The Border Legion | |
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![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | T. Hayes Hunter |
Written by |
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Based on | The Border Legion by Zane Grey |
Produced by | Samuel Goldwyn |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Abe Scholtz |
Edited by | Alex Troffey |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Goldwyn Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 50 minutes 5 reels |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent English intertitles |
The Border Legion is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Blanche Bates, Hobart Bosworth, and Eugene Strong. The film is based on the 1916 novel The Border Legion by Zane Grey. [1] The film marked the screen debut of Blanche Bates. [1] The Border Legion was released on August 28, 1918. [1] Following the acquisition of distribution rights by Goldwyn Pictures, the film was rereleased in the United States on January 19, 1919. [1] [2] It is not known whether the film currently survives. [3]
After Joan Randall (Blanche Bates) accuses her fiancé Jim Cleeve (Eugene Strong) of being a coward, he joins a gang of outlaws called the Border Legion. Feeling guilty about how she treated him, Joan follows after Jim and is soon attacked by gang leader Jack Kells (Hobart Bosworth), whom she shoots.
In the coming days, Joan nurses the outlaw back to health, earning his undying gratitude and a promise that he will always protect her. Later, when Jim reclaims her, Jack follows after the couple and threatens him. As the law closes in on the Border Legion, Jack tries to prevent the gang from using Joan as a hostage. During a confrontation, Jack is killed by his own gang. A posse soon arrives and save Joan and Jim.
The Border Legion marked the film debut of stage actress Blanche Bates. [4] The Border Legion was released on August 28, 1918. [1] Following the acquisition of distribution rights by Goldwyn Pictures, the film was rereleased in the United States on January 19, 1919. [1] [2]
The reviewer for the New York Times enjoyed the raw quality of the film:
The Border Legion is a Western melodrama of the most undiluted type. Here and there one is disturbed by the injections of some suggestion of the world of today, and Eugene Strong is a little too natty-looking to harmonize with his surroundings, but too-careful analysis should not be applied to a photoplay so frankly wild-and-wooly. [5]
Following this initial film adaptation of Zane Grey's novel The Border Legion, [2] three additional film adaptations were produced by Paramount Pictures. In 1924, a second silent film, The Border Legion , was released, directed by William K. Howard and starring Antonio Moreno and Helene Chadwick. [6] In 1930, the first sound film adaptation was directed by Otto Brower and Edwin H. Knopf, The Border Legion , starring Jack Holt and Fay Wray. [7] Finally in 1934, The Last Round-Up was released, directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Randolph Scott and Barbara Fritchie. [8] [9]
The Border Legion is a 1916 Western novel written by Zane Grey, first published by Harper & Brothers in 1916.
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer.
Thomas Hayes Hunter was an American film director and producer of the silent era. He directed a total of 34 films between 1912 and 1934.
Vanity Fair (1923) is a silent feature film directed by Hugo Ballin and released by Samuel Goldwyn.
Through the Dark is a 1924 American silent mystery crime drama film directed by George W. Hill, and starring Colleen Moore and Forrest Stanley as the popular detective character Boston Blackie. The film's scenario, written by Frances Marion, is based on the short story "The Daughter of Mother McGinn" by Jack Boyle. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productionss and distributed through Goldwyn Pictures.
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 the novel.
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.
The Border Legion is a lost 1924 American silent Western film directed by William K. Howard and starring Antonio Moreno and Helene Chadwick. Written by George C. Hull and based on the 1916 novel The Border Legion by Zane Grey, the film is about a cowboy who is wrongly accused of murder and is rescued by the leader of a band of Idaho outlaws known as the Border Legion. When the outlaws kidnap a young woman, the cowboy knows that he must help the woman escape. The film premiered on October 19, 1924 in New York City and was released in the United States on November 24, 1924 by Paramount Pictures.
The Light of Western Stars is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by William K. Howard and starring Jack Holt, Billie Dove, and Noah Beery. The film was based on a Zane Grey novel and had been filmed before in 1918.
The Border Legion is a 1930 American pre-Code Western film directed by Otto Brower. It stars Jack Holt, Fay Wray, and Richard Arlen. It is based on the novel with the same title by Zane Grey.
An Odyssey of the North is a 1914 American adventure film directed by Hobart Bosworth and written by Hettie Grey Baker and Hobart Bosworth. The film stars Hobart Bosworth, Rhea Haines and Gordon Sackville. It is based on the 1899 short story "An Odyssey of the North" by Jack London. The film was released on September 3, 1914, by Paramount Pictures.
Burning Daylight: The Adventures of 'Burning Daylight' in Alaska is a 1914 American adventure film directed by Hobart Bosworth, starring Hobart Bosworth, Rhea Haines, J. Charles Haydon, Elmer Clifton and Jack Conway. It is based on the 1910 novel Burning Daylight by Jack London. The film was released on September 14, 1914, by Paramount Pictures.
Nearly a Lady is a lost 1915 American comedy silent film directed by Hobart Bosworth and written by Elsie Janis. The film stars Elsie Janis, Frank Elliott, Owen Moore, Myrtle Stedman and Harry Ham. The film was released on August 12, 1915, by Paramount Pictures.
Freckles is a lost 1917 American drama silent film directed by Marshall Neilan and written by Gene Stratton-Porter and Marion Fairfax. The film stars Jack Pickford, Louise Huff, Hobart Bosworth, Lillian Leighton, William Elmer and Guy Oliver. The film was released on May 28, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
Unconquered is a lost 1917 American drama silent film directed by Frank Reicher and written by Beatrice DeMille and Leighton Osmun. The film stars Fannie Ward, Jack Dean, Hobart Bosworth, Tully Marshall, Mabel Van Buren and Jane Wolfe. The film was released on May 31, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Border Legion is a 1940 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and written by Olive Cooper and Louis Stevens. It is based on the 1916 novel The Border Legion by Zane Grey. The film stars Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes, Carol Hughes, Joe Sawyer, Maude Eburne and Jay Novello. The film was released on December 5, 1940, by Republic Pictures.
The Sea Wolf is a lost 1913 American silent adventure film directed by and starring Hobart Bosworth and co-starring Herbert Rawlinson. Based on the 1904 Jack London novel The Sea-Wolf, the production's master negatives were destroyed in the disastrous 1914 vault fire at the Lubin Manufacturing Company, the Philadelphia-based film company that Bosworth contracted to produce theatrical prints of his screen adaptation.
Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Emmett J. Flynn and starring Claire Windsor. Produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures, the film is based on a play by Owen Davis, which premiered on Broadway in 1906.
Laughing Bill Hyde is a lost 1918 American adventure film directed by Hobart Henley and written by Willard Mack. The film stars Will Rogers, Anna Lehr, Clarence Oliver, Joseph Herbert, Robert Conville, and Dan Mason. The film was released on September 22, 1918, by Goldwyn Pictures. It was filmed at the Fort Lee studios.
The Yaqui is a 1916 American silent Black and white Melodrama directed by Lloyd B. Carleton and starring Hobart Bosworth, Gretchen Lederer and Emory Johnson. The film depicts Yaqui Indians entrapped by nefarious elements into enslavement for a wealthy plantation owner. They struggle in captivity, eventually rebelling against their owner's oppression.
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