The Flying Ace

Dir. Richard E. Norman. 1926, 65 mins. U.S. DCP. Although African Americans were barred from serving as pilots in the U.S. Armed Forces until 1940, this silent melodrama produced at Norman’s Film Manufacturing Company in Jacksonville, Florida, imagines a world in which a Black fighter pilot returns home triumphant from World War I. After restarting his life as a railroad detective, Billy Stokes (Laurence Criner) must solve the mystery of a missing payroll agent, leading to feats of derring-do. Norman’s film gave a showcase to Criner, a veteran of the Lafayette Players, a prestigious Black theater troupe based in Harlem. 

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members at the Senior/Student level and above. There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission.