This particular poverty row film intrigued me when I saw that the star produced it as well as starring in it for a fly by night outfit called Mercury Pictures. Richard Talmadge apparently had that title before Orson Welles decided to use that as the title of his theatrical troupe. He was way ahead of his time before some really big star names got into the producing end.
I've certainly seen worst films from the B studios and this one has Talmadge as an ex-convict who comes to a rural area of northern California intending to do some bank robbing. But instead he falls in with Dorothy Burgess and her younger brother and sister Bobby Nelson and Jena Hall who are being victimized by a large timber company that wants to denude her area of trees. Their father died fighting them and the kids are carrying on the fight.
Reading about Talmadge's background I note that he was a circus acrobat and stuntman doubling for among other people Douglas Fairbanks when Doug was too old to do his athletic thing. The film is designed to show off the star's athleticism much like Burt Lancaster later on. Pity Talmadge wasn't half as good an actor.
If Talmadge were doing his thing today he would make his film and then show it on line much as I found it in order to write this review. I'm sure the copyright has expired and this film is in public domain. It's not bad, I've seen far worse and from major studios also.
I've certainly seen worst films from the B studios and this one has Talmadge as an ex-convict who comes to a rural area of northern California intending to do some bank robbing. But instead he falls in with Dorothy Burgess and her younger brother and sister Bobby Nelson and Jena Hall who are being victimized by a large timber company that wants to denude her area of trees. Their father died fighting them and the kids are carrying on the fight.
Reading about Talmadge's background I note that he was a circus acrobat and stuntman doubling for among other people Douglas Fairbanks when Doug was too old to do his athletic thing. The film is designed to show off the star's athleticism much like Burt Lancaster later on. Pity Talmadge wasn't half as good an actor.
If Talmadge were doing his thing today he would make his film and then show it on line much as I found it in order to write this review. I'm sure the copyright has expired and this film is in public domain. It's not bad, I've seen far worse and from major studios also.
