A 10-minute silent Western where friendship dies, fists fly, and gold fixes everything? 1913 was WILD.
Young Cal Jim had often called upon Betty but never found the courage to propose. His pal, Mark Halworthy did, however, and Betty accepted. Disappointed, Cal asked and received a grubstake from Mark and went away into the hills to seek gold and heart balm. Two years later Mark took to gambling. He neglected Betty and, one day, intoxicated, struck her.
Acting
Wallace Reid directs himself brooding magnificently in 10 minutes flat.
Direction
Reid packs a love triangle, gambling addiction, and gold rush into one reel.
Director
Wallace Reid
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Wallace Reid was Universal's biggest star by 1913; this was one of dozens of one-reelers he cranked out that year.
The 'grubstake' plot — funding a rival's departure — reflects Progressive Era anxiety about class mobility through luck rather than labor.
US
