Slow as Lightning

Anthony J. Xydias owned both Sunset Productions and Aywon (A-1, get it!) Film Distributors. One of the best – if not the best – of the Xydias movies is the remarkable "Slow as Lightning" (1923). Xydias realized he had a first rate star-in-the-making in the highly personable stuntman-hero, Kenneth McDonald. For McDonald's debut film, Xydias hired talented screenwriter Grover Jones to direct. Admittedly the support players are not in the same league. William Malan, making his film debut here as the villain, is the best; while Edna Pennington (in her last of three films) is not exactly the heroine that would inspire me to walk through fire. Admittedly, she is hampered by playing both Edna the girl and Edna the woman, whereas the hero's boyish exploits are accomplished by ten-year-old Billy "Red" Jones (also making his film debut here. Billy later became a well-known jockey). Despite the movie's minor shortcomings (to which should be added the hammy Joe Bonner, whom the director often indulges with close-ups), "Slow as Lightning" is a real fun movie, crisply paced with breathtaking stuntwork from first to last.