John Ford famously said, “I make Westerns.” He began his long career in the silent era. We’ve brought a few of his Westerns to our Movie Nights, mostly his talkies. But for this session, Johnny Boggs screened Ford’s last silent Western, 3 BAD MEN, released in 1926. A delightfully sentimental film, it has early overtones of Ford’s THREE GODFATHERS which he would make 22 years later.
Set in Dakota Territory in 1877, three tough wanted outlaws, “Bull” Stanley (Tom Santschi, who is terrific), “Spade” Allen (Frank Campeau) and Mike Costigan (J. Farrell MacDonald), find themselves reforming their wicked ways when their attempted robbery of several thoroughbred racehorses belonging to pretty Lee Carlton (Olive Borden) and her father takes an unexpected turn.
Some of the humor is dated, but some is laugh out loud funny. A cue card reveals that the outlaws “weren’t exactly thieves—but they had a habit of finding horses that nobody had lost.” Trying to find young Lee a husband, “Bull” and his cohorts size up possible candidates, including checking their teeth. One fellow bears some resemblance to Charlie Chaplin in both looks and mannerisms. Another is handsome cowboy Dan O’Malley (George O’Brien) who, unbeknownst to the trio, had met Lee earlier on a wagon train as he helped her father fix a wagon wheel.
Evil appears in the form of smarmy Sheriff Layne Hunter (Lou Tellegen) who runs illegal and immoral operations in town. He dons an unblemished white hat; “Bull” wears a beat up black one.
There’s a spectacular land rush sequence. (A land rush was conducted in Dakota in 1892.) The furious action includes wagon crashes, near misses, a bicycle, and even a lost and found infant.
Ford shot the film on locations around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and California’s Mojave Desert.
With a running time of 93 minutes, 3 BAD MEN is available on Amazon Prime and YouTube.
Along with Johnny Boggs, record ten-time Spur Award-winning author and Owen Wister Award winner whose work includes his latest, BLOODY NEWTON, our group includes Kirk Ellis, Emmy winning screenwriter and producer, as well as author of the book RIDE LONESOME about the production, themes and historical relevance of the classic Ranown Western films starring Randolph Scott and directed by Budd Boetticher, Kirk’s wife, Sheila, David Morrell, award-winning author and New York Times best-selling author of FIRST BLOOD, the novel that introduced the character Rambo, and Robert Nott, award-winning journalist and author of several books on Western films, including his most recent RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY that examines the production, themes and legacy of the film that launched Sam Peckinpah’s career.
