderful Irish stereotypes, beautifully played, and the whole film is just a romp from start to finish. It's one I'd love to have a copy of, so I hope people will tell me if it's ever available on tape or disc.

GREAT NEWS, added 1 Aug 2015: There is a version available at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7hZQhN6rwY HOORAY!