Released August 25, 1926
Produced by Morris R. Schlank Productions
Directed by J. P. McGowan
Cast: Al Hoxie, Marjorie (Nayone) Warfield, Lew Meehan, Ed Barry, J. P. McGowan, Francis Kellogg, Walter Patterson, and Len Sewards.
This is a typical western melodrama Saturday matinee feature for the youngsters. Old man Custer, a rancher, has been having more than his share of problems that have been compounded by a dry spell that has diminished his small herd of cattle. Custer's weak-willed son, Eddie, is under the influence of Dick Willis, a card sharp who is known as "Ace High."
Eddie is a constant loser in his card games with crooked Willis, and, to further complicate matters, Willis, a nasty fellow, is lusting after Eddie's pretty sister, Edith. When all seems lost, can Buck Marsden, the solid, two-fisted hero who is disliked by Old Man Custer, save the day?
Although he never became the big star that his brother Jack Hoxie did, Al Hoxie, nevertheless, was quite popular for a brief period of time. He was born on ranch near the Nez Perce Indian Reservatoin in Oklahoma in 1901. It was brother Jack who got him into the movies. He started out as a stuntman and even played some "heavies" until 1925 when Francis Ford got him roles in low budget westerns produced by Rayart Pictures. His fame was minimal, but he did have a loyal following usually in the rural areas and smaller movie houses. He starred in 28 silent westerns. After his career in acting came to an end, he reportedly held various jobs including deputy constable, street car conductor, forest ranger and hospital employee. In later years, he appeared at film festivals and was inducted into the California Stuntman's Hall of Fame. He was married three times and left four children when he died at age 80 in 1982.
John P. McGowan (1880-1952), scenarist, stage and screen actor,
producer, director and editor of his films was an incredible man
to say the least. Born in South Australia, he was a cadet on a
sailing ship and served with the Australian Army during the Boer
War. His theatrical career began at the St. Louis World's Fair
in 1904. At the World's Fair he exhibited a group of African natives,
and his appearance there brought him an invitation from the Patterson,
New Jersey, police force to train horses for police work.
Eventually, in 1909, he applied to the Kalem Company and was accepted.
The first picture he worked in was a cowboy picture in which
Alice Joyce made her first screen appearance. A movie-jack-of-all-trades,
he directed Helen Holmes in "The Hazards Of Helen" in
1915. Leaving Kalem that same year, he directed Fannie Ward in
"Blackbirds," her first picture for the Lasky Studios.
Leaving Lasky, he went briefly to Universal and soon after left
to form his own company, Signal Corporation in which he was director-general.
He directed, produced and occasionally acted in westerns, serials
and railroad pictures for many of the large and small film companies
during the silent era. A few of the companies were his own Signal
Corporation, Signal-Mutual, Universal, Ascher, American Films,
Playgoers Pictures, American Releasing Corporation, Associated
Exhibitors, Independent Pictures, Bud Barsky Corporation, and
Rayart Pictures. In 1926 he directed 23 films, one of which was
"Red Blood" for the Morris R. Schlank Productions.
Sources:
Eighty Silent Film Stars by George A. Katchmer
The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films, 1921-1930
copyright 2003 by John DeBartolo. All rights reserved.