"The Calgary Stampede" (1925) is a magnificent romance/sport/western/drama with Hoot Gibson, Virginia Brown Faire, Pierre Faunce, Jim Corey, Philo McCullough, Ena Gregory, Charles Sellon, Inez Seabury, W. T. McCulley, and others (including a very early Walter Brennan in a crowd scene in a bleacher). Lots of plot, though it boils down to a trope for future "B" Westerns used over and over: man is alone with a father of the girl he loves, a father who doesn't want his daughter to marry the man (here because the father is a Calgary game warden and the man's an Irisher, a cow bum, and named Malloy!), but father is killed and man goes to window with his gun and tries to shoot shooter of man; daughter rushes into the room, finds the father dead, and her love is standing over the father with his gun smoking. What's a man to do? Run, of course. But this man is from Cheyenne and this is Canada. He's there to ride in the Calgary Stampede, a world famous rodeo and horse event and wagon gala race. Next thing you know, the man is the prey of the Mounties.
The IMDb calls this an hour show. The new release on "Early Universal", volume 2, is a beautiful sepia toned print that runs over 100 minutes and is a hoot to watch! Pun intended. Filmed entirely in Calgary, Alta, with a whole host of rodeo scenes from the actual Calgary Stampede - all I can say is that if you love horses, this show is more than a feast. First of all, Hoot Gibson was a champion rodeo rider and, though he's definitely not the typical trim cowboy you think of when you see the likes of Mix or Steele, but actually a tad paunchy, he sits a horse at any speed as though he's part of the horse! He's as good a rider as Bob Steele ever was, maybe as good as Yakima Canutt. Also a genuine treat in this show is the bison range with hundreds and hundreds of the animals. They even stampede in one scene. Magnificently caught on film. Cinematography by Harry Neumann in general is excellent. There are also no prolonged gun battles, only the one gun play, and there's always a dose of humor sprinkled in the mix which is subtle, fun, and not in-your-face.
This won't be for everybody because the rodeo show goes on a long time. It's amazing, though. It also puts the suspense where it belongs. Gibson's being chased by a couple of Mounties who still want him for the murder he didn't commit! But watching Hoot ride the Roman horses in a race is outstanding!!
This new release from Eureka Masters of Cinema from Britain has a fine accompanying score by Chris Tin. Region B, but played when I set my all-region Blu-Ray to 2. Also on the discs are "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1916) and "What Happened to Jones?" (1926). Really pleased with this release. Keep 'em coming, Universal!
