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4.5
THE WHITE OUTLAWArt Acord (1890-1931), former cowboy, rodeo star and a decorated combat veteran of World War I, rose to prominence with silent film audiences as a star in two-reel Westerns and in serials such as In The days of Buffalo Bill (1922) and The Oregon Trail (1923). He went on to become a popular star in Western features for Universal. The White Outlaw (1929) was, however, an independent production obviously made on a small budget.Acord plays the title character, whose attempt to go straight is complicated by making a gift of his signature white scarf to a hard-up pal in need of a present for his girl. When the friend is arrested as “The White Outlaw” to clear him Acord must take up his former role and is pursued not only by the law but, also, by a double crossing former partner. It is a tale typical of the period, with a good pace and some lively chase and action scenes by its star. The bad guy was played by Lew Meehan (a regular in such roles) and the supporting cast included a couple of lesser Western stars, Bill Patton and Al Hoxie. This is in reasonable shape for an un-restored copy of an eighty-five year old movie.THE LAW’S LASHTwo popular draws in the silent film era were the canine stars and Mountie movies and The Law’s Lash combines them. It was in a Mountie movie, The Man from Hell’s River (1921) that Rin-Tin-Tin made his debut before going on to become the canine superstar of the 1920s but he had plenty of rivals, including Strongheart, Braveheart, Kazan, Ranger and Klondike, who stars here.Klondike played “Scout,” who was introduced as “A fearless, faithful, untiring veteran of the police service” and the story concerned a Mountie’s murder when he closed in on a bunch of fur thieves. His comrades were determined to round up the gang and bring the killer to justice but when their initial efforts failed Corporal Campbell was obliged to work undercover to infiltrate the gang. Klondike was given plenty to do carrying messages, battling the bad guys, rescuing the heroine and, finally, sniffing out the vital clue to the murderer’s identity. The picture quality is okay but does not at all compare to, say, those being issued in the Warner Archive series. Nevertheless, if you are a silent Westerns enthusiast or curious to watch one of the popular canine stars of the period this double bill from Alpha’s “Lost Silent Westerns Collection” is worth a viewing for those with a multi-regional DVD player.
