John Monk Saunders' Oscar/running time

I just saw this on Turner Classic Movies last night, under the title Flight Commander. Beneath that name was, "based on the story 'The Flight Commander' by John Monk Saunders." This is impossible for me to interpret as anything but a credit for pre-existing source material, not a story concocted by a studio staffer or freelancer for the sole purpose of being filmed. Given that, Academy Award eligibility seems non-existent. Can anybody explain this?

I looked the film up in Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide prior to viewing because I felt that a two-hour time slot for an early talkie was unlikely. Sure enough, he listed it at "82 min." with a note, "Originally ran 95 min." It in fact ran much longer, and a check of the 2012 edition of his annual movie guide revealed a consistent running time of 108 min., with no mention of the others, not even a mere "Beware shorter prints" as with The Sea Hawk (1940). Anybody know where he got the others?

The GREEN HORNET Strikes Again!