The Tornado

The Tornado 1917

5.50

The Tornado mostly followed pulp Western formula -- bad guys hold up a town, take a girl hostage, and the hero rides to the rescue. But there were a couple of twists that made it seem more personal than the usual cowboy fare. Ford's Jack Dayton ... is known as "the No-Gun Man" because he faces the villains unarmed, anticipating the character played by James Stewart in George Marshall's 1939 Western comedy classic Destry Rides Again. Dayton is an immigrant who uses the reward money to bring over his mother (Jean Hathaway) from Ireland, a prototypically Fordian situation if there ever was one.

1917

The Heart of an Indian

The Heart of an Indian 1912

5.00

When Indians attack a white settlement, a brave kidnaps a white baby to give to his wife as a replacement for their dead baby. The white mother goes to the Indian camp to look for her child and is captured by the Indians who plan to torture her. The settlers attack the Indian camp, destroying it completely and killing the braves, while the Indian wife returns the baby to the white woman and allows her to escape. The Indian wife mourns her baby at its grave, unaware of the destruction of the Indian camp.

1912

The Forbidden Room

The Forbidden Room 1914

1

Fulfilling a promise made to his mother on her deathbed, Dr. James Gibson finds his sister Pauline who has run away after giving birth to an illegitimate child. His sister's mind has snapped and Gibson takes his sister and his baby niece home with him. The years pass and the niece has grown into a beautiful woman, while her mother is kept locked in a room that the young woman is forbidden to enter. Gibson and his wealthy neighbor, John Morris, are both interested in hypnotism, and one night the two men conduct an experiment by hypnotizing Gibson's niece. This film is presumed lost.

1914

The Mystery of Yellow Aster Mine

The Mystery of Yellow Aster Mine 1913

1

Reed and Rosson are owners of the Yellow Aster mine. They have taken out enough gold to make the final payment, which is due. Both brothers love the same girl, Pauline, but she prefers Reed. Reed saves an Indian, Eagle Eye, from the drunken taunts of a half-breed, and the latter swears vengeance.

1913

The Werewolf

The Werewolf 1913

1

An old Indian legend tells of the supposed ability of persons who have been turned into wolves through magic power to assume human form at will for purposes of vengeance. This film is presumed lost.

1913

The Passing of Hell's Crown

The Passing of Hell's Crown 1916

1

Hell's Crown, a town where law and order are as scarce as preachers, is ruled by "Chuck" Wells, a former gun man. He has a dupe in Blaze, the terror of the town, and holds him by keeping him well supplied with money. A sheriff is appointed at Carson City on account of the horse rustlers.

1916

The Powder Flash of Death

The Powder Flash of Death 1913

1

Three pals, Reid, Neilan and Kirkland breast the breakers of their roving life with but one condition of creed, nothing was to come between them to sever or impair the sincerity of their ties of friendship. Regardless of what extremity of life they encountered, they religiously respect their one law of sharing alike; that is, until the fall of Sumter, when the call to arms invaded homes and divided brother against brother.

1913

Gene of the Northland

Gene of the Northland 1915

1

Jeanne La Roche lives alone with her brother in the great northwestern country. Jacques is a ne'er-do-well and has fallen under the suspicion of the mounted police, two of whom are dispatched to arrest him for robbery. The stolen goods are found in his home. Jeanne is too young to be left in their lonely cabin, so she is taken to the post, where the wife of the proprietor welcomes her and gives her a home. Several years later, Donald McLean wins her for his wife. Meantime Jacques escapes from prison, eludes his pursuers and takes refuge in McLean's home.

1915

The Outcast

The Outcast 1912

1

The prologue shows the life of a trapper, living in the solitude of the forest. He digs a bear trap, which is covered with boughs and grass. An Indian girl, armed with a bow and arrow, creeps close to a wild turkey, which she brings down. As she runs forward to gather up her prey she falls into the trap. Evans, the trapper, finds her there and on lifting her from the pit, finds that she has sprained her ankle, and takes her to his cabin, and makes her as comfortable as possible. As the shades of evening fall and the pain subsides, the girl drops into a slumber, and loath to awaken her, Evans leaves her in possession of his cabin and, wrapped in a blanket, sleeps outside. In the morning, the girl having recovered sufficiently, he lifts her to his horse, and mounting behind her, proceeds to the Indian camp. On the way he is attacked by a trio of Indians, who fire at him from behind a tree, and the trapper brings down one of his assailants.

1912

The Oubliette

The Oubliette 1914

3.50

Francois Villon, vagabond, poet and philosopher, and his friend Colin, leave the vagabond camp and start for Paris. En route to that city, Villon's heart is touched at sight of the eviction of an elderly couple from their poor home. Whereupon he empties his own and Colin's purse, pays the Beadle, and then resume their journey. Overcome with the pangs of hunger, they "lift " the purses of a couple of corpulent monks. For this breach of law both Villon and Colin are arrested and thrown into prison. This film and By the Sun's Rays are two of Chaney's earliest surviving films.

1914

The Post Telegrapher

The Post Telegrapher 1912

4.00

Bob Evans, a telegraph operator, together with a group of soldiers gets ambushed by Sioux Indians. Wounded, he climbs into a telegraph pole and asks through the telegraph wires for help from the fort. Bob's fiancée Edith comes along with the soldiers. The soldiers find only dead bodies and decide to chase the Indians. Edith stays behind to search for Bob. She finds him and together they return to the fort. The Sioux then attack the fort, but when the situation seems hopeless, the army returns and the Indians are expelled.

1912

A Desperate Leap

A Desperate Leap 1915

1

As the freight train on which are riding Mike and Leary, two knights of the road, passes the station at Hynes, the tramps steal the mail bag which had been placed on the crane by the postmaster of that place. They jump from the train in a secluded spot and start to rifle the bag.

1915

The Spirit of the Flag

The Spirit of the Flag 1913

5.00

Dr. Reid, a young American physician in the Philippines, risks his life in the cause of patriotism, and eventually wins the love of the girl of his choice. With the idea of developing in the natives in his community the spirit of manly citizenship, Dr. Reid requests the War Department to furnish him with a number of discarded Winchesters with which to drill the natives. His request is granted, but he runs afoul with the occupant Spanish army.

1913

For the Love of a Girl

For the Love of a Girl 1916

1

Black La Rue was born on the Mexican border in times of raids and fights. His father was killed in one of the fights. The circumstances of his birth have in some strange way affected his character so that he can never see a fight without having an irresistible desire to join the fray.

1916

The Gratitude of Wanda

The Gratitude of Wanda 1913

1

An indian girl brings military relief to the besieged cabin because of her gratitude to the white man who befriended her.

1913

The Wedding Guest

The Wedding Guest 1916

1

The sheriff of the county is elected by men who call him the "squarest sheriff alive." Panchita Garcia, the flower of the town, loved by all, leaves home for a walk, passing through the town, where all the cowboys come out to meet her. "Bad" Pedro, a native, sees her and follows. He overtakes her and tries to kiss her. The sheriff, who has been passing by and has given Pedro's wife money to buy food for the starving children, hears her and runs to her assistance.

1916

In Love and War

In Love and War 1913

1

Despite being disqualified for war service, a young man volunteers as a war correspondent and ends up performing heroically at the front anyway.

1913