Riders of the Purple Sage (Silent)

Crooked lawyer Lew Walters is infatuated with married housewife Milly Erne, despite her dedication to fidelity. When Walters' corruption is exposed, he is forced to leave town, but not without taking Milly and her young daughter with him against their will. Milly's brother, Texas Ranger Jim Lassiter, swears to find Milly and bring her home. Years later, Jim is trailing a gang of mysterious rustlers terrorizing a ranch in Cottonwood, Arizona. He captures and unmasks their leader, only to find she is his long-lost niece - now grown into a beautiful young woman. Learning from her that Milly died long ago and Walters is now installed as a judge in Cottonwood, Jim vows to bring the man responsible for his sister's death to justice - even if it turns the entire town against him.

Tom Mix (1880-1940) was the undisputed "King of the Cowboys" during the early silent era of Western films. Born in Pennsylvania, Tom headed west early on, mastering horsemanship and serving as Sheriff-Marshal in Dewey, Oklahoma by 1904. He also performed in Wild West shows until he got his first movie job with the Selig Polyscope Company in 1910. After signing with Fox Film in 1917, his fame skyrocketed, eclipsing other stars such as Hoot Gibson and William S. Hart. Riders of the Purple Sage was one of his most popular features at Fox, and had previously been filmed by the studio in 1918 (that version was sadly lost in the 1937 Fox vault fire.) A pre-Charlie Chan Warner Oland plays the film's heavy, Lew Walters. Child actress Dawn O'Day would grow into the stunning Anne Shirley, best known for Stella Dallas (1937) and Murder, My Sweet (1944). Many sources cite Gary Cooper as having an uncredited bit as one of the riders in the film. Tragically, director Lynn Reynolds killed himself in 1927 after a heated squabble with his wife, actress Kathleen O'Connor, over infidelity. He was 37 years old.