Bells of San Juan
Bells of San Juan is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Scott Dunlap and starring Buck Jones.[2] It was based on the Jackson Gregory novel The Bells of San Juan.[3] It was the first of five films where Claude Payton was cast alongside Jones.[4]
| Bells of San Juan | |
|---|---|
Newspaper advertisement | |
| Directed by | Scott R. Dunlap |
| Written by | Rex Taylor |
| Based on | The Bells of San Juan by Jackson Gregory |
| Produced by | William Fox |
| Starring | Buck Jones |
| Cinematography | Dev Jennings |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 35 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Plot
Buck Jones plays Roderick Norton, a sheriff on a crusade to find and apprehend the man who murdered his father. Unable to restore order in the mining town where he is appointed, he loses favor with the townspeople. The villain, revealed to be Jim Garson (Claude Payton) and his gang make life miserable for Norton, culminating with the abduction of his girlfriend, frontier doctor Dorothy Page (played by Fritzi Brunette), by Garson's henchmen the Rickard brothers, in order to entrap the hero. Roderick is successful in rescuing Dorothy, but in the process he suffers a head injury which changes his personality, turning him into a thief whom his friends are unable to trust. He is brought back to his old self through the medical ministrations of Dorothy, and is able to obtain a confession regarding the murder of his father from the Rickards, allowing the capture and arrest of Garson.[1][2][5]
Reception
Motion Picture News reviewed the film on October 28, 1922. It found the plot entirely predictable, and thought that it was one of Jones' weaker films.[2]
Cast
- Charles "Buck" Jones as Roderick Norton
- Fritzi Brunette as Dorothy Page
- Claude Payton as Jim Garson
- Harry Todd Dr. Caleb Patton
- Hardy Kirkland as John Engel
- Katherine Key as Florrie Engel
- William Steele as Kid Rickland
- Otto Matieson as Antone
- Sid Jordan as Tom Cutter
References
- ^ a b American Film Institute (1971). Munden, Kenneth White (ed.). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Issue 2. University of California Press. p. 50. ISBN 9780520209695.
- ^ a b c Rainey, Buck (1988). The Life and Films of Buck Jones: the Silent Era. Waynesville, North Carolina: The World of Yesterday. p. 130. ISBN 0-936505-07-9.
- ^ Rainey, Buck (1988). The Life and Films of Buck Jones: the Silent Era. Waynesville, North Carolina: The World of Yesterday. p. 41. ISBN 0-936505-07-9.
- ^ Katchmer, George A. (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. p. 297. ISBN 9781476609058.
- ^ Langman, Larry (1992). A Guide to Silent Westerns. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 27. ISBN 9780313278587.