Tumbleweeds (1925)

Why it's here:
William S Hart was a famous early movie cowboy of the silent era. This film, his last, is also often considered his best. Somehow, its just crazy to think of an actor having had a full and famous career and reaching the end of it in 1925 -- a year that probably predates any movie most Americans have ever seen.

Specs:
An hour and 15 min, black and white. Silent film. We were thrilled that our library had a copy on dvd; but it is also easily available online.
Set in 1893

Our family's average rating:
7.25

More about the film and our reaction to it:
We were pleasantly surprised by this film. Though William S. Hart's work is often categorized as "melodrama," we found this film to be mostly humorous, easy to watch and not overly dramatic. Hart plays Don Carver, a good guy cowboy through-and-through who is termed a "tumbleweed" due to his roaming lifestyle. As the film opens, the cowboys in the area are finishing up their work for a ranch boss in the Cherokee strip and the area is about to be "opened up" for settlement. As a result, white people hoping to file claims are pouring in to the little town where the cowboys have been staying. The influx of people causes both our hero and his funny sidekick to meet and fall in love with a couple of them. The story is part historical drama, part standard fare good guy vs bad guy rivals, part love story. The whole is extremely enjoyable.

As far as the great Land Run of 1893, I found it very edifying. The implications to Indians of the Federal land policies are not treated in the film, but the settlement of the land, from the whites' point of view, is fascinating. The climatic scene in which the settlers are pouring onto the opened land is a stunning spectacle that must have been an incredible feat of filmmaking for its time.

In addition to Hart, who is a very likable and appealing hero, Barbara Bedford is wonderful as Molly. Many of the supporting performances are really engaging, including Molly's little brother, Don's sidekick, the sidekick's love interest, and a couple of great love-to-hate-'em bad guys. The whole thing falls together so well, with swift pacing, lots of comic relief, rich background relationships, and beautiful cinematography.  This was a satisfying Western that did not need dialog to make it complete.

Iconic shot: