User Reviews

Broncho Billy Anderson, a HUGE cowboy star in the early silent days stars in this film as a hot-head who eventually makes good. The film begins with Billy being a high-tempered bully who is quick to use his guns and quick to take offense. The entire town is afraid to cross him, though when this finally does occur, he turns out to be all bluster. So, seeing through his disguise as a 'tough-guy', the Sheriff throws him out of town--telling him never to come back.

In his new abode, Billy once again plays the role of the town hot-head. However, he makes good when he meets up with his old girlfriend's brother--a dumb young guy who is being cheated in a card game. Billy quickly finds out the game is rigged--coming to the rescue. When he returns to his old town with the young man, however, he is mistakenly shot and dies a hero.

Overall, this is a very good cowboy film for 1919. Sure, the characters seem a bit one-dimensional and the plot a bit simple, but compared to the other films of the day it's pretty good and worth seeing if you, too, are a fan of the silents.

Pine Buff, Arkansas, native Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson has been described at IMDb.COM as "the father of the movie cowboy and the first Western star," in Hollywood. A tall, hefty, Jewish lad, Max H. Aronson, resembles Rodney Dangerfield with his bulging eyeballs, prominent schnozzle, and comic manner. Aside from his appearance in "The Great Train Robbery," this is my first Anderson epic.

In the silent movie "The Son-of-a-Gun," Anderson plays a loud-mouth, trigger-happy, cowboy who receives an ironic comeuppance in the last reel of this 50-minute horse opera. The eponymous protagonist is a high-riding, hellion who maked people do things the way that he prefers that they should be done. The black & white cinematography is sterling, and the production values look splendid. The awkward screenplay by director Jesse J. Robbins and Anderson has some interesting things. For example, the sneaky card sharp gets his cards from another guy in the next room who slips him what he needs. I've never seen anything like this in a movie. Robbins and Anderson intertwine comedy and drama. Essentially, "The Son-of –a-Gun" qualifies as a beauty and beast clone. Our anti-heroic protagonist is smitten by the leading lady, May Brown (Joy Lewis of "Her Own People"), who wear her hair long with a huge bow in it. May and her young brother, Buddy Brown (Paul Willis), live at the Bar-0, the biggest ranch in the area. They are going to town to participate in a dance, and May plans to play the piano. When the Son-of-a-Gun lays eyes on May, nothing can stop him from helping her. The first time we see the title character occurs when he rides into a town and wants to buy a round of drinks for everybody. Robbins does a good job of staging the rugged, out-0f-door action.

There is an amusing scene at the beginning. The ranch hands at the Bar-O scramble down to the wash basin to clean up before supper. One little guy is pushed out repeatedly—like a Charlie Chaplin type character—by all the brawnier hands until they leave him alone at the basin. He still has soap in his eyes when he reaches for the nearby wipe towel. Meantime, another fellow in a long white shirt backs off a porch and the guy with soap in his eyes accidentally tries to wipe off with his shirt. The fellow smacks him around. This scene really doesn't fit in with the rest of the narrative, but it makes an excellent sight gag.

A movie I enjoyed and deserves to be to be commended is the 1919 "The Son-of-a-Gun".

Alpha have an excellent print of the slightly cut-down, fast-moving 51-minutes Kodascope version.

Written (with Jess Robbins) and directed by the popular star, Broncho Billy Anderson, this film is a pleasure to watch.

I'll certainly say this for Billy, he certainly doesn't believe in giving himself any flattering camera angles.

Would you believe that photogenically, everyone else in the cast from heroine Joy Lewis (this is her last of only 4 films) to juvenile Paul Willis and super-busy villain, Fred Church, comes off better than the star.

Locations are attractively utilized too. And the movie certainly features plenty of action!