Riders of the Purple Sage | |
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Directed by | Lynn Reynolds |
Written by | Edfrid A. Bingham |
Based on | Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Daniel B. Clark |
Music by | William P. Perry (1971 reissue) |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 56 minutes 5,578 feet (6 reels) |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring Tom Mix, Mabel Ballin, and Warner Oland. Based on the 1912 novel Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey, the film is about a former Texas Ranger who pursues a corrupt lawyer who abducted his married sister and niece. His search leads him to a remote Arizona ranch and the love of a good woman. [1] [2]
The film is preserved today. [3]
When corrupt lawyer Lew Walters (Warner Oland) is run out of a Texas town, he abducts Millie Erne (Beatrice Burnham) and her young daughter Bess and forces them to accompany him, leaving behind a heartbroken husband and father. Millie's brother, Texas Ranger Jim Carson (Tom Mix), leaves his service behind, takes the name Jim Lassiter, and dedicates his life to finding Walters and his sister and niece. After many years, his search leads him to Cottonwood, Arizona, and the ranch of Jane Withersteen (Mabel Ballin). Jane is attracted to the stranger after he rescues her chief rider, Bern Venders (Harold Goodwin), from being flogged for a crime he did not commit. She tells him that Millie died while searching for her daughter after little Bess was abducted.
Lassiter and Venters go after a gang of rustlers who have been raiding the Withersteen ranch and stealing their cattle. They wound and capture the masked leader of the gang, who turns out to be a young beautiful woman. She is revealed to be Bess Erne (Marion Nixon), Lassiter's long-lost niece. Venters takes charge of the wounded girl, taking her to a secret location, Surprise Valley. The two soon fall in love, and leave the valley to marry.
Meanwhile, Jane admits to Lassiter that the man he is hunting, Lew Walters, is in fact a local judge, now calling himself Judge Dyer. Lassiter rides into town and rushes into Dyer's courtroom, shooting the villain with deadly precision. Soon after, a posse is formed and goes after Lassiter, who flees with Jane and her adopted ward, Fay Larkin (Dawn O'Day), into the mountains surrounding Surprise Valley. They take refuge from their pursuers on a high plateau overlooking the entrance to the valley. The only approach to their hiding place is by a set of stairs cut into the side of the cliff. Lassiter rolls a boulder down from the heights to block the posse's path. There is now no way out. He, Jane and little Fay are trapped inside Surprise Valley forever. [1]
Riders of the Purple Sage was filmed on location in Lone Pine, California and the nearby Alabama Hills. [1] The film features an uncredited bit role by future film star Gary Cooper as a rider. Warner Oland, who plays the corrupt lawyer Lew Walters, would later star in the Charlie Chan films.
Riders of the Purple Sage received generally poor reviews upon its theatrical release. The reviewer for The New York Times criticized the film's lack of entertainment quality, while acknowledging Tom Mix's appeal and attraction to his fans. The reviewer for Variety wrote:
It is all right to understand Mix and know what his admirers want, but it would be just as well to recollect that adults watch Mix pictures also, and it would be just as well if some of these directorial absurdities were omitted or made to blend. [1]
In his review for Allmovie, Hans J. Wollstein gave the film a positive review, praising Tom Mix for his performance.
It is almost as if Zane Grey had written his 1911 melodrama Riders of the Purple Sage with Tom Mix in mind, Mix is that well-cast as the vengeful but honorable Jim Lassiter. Not that Mix completely submerges himself in the role; in fact, there is still plenty of showmanship in evidence here. Especially in a funny scene in which Lassiter forces a gang of cutthroats to fight each other at gunpoint. But the preeminent Western star of his generation makes as good and as taciturn a hero as any that would come after him, including George O'Brien, George Montgomery, and Ed Harris. As usual, Mix is well-served by Lynn Reynolds, his favorite director at Fox, and a strong supporting cast that includes Warner Oland as the kidnapper and debaucher Lew Walters, Beatrice Burnham as Lassiter's ill-fated sister-in-law, and Mabel Ballin as the imperiled Jane Withersteen. [2]
Riders of the Purple Sage is a Western novel by Zane Grey, first published by Harper & Brothers in 1912. Considered by scholars to have played a significant role in shaping the formula of the popular Western genre, the novel has been called "the most popular western novel of all time."
Tom London was an American actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to The Guinness Book of Movie Records, London is credited with appearing in the most films in the history of Hollywood, according to the 2001 book Film Facts, which says that the performer who played in the most films was "Tom London, who made his first of over 2,000 appearances in The Great Train Robbery, 1903. He used his birth name in films until 1924.
Warner Oland was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American characters: Dr. Fu Manchu, Henry Chang in Shanghai Express, and, most notably, Honolulu Police detective Lieutenant Charlie Chan in 16 films.
Tom Tyler was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 serial film The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Tyler also played Kharis in 1940's The Mummy's Hand, a popular Universal Studios monster film.
Mabel Ballin, was an American motion-picture actress of the silent film era.
Fredrick Louis Kohler was an American actor.
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Warner Richmond was an American stage and film actor. He began his career as a stock theatre actor and appeared in films in both the silent film and sound eras. His career spanned four decades. He is possibly best recalled for appearances in Westerns in his later career in sound films. Between 1912 and 1946, he appeared in more than 140 films.
Robert Donald Walker was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1913 and 1953. He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles.
The Rainbow Trail, also known as The Desert Crucible, is Western author Zane Grey's sequel to Riders of the Purple Sage. Originally published under the title The Rainbow Trail in 1915, it was re-edited and re-released in recent years as The Desert Crucible with the original manuscript that Grey submitted to publishers.
Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring William Farnum, Mary Mersch, and William Scott. The film is about a former Texas Ranger who goes after a group of Mormons who have abducted his married sister. This Frank Lloyd silent film was the first of five film adaptations of Zane Grey's 1912 novel.
Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film based upon the 1912 novel by Zane Grey, directed by Hamilton MacFadden, photographed by George Schneiderman, and starring George O'Brien and Marguerite Churchill. The picture was released by the Fox Film Corporation with a running time of 58 minutes and remains the third of five screen versions. It was the first sound version. The movie was followed later the same year by a similar adaptation of the novel's sequel, The Rainbow Trail, also starring O'Brien.
Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1996 American Western television film based on the 1912 novel by Zane Grey, directed by Charles Haid, adapted by Gil Dennis, and starring Ed Harris as Lassiter and Amy Madigan as Jane Withersteen. The film aired on TNT on January 21, 1996.
Riders of the Purple Sage is a 1941 American Western film based on the 1912 novel by Zane Grey, directed by James Tinling, and starring George Montgomery as Lassiter and Mary Howard as Jane Withersteen. The picture is the fourth of five screen adaptations of Grey's novel produced across an eight-decade span.
The Rainbow Trail is a 1932 Pre-Code Western film directed by David Howard and starring George O'Brien. The picture is an adaptation of Zane Grey's novel of the same name and a sequel to the 1931 film Riders of the Purple Sage, which also stars O'Brien.
Wanted! Jane Turner is a 1936 American crime drama film directed by Edward Killy from a screenplay by Edmund L. Hartmann and John Twist, based on Twist's story. Produced by RKO Radio Pictures, it was premiered in New York City on November 27, 1936, with a national release the following week on December 4. The film stars Lee Tracy and Gloria Stuart, with an extensive supporting cast.
The Rainbow Trail is a lost 1918 American silent Western film directed by Frank Lloyd.
The Rainbow Trail is a 1925 American silent Western film written and directed by Lynn Reynolds. It is based on the 1915 novel The Rainbow Trail by Zane Grey. The film stars Tom Mix, Anne Cornwall, George Bancroft, Lucien Littlefield, Mark Hamilton, and Vivien Oakland. The film was released on May 24, 1925, by Fox Film Corporation.