This is a basic two-reel western for William S. Hart, where his formula and craft were refined after the production of his two initial features "The Bargain" (1914) and "On the Night Stage" (1915). Perhaps the screen's first cowboy star, 'Broncho Billy' Anderson provided the prototype of the good badman, but Hart clearly expands upon that initial conception, with the aid of better production values and a tendency for closer viewpoints at Inceville, as well as Hart's superior screen presence and theatrical training. In "Knight of the Trail", Hart plays a good badman, a bandit whose regeneration is spurred by his engagement to a good woman. There's a chase, where, of course, Hart knows a short cut.
In this particular short, I liked the near match cut from Hart tearing down a wanted sign from a tree to a scene in a saloon of another of the wanted signs being posted. There are also a couple strange letters in this one: Hart writes the sheriff a letter explaining that he's quit being a bandit and is returning what he's stolen, and the real baddie of the picture (supposedly played by would-be-director Frank Borzage, although I couldn't tell) inexplicably leaves a note admitting that he's stolen money and is leaving town. He engages the woman after she leaves Hart, steals her life savings, but waits until their wedding day (when they'll be anxious to know his whereabouts immediately) to flea town--he tops off his stupidity by explaining his plan in a letter he purposefully leaves to be found. How could Hart not save the day? Regardless, it's a quick paced short with action.
In this particular short, I liked the near match cut from Hart tearing down a wanted sign from a tree to a scene in a saloon of another of the wanted signs being posted. There are also a couple strange letters in this one: Hart writes the sheriff a letter explaining that he's quit being a bandit and is returning what he's stolen, and the real baddie of the picture (supposedly played by would-be-director Frank Borzage, although I couldn't tell) inexplicably leaves a note admitting that he's stolen money and is leaving town. He engages the woman after she leaves Hart, steals her life savings, but waits until their wedding day (when they'll be anxious to know his whereabouts immediately) to flea town--he tops off his stupidity by explaining his plan in a letter he purposefully leaves to be found. How could Hart not save the day? Regardless, it's a quick paced short with action.