The Secret Man is a 1917

1917 in film

The year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...

 Western

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. Two of the five reels of the film survive at the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

 film archive.

Production

Filming took place under the working titles The Round Up and Up Against It. The film was released by Universal Studios

Universal Studios

Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

 through a subsidiary, Universal-Butterfly, in October 1917. It was a 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 five reels, part of the "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.

Plot

Cheyenne Harry escapes from jail and lies low, working as a hired ranch hand. When he discovers a missing child in the wilderness, however, a complex plot of honor and secrecy unfolds.

Cast

• Harry Carey - Cheyenne Harry
• Edythe Sterling - Molly (as Edith Sterling)
• J. Morris Foster
  J. Morris Foster
  J. Morris Foster was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 79 films between 1914 and 1923.He was born in Foxbert, Pennsylvania and died in Burbank, California.-Selected filmography:...
  
   - Harry Beaufort (as Morris Foster)
• Elizabeth Janes - His Child
• Vester Pegg
  Vester Pegg
  Vester 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:...
  
   - Bill
• William Steele
  William Steele (actor)
  William Anton Gittinger , best known as William Steele, was an American actor of small roles in Westerns, particularly those of John Ford....
  
   (as Bill Gettinger) - The Foreman
• Steve Clemente
  Steve Clemente
  Steve Clemente was a Mexican actor known for his many villainous roles. He began acting in his teens, signing up for his first movie, The Secret Man, in 1917. His later, numerous roles were usually bit parts...
  
   (as Steve Clement) - Pedro, the Foreman
• Hoot Gibson
  Hoot Gibson
  Hoot Gibson was an American rodeo champion and a pioneer cowboy film actor, director and producer.-Early life and career:...
  
  - Chuck Fadden