THE IRON HORSE (1924):
Brandon, a surveyor, dreams of building a railway to the west, but Marsh, a contractor, is sceptical. Abraham Lincoln looks on as their children, Davy Brandon and Miriam Marsh, play together. Brandon sets off with Davy to survey a route. They discover a new pass which will shave 200 miles off the expected distance, but they are set upon by a party of Cheyenne. One of them, a white renegade with only two fingers on his right hand, kills Brandon and scalps him. Davy buries his father... Years pass. It is 1862, and Lincoln signs the bill authorizing construction of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railways. Marsh is principal contractor and Miriam is engaged to Jesson, the chief engineer... Crews of Chinese, Italians, and Irish work to build the railway while resisting Indian attacks. When the pay train is delayed by an Indian ambush, the Italians go on strike. Miriam persuades them to return to work... Marsh needs to find a shortcut through the Black Hills. To finish on time, he needs to shorten the route by 200 miles. Bauman, the biggest land owner, wants the route to stay the same - through his land. Marsh has entrusted Jesson with finding the new route. Bauman has Ruby, a saloon girl, persuade Jesson to do otherwise... Davy, now a pony express rider, recalls his father's discovery. He sets off to find the pass.
DVD-R has English intertitles with no subtitles. Approx. 149 mins. See film sample for audio and video quality!
THE NUT (1921):
Charlie loves Estrell, who has a theory that if the rich would take a number of poor children into their homes each day, the environment in the homes would cause children to grow up properly and become good citizens. Charley, in an attempt to impress his nutty girlfriend, organizes a party to convince rich people to participate in this scheme, but it unsurprisingly turns into a fiasco. Charlie ends up spending the night at a police station and meets a crook, who pretends to be a member of the very influential Vanderbrook family. To regain Estrell's favor --- and to prove he's as batty as she is --- Charlie, without bothering to ask why a Vanderbilt is sitting in a common prison, arranges a meeting with him and other phonies, who are all burglars and gamblers. Can't wait to see the "Happy Ending" in this one!
DVD-R has English intertitles with no subtitles. Approx. 74 mins. See film sample for audio and video quality!