A silent Western where your crush might be your secret brother—or worse, not your brother at all.
Railroad president, John Houston, along with his daughter Marjorie and his fiancee, Elinor Craig, are aboard the express train when it is held up by a gang of outlaws. Outlaw Dan Tracy, is attracted to Marjorie, who, filled with dreams of romance, returns his interest. They exchange rings and later meet secretly in the city. When Houston learns that his daughter's new suitor is an outlaw, he hires a detective to investigate. The investigation indicates that Tracy is Houston's son by a former marriage, and Houston, mortified, allows the outlaw to escape. Tracy then persuades Marjorie to elope with him and takes her to his shack in the hills where she is rudely awakened to the realities of outlaw life. Houston arrives to save his daughter, and after Tracy is killed by Rosanne, the woman he betrayed, it is revealed that Tracy was not his son but an offspring of his former wife and an outlaw. A lost film.
Direction
Tod Browning's twisted sensibility already emerging.
Acting
Colleen Moore's star-making turn as the romantic dreamer.
Director
Tod Browning
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This is a LOST FILM—no complete prints survive, only fragments and stills. Everything we know comes from contemporary trade reviews and plot summaries.
Colleen Moore became one of the biggest stars of the 1920s, partially launched by this role. The film's success helped establish the 'flapper' archetype she would perfect.
US
