Riders of Vengeance
Encyclopedia
Riders of Vengeance is a 1919 Western
film directed by John Ford
and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost
.
feature in June 1919, a 60-minute silent film
on six reels. It was part of the long-running "Cheyenne Harry" series of film featurette
s. The story was an uncommon collaboration between the star Harry Carey and the director John Ford (with help from scenarist Eugene Lewis). Though it has an unusually high level of violence ("lots of killings", as Moving Picture World
noted), critical reviews of the time lavishly praised both the story and film.
s attempt to kill them both. By the time the Sheriff tracks them down, a full-scale assault is under way, and the two men join forces. Harry realizes the Sheriff's innocence, but it is too late: the lawman is dead from his battle wounds, but he has saved his girlfriend - and Harry.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film directed by John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
Production
Riders of Vengeance was released as a Universal SpecialUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
feature in June 1919, a 60-minute silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
on six reels. It was part of the long-running "Cheyenne Harry" series of film featurette
Featurette
Featurette is a term used in the American film industry to designate a film whose length is approximately three quarters of a reel, or about 20–44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject and a feature film; thus it is a "small feature"...
s. The story was an uncommon collaboration between the star Harry Carey and the director John Ford (with help from scenarist Eugene Lewis). Though it has an unusually high level of violence ("lots of killings", as Moving Picture World
The Moving Picture World
The Moving Picture World was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. By 1914, it had a reported circulation of approximately 15,000.The publication was founded by James Petrie Chalmers, Jr...
noted), critical reviews of the time lavishly praised both the story and film.
Plot
Harry's bride is murdered at their wedding, and the good-hearted outlaw turns grimly malevolent. One by one he stalks his wife's killers, dispatching them all until he finally sets his sights, mistakenly, on Sheriff Gale Thurman. The lawman bests Harry and keeps him hiding outside town in the wilderness. Straying into the same wilderness, the Sheriff's girlfriend is first overtaken by highwaymen, then rescued by Harry, only to be taken captive by Harry when he realizes who she is. At first threatening to harm the girl, Harry slowly falls in love with her, all while hostile ApacheApache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
s attempt to kill them both. By the time the Sheriff tracks them down, a full-scale assault is under way, and the two men join forces. Harry realizes the Sheriff's innocence, but it is too late: the lawman is dead from his battle wounds, but he has saved his girlfriend - and Harry.
Cast
- Harry Carey - Cheyenne Harry
- Seena OwenSeena OwenSeena Owen was a Danish-American silent film actress.-Early Life:She was born Signe M. Auen at Spokane, Washington, the youngest of three children raised by Jens Christensen and Karen Auen. Her father and mother came from Denmark in the late 1880s and settled in Minnesota where they married in 1888...
- The Girl - Joe Harris - Gale Thurman (as Joseph Harris)
- J. Farrell MacDonaldJ. Farrell MacDonaldJoseph Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. MacDonald, who was sometimes billed as "John Farrell Macdonald", "J.F...
- Buell - Alfred AllenAlfred Allen (actor)For other persons named Alfred Allen, see Alfred Allen Alfred Allen was an American silent film actor and author.He was signed in 1915 and starred in 106 films before his retirement in 1935...
- Harry's Father - Jennie LeeJennie Lee (actor)Jennie Lee was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in fifty-eight films between 1912 and 1924, working especially under the famous directors John Ford and D.W. Griffith....
- Harry's Mother - Clita Gale - Virginia
- Vester PeggVester PeggVester Pegg was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 140 films between 1912 and 1941.He was born in Appleton City, Missouri and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
- Betty SchadeBetty SchadeBetty Schade was a German-born American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 120 films between 1913 and 1921....
- Millard K. WilsonMillard K. WilsonMillard K. Wilson was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 94 films between 1914 and 1930.He died in Long Beach, California in a road accident.-Selected filmography:* In the Days of Buffalo Bill...
- (as M.K. Wilson)