This excellent silent western was aired on Turner Classic Movies on the important Mexican holiday of "Cinco de Mayo," or May 5th.
The copy of this film was in very good condition, and the dialogue panels were clear and readable ( mostly ). It was an exciting romp.
Most interesting to see was the interaction between the hero and his lovable sidekick, which has to be an early edition of a theme that so many hundreds of mainstream western tales used in subsequent years.
In some ways the romance elements were subordinate to the villainous threats posed by the local Ku Klux Klan leader, and his Klavern.
All these decades later, most folks know almost nothing about the surge in membership in, and activities of, the K.K.K. in the 1920s. The Klan was re-founded in or about 1915 and by the '20s had surfaced as a most potent and important social and political factor in many parts of the United States. However, it is not clear from the known history of the Klan that their movement had so much presence on the border.
Given the times, this portrayal of Klansmen as being fundamentally evil and hostile was a daring bit of story-telling for the film's authors.
All in all, this was a great window, a 'moving picture window,' on our western heritage with good performances by every member of the cast.
The copy of this film was in very good condition, and the dialogue panels were clear and readable ( mostly ). It was an exciting romp.
Most interesting to see was the interaction between the hero and his lovable sidekick, which has to be an early edition of a theme that so many hundreds of mainstream western tales used in subsequent years.
In some ways the romance elements were subordinate to the villainous threats posed by the local Ku Klux Klan leader, and his Klavern.
All these decades later, most folks know almost nothing about the surge in membership in, and activities of, the K.K.K. in the 1920s. The Klan was re-founded in or about 1915 and by the '20s had surfaced as a most potent and important social and political factor in many parts of the United States. However, it is not clear from the known history of the Klan that their movement had so much presence on the border.
Given the times, this portrayal of Klansmen as being fundamentally evil and hostile was a daring bit of story-telling for the film's authors.
All in all, this was a great window, a 'moving picture window,' on our western heritage with good performances by every member of the cast.