3 Bad Men (1926)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Herman Whitaker (novel)
John Stone (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

28 August 1926 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Western

Plot:

Three outlaws come to the aid of a young girl after her father is killed.

Plot Keywords:

Outlaw | Male Female Relationship | Horse Thief | Chase | Revenge

Cast

George O'Brien	...	Dan O'Malley
Olive Borden	...	Lee Carlton
Lou Tellegen	...	Sheriff Layne Hunter
Tom Santschi	...	'Bull' Stanley
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Mike Costigan
Frank Campeau	...	'Spade' Allen
Priscilla Bonner	...	Millie Stanley
Otis Harlan	...	Editor Zach Little
Phyllis Haver	...	Lily (prairie beauty)
Georgie Harris	...	Joe Minsk
Alec B. Francis	...	Rev. Calvin Benson (as Alec Francis)
Jay Hunt	...	Nat Lucas (old prospector)

Also Known As:

Three Bad Men (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

92 min | Spain:95 min | USA:122 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Spain:T | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

Quotes:

Dan O'Malley: Am I seein' things - or is them million wagons on the square?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Omnibus: John Ford: Part One" (1992)

Three Golden and Warm-Hearted Men

In 1876, an old man finds gold in the Sioux lands, provoking a gold and land rush from immigrants to Dakota. On the way to Custer, the lonely cowboy Dan O'Malley (George O'Brien) helps to fix the wheel of Mr. Carlton's wagon and flirts with his daughter Lee Carlton (Olive Borden). Later, Lee and her father are attacked by horse thieves and Mr. Carlton is murdered; however, the outlaws "Bull" Stanley (Tom Santschi), Mike Costigan (J. Farrell MacDonald) and "Spade" Allen (Frank Campeau) save her from the criminals and head with her to the camp where the pioneers are waiting for President Grant proclamation to explore the lands. In the site, the corrupt Sheriff Layne Hunter (Lou Tellegen) rules with his henchmen with horror and injustice. The trio of outlaws decides that Lee needs to get married and select Dan to be her husband. When Bull's sister Millie Stanley (Priscilla Bonner) is murdered by Hunter's right arm Nat Lucas (Jay Hunt), "Bull" organizes the men to chase Hunter. But it is 1877 and the gold and land race of wagons is ready to start.

The melodramatic "3 Bad Men" is a delightfully naive silent western of the director John Ford. The cinematography is amazing, and the big land and gold race of wagons is fantastic for a 1926 silent movie, and comparable to the 1992 Ron Howard's "Far and Away" that uses modern cameras and equipment. The acting is top-notch, and the actors and actresses are able to transmit intense feelings using body and expressions only, despite the exaggerated acting in the death of the villain Hunter. There are funny moments, and I liked when Mike and Spade evaluate a dandy to marry Lee; or when Dan plays a romantic song in his harmonica for Lee; or the dialogs of Mike and Spade. The sequence with the baby is visibly inspired in Sergei M. Eisenstein's "The Battleship Potemkin" from 1925. The conclusion is corny and moralist, but absolutely inside the context of the moral and ethical values of the society in 1926. Last but not the least; the title is not accurate since the three "bad men" are actually three golden and warm-hearted men. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "3 Homens Ruins" ("3 Bad Men")