The Iron Horse (1924)

Springfield, Illinois. Brandon, a surveyor, dreams of building a railway to the west, but Marsh, a contractor, is sceptical. Abraham Lincoln looks on as their children, Davy Brandon and ... See full summary »

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Charles Kenyon (story), John Russell (story),

Stars:

George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy, Charles Edward Bull

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George O'Brien	...	Dave Brandon
Madge Bellamy	...	Miriam Marsh
Charles Edward Bull	...	Lincoln
Cyril Chadwick	...	Jesson
Will Walling	...	Thomas Marsh
Francis Powers	...	Sergeant Slattery
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Corporal Casey (as J. Farrell Macdonald)
Jim Welch	...	Private Mackay (as James Welch)
George Waggner	...	Buffalo Bill (as George Wagner)
Fred Kohler	...	Bauman
James A. Marcus	...	Judge Haller (as James Marcus)
Gladys Hulette	...	Ruby

Storyline

Springfield, Illinois. Brandon, a surveyor, dreams of building a railway to the west, but Marsh, a contractor, is sceptical. Abraham Lincoln looks on as their children, Davy Brandon and Miriam Marsh, play together. Brandon sets off with Davy to survey a route. They discover a new pass which will shave 200 miles off the expected distance, but they are set upon by a party of Cheyenne. One of them, a white renegade with only two fingers on his right hand, kills Brandon and scalps him. Davy buries his father... Years pass. It is 1862 and Lincoln signs the bill authorizing construction of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railways. Marsh is principal contractor and Miriam is engaged to Jesson, the chief engineer... Crews of Chinese, Italians, and Irish work to build the railway while resisting Indian attack. When the pay train is delayed by Indian ambush, the Italians go on strike. Miriam persuades them to return to work... Marsh needs to find a shortcut through the Black Hills. To ...

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Plot Keywords:

railway | springfield illinois | train | native american | street shootout | 

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Taglines:

A Romance of the East And West

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1925 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Iron Trail

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min 133 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the opening night film for the 15th San Francisco Silent Film Festival in 2010.

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Goofs

The Union Pacific steam engine at the Golden Spike ceremony was the UP119, not the UP116.

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Connections

Featured in Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs (2000)

User Reviews

Linking east to west:the accomplishment of a dream.

This film has unforgettable scenes, like: 1)Abraham Lincoln meeting Miriam many years later, you suddenly realize that he was the man that was looking at her playing with her boyfriend many years before. 2)the cruel hunting of the buffaloes. 3) the towns that would emerge near the railroad track, with their typical characters, saloons, etc 4) the fact that the two real locomotives that actually met are brought again in the film for the scene of the meeting. However this film has been hurt by the lack of sound more than other westerns like "The Covered Wagon" and "Tumbleweeds". These two films had long scenes that required no talking, whereas a film that shows a railroad being built needs more interpretation.