- Creator: Christopher C Canole
- Genres: Action and Adventure
- Length: 2:09
- See credits
-
5.0 stars(1)
Felix the Flyer
As Cuban mailman Felix Carvajal runs the 1904 Olympic Marathon he remembers his 1200 mile super-run up the Mississippi River to battle the world's best marathoners attacking him with racism, foul play, and drugs...running for the underdogs of the world.
Synopsis:
FELIX CARVAJAL, scrawny, starry-eyed Cuban mailman, races in the 1904 Olympic marathon spurred on by runner’s hallucinations of his true life heroic journey; ignited during the Spanish American War, stoked by his 1200 mile Super-marathon up the Mississippi River, exploding in the
racially charged reality of the St. Louis Olympics Games. Felix reaches the Olympic stadium minutes before the starting gun, wearing his postman’s long pants, winged tipped shoes, beret and mailbag. American shot put champion, SHERIDAN, rips Felix’s pants into shorts to survive the
brutal 100 degree heat. World-class runners, lead by the aristocratic arrogant runners LORZ and
HICKS, mock Felix as nothing more than an immigrant sideshow clown admitted to amuse the crowd. The starter’s pistol launches history’s most comical and bizarre race that will be remembered by millions of marathoners for the next 100 years; and Felix’s vision as a malcontent mail-boy during TEDDY ROOSEVELT’s Rough Riders Spanish American War campaign, listening to his grandfather YAYO relay the story of the world’s first marathoner, Phidippides, a Greek mailman who died delivering a victory message. Determined to join Roosevelt’s liberation of Cuba from
Spain, Felix befriends Teddy’s errand-boy DABNEY, and daughter, ALICE, the personification of an American Princess. While delivering “fallen soldier” letters and newspapers to Cuban families Felix reads about the 1904 Olympic Games and trains for the marathon to fulfill his dreams against
all odds. He hustles money racing American college students fraternizing in Cuba. Back at the Olympic marathon first lap, Felix jogs with a bullhorn as the world’s first imbedded reporter chatting with the spectators, where he meets a Mother of a fallen American soldier who asks Felix to deliver
a letter to Alice Roosevelt, who will crown the winner of the race. Felix falls flat on his face exiting the stadium triggering another flashback of his vision quest to see America on his way to St. Louis, the World’s Fair/Olympics host city—a gleaming, megalopolis standing testament to the industrial age. On his travels, a southern belle con artist, LILAH, an Alice look-alike seduces Felix and steals all his money in a rigged New Orleans crap game. Felix trades his return home ticket for a pair of heavy leather winged tipped shoes to run the 1200 miles up the Mississippi River as penance for his foolishness and training for the marathon confronting all obstacles including the KKK. Like a battle field, the marathon takes its toll on the athletes, some near death; except Lorz, sponsor of the “whites only” water station half way through the marathon, where Felix’s talent at hustling reminds him of
his days before meeting LEN and JAN, two South Africans hired to portray Zulu tribesman at the fair’s Boer War exhibit, and open Felix’s eyes to American imperialism. Sister journalists’ report on Felix’s superhuman run up the Mississippi attracts American Weight-Tossing team members led by
Sheridan befriend Felix as their mascot. Len and Jan show Felix what’s really in store for him at the Olympics— non-whites forced to compete against each other in the separate, but unequal, Anthropology Games; to demonstrate the superiority of White Men over all peoples of color, followed by a public lecture where Felix stands up for himself and convinces the Committee to allow him, Len, Jan to run in the regular Olympics as the first non-white team. Felix succumbs to the stifling heat hallucinating Alice/Lilah, offering him apples in an orchard, to stuff himself, which causes him to convulse and vomit the remaining miles of the race. Lorz, overcome with heat, hops a ride in a car, wakes up at the last mile and dashes into the stadium. Lorz accepts the gold medal then laughs it off as a prank. Hicks, drinks his homemade elixir of alcohol and strychnine as a stimulant.
Drunk and incoherent, his fraternity buddies carry him over the finish line and he is declared the winner. Hearing the cheers outside the stadium Felix quits thinking all is lost. He remembers Yayo’s story, and resolves to finish or die. Felix struggles to cross the finish in forth place cheered on by the
crowd chanting the common man’s hero, “Felix, Felix, Felix.” Felix hands Alice the letter and she crowns him the Spirit of St. Louis Olympics. End credits roll as Teddy Roosevelt delivers his speech “Man in the Arena” written to honor Felix Carvajal.
racially charged reality of the St. Louis Olympics Games. Felix reaches the Olympic stadium minutes before the starting gun, wearing his postman’s long pants, winged tipped shoes, beret and mailbag. American shot put champion, SHERIDAN, rips Felix’s pants into shorts to survive the
brutal 100 degree heat. World-class runners, lead by the aristocratic arrogant runners LORZ and
HICKS, mock Felix as nothing more than an immigrant sideshow clown admitted to amuse the crowd. The starter’s pistol launches history’s most comical and bizarre race that will be remembered by millions of marathoners for the next 100 years; and Felix’s vision as a malcontent mail-boy during TEDDY ROOSEVELT’s Rough Riders Spanish American War campaign, listening to his grandfather YAYO relay the story of the world’s first marathoner, Phidippides, a Greek mailman who died delivering a victory message. Determined to join Roosevelt’s liberation of Cuba from
Spain, Felix befriends Teddy’s errand-boy DABNEY, and daughter, ALICE, the personification of an American Princess. While delivering “fallen soldier” letters and newspapers to Cuban families Felix reads about the 1904 Olympic Games and trains for the marathon to fulfill his dreams against
all odds. He hustles money racing American college students fraternizing in Cuba. Back at the Olympic marathon first lap, Felix jogs with a bullhorn as the world’s first imbedded reporter chatting with the spectators, where he meets a Mother of a fallen American soldier who asks Felix to deliver
a letter to Alice Roosevelt, who will crown the winner of the race. Felix falls flat on his face exiting the stadium triggering another flashback of his vision quest to see America on his way to St. Louis, the World’s Fair/Olympics host city—a gleaming, megalopolis standing testament to the industrial age. On his travels, a southern belle con artist, LILAH, an Alice look-alike seduces Felix and steals all his money in a rigged New Orleans crap game. Felix trades his return home ticket for a pair of heavy leather winged tipped shoes to run the 1200 miles up the Mississippi River as penance for his foolishness and training for the marathon confronting all obstacles including the KKK. Like a battle field, the marathon takes its toll on the athletes, some near death; except Lorz, sponsor of the “whites only” water station half way through the marathon, where Felix’s talent at hustling reminds him of
his days before meeting LEN and JAN, two South Africans hired to portray Zulu tribesman at the fair’s Boer War exhibit, and open Felix’s eyes to American imperialism. Sister journalists’ report on Felix’s superhuman run up the Mississippi attracts American Weight-Tossing team members led by
Sheridan befriend Felix as their mascot. Len and Jan show Felix what’s really in store for him at the Olympics— non-whites forced to compete against each other in the separate, but unequal, Anthropology Games; to demonstrate the superiority of White Men over all peoples of color, followed by a public lecture where Felix stands up for himself and convinces the Committee to allow him, Len, Jan to run in the regular Olympics as the first non-white team. Felix succumbs to the stifling heat hallucinating Alice/Lilah, offering him apples in an orchard, to stuff himself, which causes him to convulse and vomit the remaining miles of the race. Lorz, overcome with heat, hops a ride in a car, wakes up at the last mile and dashes into the stadium. Lorz accepts the gold medal then laughs it off as a prank. Hicks, drinks his homemade elixir of alcohol and strychnine as a stimulant.
Drunk and incoherent, his fraternity buddies carry him over the finish line and he is declared the winner. Hearing the cheers outside the stadium Felix quits thinking all is lost. He remembers Yayo’s story, and resolves to finish or die. Felix struggles to cross the finish in forth place cheered on by the
crowd chanting the common man’s hero, “Felix, Felix, Felix.” Felix hands Alice the letter and she crowns him the Spirit of St. Louis Olympics. End credits roll as Teddy Roosevelt delivers his speech “Man in the Arena” written to honor Felix Carvajal.
Latest Work
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Trailer 301/10/12
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Script 1 - Christopher's Original Draft12/25/11
Creative Notes:I just became a WGA member so here is the script that got me in due to it winning awards at many film festivals.Balboa Park in San Diego is an exact replica of the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair and Olympic Games, and the marathon in those days was more like today's college cross country races.
All Work
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Trailer 112/29/11
Creative Notes:Greatest Olympic Marathon story of all time.