This is one of the last silent films made by MGM. However, despite not being a sound film, it still had a nice budget and looks really nice. The cinematography was very nice and the director had a nice artistic touch--and it makes a plot, which seems a lot like a B-movie, seem better.
The film concerns on the culture-clash that occurs between the newly arriving prospectors during the California Gold Rush and the natives of noble Spanish descent. Tom Keene is a nice-guy cowboy who stumbles into the path of once-wealthy landowner Don Guerrero and his rather haughty daughter (Renée Adorée). As a result of a horse race (in which Keene's horse wins), Guerrero loses his ranch. However, instead of blaming her STUPID father for this, she heaps her disdain on Keene--who really is a swell fella. He's so nice that he even returns the ranch to her--though in the meantime her father has died--presumably due to a broken heart. Can the couple somehow go beyond this incident and somehow make a go of it? Well, what do you think?!
My serious complaint about the film is that they made Adorée's character too petulant. Before he even enters his horse in the race, Adorée has already taken a dislike towards Keene even though he hadn't done anything. This makes her less attractive for the audience and also makes you wonder why Keene is so smitten by her! But, despite this, the film is well made, interesting and one of the better silent westerns I have seen.
The film concerns on the culture-clash that occurs between the newly arriving prospectors during the California Gold Rush and the natives of noble Spanish descent. Tom Keene is a nice-guy cowboy who stumbles into the path of once-wealthy landowner Don Guerrero and his rather haughty daughter (Renée Adorée). As a result of a horse race (in which Keene's horse wins), Guerrero loses his ranch. However, instead of blaming her STUPID father for this, she heaps her disdain on Keene--who really is a swell fella. He's so nice that he even returns the ranch to her--though in the meantime her father has died--presumably due to a broken heart. Can the couple somehow go beyond this incident and somehow make a go of it? Well, what do you think?!
My serious complaint about the film is that they made Adorée's character too petulant. Before he even enters his horse in the race, Adorée has already taken a dislike towards Keene even though he hadn't done anything. This makes her less attractive for the audience and also makes you wonder why Keene is so smitten by her! But, despite this, the film is well made, interesting and one of the better silent westerns I have seen.