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The Tornado (1917)

| Short, Western | 3 March 1917 (USA)
"The Tornado mostly followed pulp Western formula -- bad guys hold up a town, take a girl hostage, and the hero rides to the rescue. But there were a couple of twists that made it seem more... See full synopsis »

Director:

John Ford (as Jack Ford)

Writers:

Grace Cunard (scenario), Grace Cunard (story) | 3 more credits »

Stars:

John Ford, Jean Hathaway, Peter Gerald | See full cast & crew »
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Cast

Cast overview:
John Ford ... Jack Dayton (as Jack Ford)
Jean Hathaway ... Jack's mother
Peter Gerald Peter Gerald ... Pendleton - banker from Rock River (as Pete Gerald)
Elsie Thornton Elsie Thornton ... Bess - Jack's daughter
Duke Worne Duke Worne ... Lesparre - the lead of Cayote gang
John Duffy John Duffy ... Slick - Jack's partner
See full cast »
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Storyline

"The Tornado mostly followed pulp Western formula -- bad guys hold up a town, take a girl hostage, and the hero rides to the rescue. But there were a couple of twists that made it seem more personal than the usual cowboy fare. Ford's Jack Dayton ... is known as "the No-Gun Man" because he faces the villains unarmed, anticipating the character played by James Stewart in George Marshall's 1939 Western comedy classic Destry Rides Again. Dayton is an immigrant who uses the reward money to bring over his mother (Jean Hathaway) from Ireland, a prototypically Fordian situation if there ever was one."

-- quoted from "Searching for John Ford" by Joseph McBride

deliberately padded to meet IMDB's 10 line synopsis minimum rule

Add Full Plot | Plot Synopsis

Genres:

Short | Western

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 1917 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Il tornado See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bison Motion Pictures See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Original length was either two or three reels, depending on the source. See more »

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User Reviews

John Ford's First Film
5 February 2004 | by Single-Black-Male – See all my reviews

At the age of 23, John Ford made his directorial debut in this film which had no dramatic foundation whatsoever. It was groundless, giving as little information as possible and stilted in places. Some scenes were mawkish, but overall there was definite need for improvement.
6 of 18 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
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