The Man from Painted Post (1917)

In order to find out who's behind a cattle rustling operation that's hurting ranchers, a detective for the Cattleman's Protective Association pretends to be a tenderfoot from back east ... See full summary »

Director:

Joseph Henabery

Writers:

Douglas Fairbanks (scenario), Jackson Gregory (story "Silver Slippers")

Stars:

Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Frank Campeau

Cast

Cast overview:
Douglas Fairbanks	...	'Fancy Jim' Sherwood
Eileen Percy	...	Jane Forbes
Frank Campeau	...	'Bull' Madden
Frank Clark	...	Toby Madden
Herbert Standing	...	Warren Bronson
William Lowery	...	Charles Ross
Rhea Haines	...	Wah-na Madden
Charles Stevens	...	Henchman
Monte Blue	...	Slim Carter

Storyline

In order to find out who's behind a cattle rustling operation that's hurting ranchers, a detective for the Cattleman's Protective Association pretends to be a tenderfoot from back east who's just arrived in the area and doesn't know how to ride, rope or shoot.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

30 September 1917 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fancy Jim Sherwood

Filming Locations:

Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Douglas Fairbanks Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Star Power: The Creation of United Artists (1998)

User Reviews

Fairbanks Westerns

This is a good Douglas Fairbanks Western. Reportedly, Fairbanks was a Western history aficionado, and he made a few Westerns in between his generally more eastern-based comedies of the 1910s and before his transition to swashbucklers in the 1920s. This film "The Man from Painted Post" and "Wild and Woolly" (1917) are the only two I've seen, but he also starred in "The Good Bad Man", "The Half-Breed" (both 1916), "Headin' South" (1918) and "The Knickerbocker Buckaroo" (1919). "Wild and Woolly" is more comedy than western, and it pokes fun at the protagonist's romanticizing of the West; "The Man from Painted Post", however, is a more traditional Western, although it includes some of Doug's characteristic sense of humor and smooth athletic stunts.

Regardless, this film is somewhat darker and more dramatic than the other available early films of Fairbanks—and there's more exposition than usual for this star's vehicles and a few unnecessary long explanatory title cards. At the beginning, we're shown a flashback of our protagonist's sister being gunned down and dying in his arms, which explains his contemporary employment as a "detective" for cattle ranchers—that is, a good hired gunman who fights off cattle rustlers, which just seems to be his way of seeking revenge or justice. Yet, Doug plays much of the film with his typical smile and wit, so the result is a somewhat underdeveloped western dramedy. To complicate matters, there's also a love interest for Doug, as usual. Additionally, 'Bull' Madden, played by Frank Campeau, is appropriately an especially detestable villain, who we see abusing his wife, attempting to force himself onto another woman, and pushing a child around, in addition to drinking, cattle rustling and generally endangering others' lives and well-being.

(Note: I saw a rather poor, dark reduction print/video transfer, which included a few intertitles that were nearly illegible. Consequently, the photography of Wyoming's landscape didn't register very well, although some of the shots, such as the final cloudy horizon view remain lovely.)