The Iron Horse (film)
| The Iron Horse | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | John Ford (uncredited) |
| Produced by | John Ford |
| Written by | Charles Kenyon John Russell Charles Darnton |
| Starring | George O'Brien Madge Bellamy |
| Cinematography | George Schneiderman |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | 28 August 1924 |
| Running time | 133 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent English intertitles |
The Iron Horse is a silent film directed by John Ford in 1924 and produced by Fox Film. [1] In 2011, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
The film presents an idealized image of the construction of the American first transcontinental railroad. It culminates with the scene of driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. There is a note in the title before this scene that the two original locomotives from 1869 event are used in the film, although this is false - both engines (Union Pacific No. 119 and Jupiter) were scrapped before 1910. Of course, a romantic story with love, treachery and revenge is also here. Main stars were George O'Brien and Madge Bellamy.
[edit] Cast
- George O'Brien - Davy Brandon
- Madge Bellamy - Miriam Marsh
- Charles Edward Bull - Abraham Lincoln
- Cyril Chadwick - Peter Jesson
- Will Walling - Thomas Marsh
- Francis Powers - Sgt. Slattery
- J. Farrell MacDonald - Cpl. Casey
- Jim Welch - Pvt. Schultz (as James Welch)
- George Waggner - Col. William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
- Fred Kohler - Bauman
- James A. Marcus - Judge Haller (as James Marcus)
- Gladys Hulette - Ruby
- Chief John Big Tree - Cheyenne Chief (uncredited)
- Foreground - dog(black & white canine who strolled through many scenes(from property man Lefty Hough; interviewed in Hollywood 1980
[edit] Legacy
In December 2011, The Iron Horse was selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry.[2] In choosing the film, the Registry said that The Iron Horse "introduced to American and world audiences a reverential, elegiac mythology that has influenced many subsequent Westerns."[2]
[edit] Home media
The film is currently available on DVD in America in its full-length US version (accompanied by the truncated UK version). A forthcoming September 2011 release of The Iron Horse on DVD in the UK from The Masters of Cinema Series will include both the US and UK versions of the picture, and a half-hour video-essay about the film by author and critic Tag Gallagher.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: The Iron Horse". Silent Era. http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/I/IronHorse1924.html. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ a b "2011 National Film Registry More Than a Box of Chocolates". Library of Congress. December 28, 2011. http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2011/11-240.html. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
[edit] External links
 |
This article about a film in the Western genre is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
