Film Review: The Iron Horse (1924)

The Covered Wagon, 1923 silent epic produced by Paramount Pictures, is one of the most important films in the history of western as a genre. It not only proved that westerns can be epic and that they can bring epic profits to Hollywood studios, it also indirectly led to one of the greatest film makers of 20th Century being associated with the genre. That film maker was young director John Ford, whom William Fox, rival Hollywood mogul, hired to make his studio’s response to The Covered Wagon. That film was 1924 silent epic The Iron Horse.

The plot is dedicated to one of the most important events in the history of Old West and USA in general – building of Transcontinental Railroad that connected West and East Coast. The plot begins before US Civil War in Springfield, Illinois, when such railroad is just a dream for enterprising pioneer David Brandon Sr. (played by James Gordon). He wants to go to the untamed western wilderness to survey the best route, despite scepticism by his neighbour Thomas Marsh (played by Will Walling). His other neighbour Abraham Lincoln (played by Charles Edward Bull) is much more encouraging and gives farewell to Brandon and his young son David Jr. (played by Winston Miller). The journey ends tragically when Brandon gets attacked by band of Cheyennes which includes mysterious white man with two fingers (played by Fred Kohler) who murders and scalps Brandon while his son hides in the bushes. Years later Lincoln is US President and signs bill authorising construction of Transcontinetal Railroad despite sceptics who doubt such ambitious project during ongoing Civil War. After the war ends construction starts with two companies starting from two points – Central Pacific from California and Union Pacific from the Nebraska. Now adult David Jr. (played by George O’Brien) works as Pony Express courier meets Marsh, who is one of the managers of Union Pacific. He volunteers to serve as surveyor and find the right pass that would drastically shorten the route. He also wants to win favour Marsh’s daughter and David’s childhood sweetheart Miriam (played by Madge Bellamy) who is, unfortunately, engaged to Marsh’s chief engineer Peter Jesson (played by Cyril Chadwick). Shortening of the route doesn’t sit well with Deroux, ruthless businessman who had bought land on the longer route and who also happens to be the same man who killed David’s father. He enlists Ruby (played by Gladys Hulette), working camp prostitute, to seduce Jesson and talks him into murdering David Jr. during his survey. When this plan fails, Deroux manipulates Cheyennes into attacking railroad and its workers.

The most important aspect of The Iron Horse is its providing the authentic reconstruction of the historical event, which, in absence of documentary film crews during 1860s, represents next best thing. Ford had shot the film mostly on locations in Arizona while hiring thousands of extras and members of the crew, engaging in construction project that at times looked as impressive as the construction of the railroad tracks. That included not only laying of tracks or driving thousands of cattle necessary to feed the workers, but also actual building and dismantling of whole towns with thousands of people that moved just as the railroad moved. Ford worked very hard to make the film look as authentic as possible, and the scene showing famous ceremony when two trains met each other at Promontory Summit in 1869 includes replicas of locomotives.

Unfortunately, this impressive reconstruction of history comes in episodes that are rather loosely connected by weak melodramatic plot that contains silent cinema cliches about revenge, false identities and romantic rivalry. Realism is compromised with over-theatrical acting characteristic of the era. This includes even the former boxer George O’Brien as the protagonist, although he would later acquit himself as character actor and member of John Ford’s “stock company” in his later films. Francis Powers, J. Farrell McDonald and Jim Welch - actors playing semi-comical supporting roles of elderly Civil War veterans working on the railroad – leave much better impression than those playing main characters, and same thing can be said of James A. Marcus as colourful self-appointed Judge Haller. Ford shows obvious talent for utilising supporting cast that would serve him well in his westerns, just as he shows steady hand during complicated and demanding action scenes.

Like many 1920s Hollywood silent films, The Iron Horse was drenched in patriotism, best embodied in presence of Lincoln, character which was actually not needed in the story, but who serves as powerful icon of American national myths. While some of today’s “woke” scholars and commentators would probably disregard Ford’s film as chauvinistic and racist, it actually shows content quite progressive not only for its age, but for today. In the scene near the end women actually volunteer to fight Indians together with men. Unlike many standards westerns, protagonists attacked by Indians get rescued not by US Cavalry, but friendly Indians. Most importantly, The Iron explicitly acknowledges that the country was built on the blood and sweat of immigrants that include Irish and Italians. Ford, who came from the Irish immigrants’ family himself, even portrayed Chinese immigrants and their contributions, with some of them, now in their 70ies or older, actually playing themselves. Because of that, The Iron Horse was big success at the box office, paving the way for Hollywood to make other westerns of the same scale. As such, it represent not only important depiction of US history, but also an important piece of American cinema history itself.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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