''The Man From Montana'' is a 1917 silent black and white film directed by

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...

. It stars

Neal Hart Neal Hart (April 7, 1879 – April 2, 1949) was an American actor and director of the silent era. Biography Hart was born in Staten Island, New York. Before he began working in films, he was a city marshal, cowboy, and stage driver. He wo ...

and

George Berrell George Berrell (December 16, 1849 – April 20, 1933) was an American actor of both the 19th and early 20th century stage and of the silent film era. He appeared in numerous stage plays as well as more than 50 films over the course of a car ...

. It is not known whether the film currently survives, which suggests that it is a

lost film A lost film is a feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...

. The film should not be confused with the 1941 film Man from Montana.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Warren Summers (Peil) and his wife (Lamb) along with their pretty relative Meta Cooper (Rich) go to the town of Green Water to purchase the Bumble Bee mine, which is owned by Duke Fairley (Hart) and Dad Petzel (Berrell). While Duke is out of town Dad sells the mine, receiving worthless stock for it. Duke then heads east to find the swindlers and to see Meta again. Meanwhile, Dad and the boys work an abandoned mine called "The Worm" and strike it rich. Unable to get in touch with Duke, they head east to give him the good news. They end up at the New York docks where they are

shanghaied Shanghaied may refer to: *Shanghaiing, or forced conscription * ''Shanghaied'' (1915 film), a film starring Charlie Chaplin * ''Shanghaied'' (1927 film), a 1927 American silent film * ''Shanghaied'' (1934 film), an animated short film starring Mi ...

. Duke accompanies Meta across the state line so that she can deliver some stocks for Summers, and Duke is then arrested for taking a girl out of state. Returning to New York, Duke marries Meta which angers Summers and his gang. They kidnap Meta and tell Duke to meet them at a certain hour on the docks and bring a large sum of money to exchange for Meta. Duke goes to the docks but is shanghaied and put on the same boat as Dad and the boys. When they recover, they tell each other of their troubles, and then convince the seamen to take them back to shore. Duke arrives in time to rescue Meta from her crafty relatives, which are then turned over to the law.

Cast

as Duke Fairley *

as Dad Petzel * Edward Peil Sr. as Warren Summers * Betty Lamb as Mrs. Summers *

Willard Wayne Willard may refer to: People * Willard (name) Geography Places in the United States * Willard, Colorado * Willard, Georgia * Willard, Kansas * Willard, Kentucky * Willard, Michigan, a small unincorporated community in Beaver Township, Bay C ...

as Allen Spencer *

Vivian Rich Vivian Rich (May 26, 1893 – November 17, 1957) was an American silent film actress. Career Rich was born in Philadelphia and spent her early years there. Later the family moved to Boston and she completed her education at the Boston Latin H ...

as Meta Cooper

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''The Man from Montana'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors required cuts in Reel 1 of the

intertitle In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...

s "We're after men who take girls across the state line" and "Strong, I'm going to force you to make a settlement"; Reel 2, scene of the woman taking money from her sister's purse and two automobile holdup scenes; Reel 3, the intertitles "Ignorant of the fact that Caretown is across the state line" and "Across the state line"; and Reel 5, the letter stating "If you want to see your wife bring $50 to Pier 66", the intertitle "Here's $50 to shanghai him", and the attack on a man, robbing him and carrying him aboard ship, and the closeup of slugging man with fist.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Man From Montana 1917 films Films directed by George Marshall 1917 crime drama films American crime drama films Universal Pictures films American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1917 crime films 1910s American films Silent American drama films