The storm, which takes up most of the second reel, is a trial run for the storm sequence in The Wizard Of Oz which Semon would make in 1925. Fox released a comedy that was an exact copy of Lightning Love just before the Semon film was due to come out. Albert E. Smith noticed the similarities and on September 5, 1923 attempted to have the Fox film pulled from the exhibitors.
Practical Effects
That storm sequence—literally a dry run for cinematic history.
Stunts
Semon destroys everything on screen. Everything.
Director
James D. Davis
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Albert E. Smith tried to have Fox's copycat comedy pulled from theaters on September 5, 1923—early Hollywood's version of a copyright strike.
The storm effects here were refined for The Wizard of Oz (1925), making this essentially the beta test for one of silent cinema's most famous sequences.
US
