The Phantom Riders
- January 28, 1918 (1918-01-28)
English intertitles
The Phantom Riders is a 1918 silent American Western film directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost.[1]
Plot
As described in a film magazine,[2] Dave Bland (Steele), head of a band of cattle rustlers operating in Paradise Valley, is defied by Cheyenne Harry (Carey) who has driven his heard into the valley to graze. Bland calls his phantom riders together, routes Harry's cattle, and then seeks their owner intent on taking his life. The Unknown (Pegg), an influential member of the gang who has a grievance against Harry, claims the right to settle with him and this is agreed to. In the meantime, Molly Grant (Malone) prevails upon her father Pebble Grant (Connors) to warn Harry of the danger. The rustlers discover this and hang Grant, and Molly is forced to marry Bland. Hearing that Harry is in a nearby saloon, the gang rushes the place. A gunfight follows and Harry and his partner inflict many casualties. Rangers who were notified by Molly arrive and route the gang. The film ends with the distant chimes of wedding bells for Cheyenne Harry and Molly.
Cast
- Harry Carey as Cheyenne Harry
- William Steele as Dave Bland (credited as Bill Gettinger)
- Molly Malone as Molly Grant
- Buck Connors as 'Pebble' Grant (credited as Buck Connor)
- Vester Pegg as The Unknown
- Jim Corey as Foreman
Production
Filming took place from September 7–27, 1917. Released in January 1918 as a Universal Special feature, The Phantom Riders was a 50-minute silent film on five reels, part of the "Cheyenne Harry" series of film featurettes. The original story was written by Henry McRae and adapted for the screen by scenarist George Hively.[3]
Reception
Like many American films of the time, The Phantom Riders was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors required cuts, in Reel 1, of the shooting of a man at the roulette wheel, three scenes of men laughing at dying man, all scenes of man with knife, indicating slitting of man's mouth, the intertitle "For miles around the phantoms gathered" etc., all except first two scenes of phantoms gathering, Reel 3, two intertitles "We've got his cattle, now let's get him" and "Let's run his cattle to death", all scenes of cattle rustling, five closeups of masked man and thirteen scenes of men assembling, Reel 4, shooting man off horse, three holdup scenes inside cabin, two closeups of masked man alone and view of masked men, entrance of masked man into hut and taking gun from man, two scenes of man hanging from tree, five intertitles "Joe Norton has proved himself a traitor" etc., "You are a sneaking skunk", "Vengeance of the phantoms", "Cheyenne kept his appointment", and "They hung the fellow who tipped us off", Reel 5, four scenes of the holdup of Cheyenne in saloon, reduce length of all shooting and fight scenes, closeup of man shooting around corner of saloon, man fallowing from ladder, four dead body scenes, Cheyenne shooting man and his falling in saloon, all but five shooting scenes between Cheyenne and raiders, all but five fight scenes between rangers and raiders, and to eliminate the trailer.[4]
See also
- John Ford filmography
- Harry Carey filmography
- List of lost films
References
- ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: The Phantom Riders". silentera.com. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
- ^ "Reviews: The Phantom Riders". Exhibitors Herald. 6 (7). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 25. February 9, 1918.
- ^ Gallagher, Tag (1986); John Ford: The Man and His Films; University of California Press, USA. See p.505.
- ^ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 6 (9): 29. February 23, 1918.
External links
- The Phantom Riders at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- The Tornado (1917)
- The Trail of Hate (1917)
- The Scrapper (1917)
- Cheyenne's Pal (1917)
- The Soul Herder (1917)
- Straight Shooting (1917)
- The Secret Man (1917)
- A Marked Man (1917)
- Bucking Broadway (1917)
- The Phantom Riders (1918)
- Wild Women (1918)
- Thieves' Gold (1918)
- The Scarlet Drop (1918)
- Hell Bent (1918)
- A Woman's Fool (1918)
- The Craving (1918)
- Three Mounted Men (1918)
- Roped (1919)
- The Fighting Brothers (1919)
- A Fight for Love (1919)
- Rustlers (1919)
- Bare Fists (1919)
- Gun Law (1919)
- By Indian Post (1919)
- The Gun Packer (1919)
- Riders of Vengeance (1919)
- The Last Outlaw (1919)
- The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1919)
- Ace of the Saddle (1919)
- Rider of the Law (1919)
- A Gun Fightin' Gentleman (1919)
- Marked Men (1919)
- The Prince of Avenue A (1920)
- The Girl in Number 29 (1920)
- Hitchin' Posts (1920)
- Just Pals (1920)
- The Big Punch (1921)
- The Freeze-Out (1921)
- The Wallop (1921)
- Desperate Trails (1921)
- Action (1921)
- Sure Fire (1921)
- Jackie (1921)
- Little Miss Smiles (1922)
- Silver Wings (1922)
- The Village Blacksmith (1922)
- The Face on the Bar-Room Floor (1923)
- Three Jumps Ahead (1923)
- Cameo Kirby (1923)
- North of Hudson Bay (1923)
- Hoodman Blind (1923)
- The Iron Horse (1924)
- Hearts of Oak (1924)
- Lightnin' (1925)
- Kentucky Pride (1925)
- Thank You (1925)
- The Fighting Heart (1925)
- The Shamrock Handicap (1926)
- 3 Bad Men (1926)
- Upstream (1927)
- Four Sons (1928)
- Strong Boy (1929)
- The Black Watch (1929)
- Men Without Women (1930)
- Born Reckless (1930)
- Up the River (1930)
- Seas Beneath (1931)
- The Brat (1931)
- Arrowsmith (1931)
- Air Mail (1932)
- Flesh (1932)
- Pilgrimage (1933)
- Doctor Bull (1933)
- The Lost Patrol (1934)
- The World Moves On (1934)
- Judge Priest (1934)
- The Whole Town's Talking (1935)
- The Informer (1935)
- Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)
- The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)
- Mary of Scotland (1936)
- The Plough and the Stars (1936)
- Wee Willie Winkie (1937)
- The Hurricane (1937)
- Four Men and a Prayer (1938)
- Submarine Patrol (1938)
- Stagecoach (1939)
- Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
- Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
- The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
- The Long Voyage Home (1940)
- Tobacco Road (1941)
- How Green Was My Valley (1941)
- They Were Expendable (1945)
- My Darling Clementine (1946)
- The Fugitive (1947)
- Fort Apache (1948)
- 3 Godfathers (1948)
- She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
- When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)
- Wagon Master (1950)
- Rio Grande (1950)
- The Quiet Man (1952)
- What Price Glory (1952)
- The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
- Mogambo (1953)
- The Long Gray Line (1955)
- Mister Roberts (co-d, 1955)
- The Searchers (1956)
- The Wings of Eagles (1957)
- The Rising of the Moon (1957)
- Gideon's Day (1958)
- The Last Hurrah (1958)
- The Horse Soldiers (1959)
- Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
- Two Rode Together (1961)
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
- How the West Was Won (1962)
- Donovan's Reef (1963)
- Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
- 7 Women (1966)
- "Rookie of the Year" (1955)
- "The Colter Craven Story" (1960)
- "Flashing Spikes" (1962)
- The Iron Horse (1924)
- The Blue Eagle (1926)
- Mother Machree (1928)
- Hangman's House (1928)
- Riley the Cop (1928)
- Salute (1929)
- Flesh (1932)
- The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938)
- Young Cassidy (1965)
and training films
- Torpedo Squadron (1942)
- Sex Hygiene (1942)
- The Battle of Midway (1942)
- December 7th: The Movie (1943)
- Undercover (1943)
- This Is Korea (1951)
- Korea: Battleground for Liberty (1959)
- Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend (1970)
- Vietnam! Vietnam! (1971) (produced and co-wrote)
- Directed by John Ford (1971 documentary)
- Five Came Back (2017 documentary)