Silent Western
see all genres ›No genre was more natural for the movies, or for American viewers (as well as fascinated foreign ones), than the Western, with its scenic wide-open spaces, elemental white hat/black hat conflicts and rootin'-tootin' action.
Watch Silent Western Films
Genres / Silent / Silent Western
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The Great Train Robbery
More than a crucial historical artifact, THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY reveals the foundation from which the styles and stories of the contemporary cinema would later arise. Known for using such innovative filming techniques such as double exposure, cross-cutting and camera...Watch Movie
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Two Gun Gussie
When Sheriff Whooping-Cough Charlie mistakes Harold Lloyd's hapless piano player for a gunslinger, Lloyd learns that being a tough dude is all an act. That is, until he runs into the real thing at the bar! The place goes to pieces, but there's time for a kiss before this wild one-reeler is through.Watch Movie
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The Massacre
Controversial (to some) "father of cinema" D.W. Griffith tackles cowboy-and-indian territory with THE MASSACRE. What could initially be interpreted as an anti-Native American portrayal becomes a sympathetic tale of familial sorrow and the extent to which retribution can be unbalanced.Watch Movie
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The Battle at Elderbush Gulch
Lillian Gish stars as a young wife-with-child, traveling by stagecoach, in this legendary D.W. Griffith short. When her group is attacked by Native Americans, things go from bad to worse as puppies go missing, children get kidnapped and the calvary comes to the rescue.Watch Movie
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With Sitting Bull at the Spirit Lake Massacre
A long-thought-lost film finally surfaces after being unseen for over eight decades. Created and copyrighted by Sunset Productions in 1925 but not released until June 15, 1927, this silent epic features the superior Native American actor Chief Yowlachie (performing here under...Watch Movie
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The Old Oregon Trail
This independent silent western, shot on location in Northern Oregon, begins with late 19th century settlers moving westward. When roving horse thieves attack their wagon train, the settlers are miraculously saved by a passing trio of happy-go-lucky cowpokes (including the...Watch Movie
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The House of Cards
THE HOUSE OF CARDS is designed to culminate in a confrontation between a sheriff ("Rattlesnake Jim") and a man who has gambled away someone else's money. Both love the same woman and they stage a duel where the victor will be determined by a rattlesnake. The movie critic for...Watch Movie
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The Last Drop of Water
Water! Water! As settlers venture west, they run dry. One of the group breaks away and desperately attempts to find a river or a stream. In this tense D.W. Griffith short, it might already be too late. A nail-biter from the beginning until the thrilling conclusion.Watch Movie
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Sand
William Surrey Hart was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. A successful Shakespearian actor on Broadway who had worked with Margaret Mather and other stars, William S. Hart went on to become one of the first great stars of the motion picture western. SAND was...Watch Movie
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The King of the Wild Horses
Not your typical western, this film features Black, a powerful and cunning, wild stallion who is the leader of a herd. Horse rancher, John Fielding is the father of two grown children. A son, Boyd, who is not very bright, and a daughter, Mary, who cowboy Billy Blair is smitten...Watch Movie
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$50,000 Reward
$50,000 REWARD was one of the first starring features for Ken Maynard, a circus and rodeo trick rider who fast became a hugely popular star of early westerns. He plays cowpuncher Tex Sherwood, riding up from the Lone Star State on his faithful steed (billed as "Tarzan, Ken Maynard's Pal") to the...Watch Movie
