The Iron Mule (1925)

In 1830, a train known as the Iron Mule is loaded with passengers, and starts off on its trip. Along the way, the train faces numerous obstacles and delays. The engineer is prepared for ... See full summary »

Directors:

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Grover Jones

Writer:

Grover Jones

Stars:

Al St. John, George Davis, Glen Cavender

Cast

Credited cast:
Al St. John	...	The Engineer
George Davis
Glen Cavender
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Doris Deane

Storyline

In 1830, a train known as the Iron Mule is loaded with passengers, and starts off on its trip. Along the way, the train faces numerous obstacles and delays. The engineer is prepared for most of them, but the real challenges come when the train is ambushed by Indians.

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Plot Keywords:

train | silent film

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1925 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Reel Comedies Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

13 min 19 min (Blu-ray)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The train used in this movie is the same train that was used in Our Hospitality.

User Reviews

St. John Makes Pretty Good Use of His Leading Role

In this short comedy, Al St. John makes pretty good use of a rare chance to play the lead role. It's also good to see the train from Keaton's "Our Hospitality" get a chance to be used in another 'role'. It was a wonderful prop, and though "The Iron Mule" is not quite up to the standard of Keaton's own features, it's good entertainment in its own right.

The story is simple, with "The Iron Mule" encountering a series of obstacles and disruptions along the way, but some of the gags and gadgets are pretty creative (such as the river crossing segment). It moves at a good pace, and although they could have gotten more mileage out of some of the material, it's entertaining and certainly worth watching.