''Spook Ranch'' is a 1925 American silent

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Edward Laemmle (Carl Laemmle's nephew) and starring

Hoot Gibson Edmund Richard "Hoot" Gibson (August 6, 1892 – August 23, 1962) was an American rodeo champion, film actor, film director, and producer. While acting and stunt work began as a sideline to Gibson's focus on rodeo, he successfully transitioned ...

. It was produced and distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. The film featured white actor Ed Cowles in

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

playing Hoot Gibson's black sidekick, George Washington Black. Universal Pictures founder

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle ; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a German-American film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the ...

persuaded his nephew Edward to enter the family business in 1915, after which he specialized mostly in directing westerns. Actress Helen Ferguson retired from acting in 1930 and became a Hollywood publicist. Hoot Gibson enjoyed a sensational career as a major Western star in the 1920s and early 1930s, but wound up dying penniless in 1962, from cancer.

Plot

In a small mining town in the West, the sheriff orders a cowboy named Bill Bangs (Hoot Gibson) and his Negro sidekick to investigate a haunted ranch. They discover that the ranch is not haunted, but rather is inhabited by a gang of criminals who have kidnapped the ranch owner's daughter to ransom her for her father's gold. The cowboy defeats the gang and winds up with the girl.

Cast

as Bill Bangs *

Jules Cowles Jules Cowles (October 18, 1877 – May 22, 1943) was an American film actor.Munden p.193 He was also billed as J. D. Cowles and Julius D. Cowles. Biography Born in Farmington, Connecticut, Cowles attended Yale University and was a writer in addit ...

(credited as Ed Cowles) as George Washington Black * Tote Du Crow as Navarro *

Helen Ferguson Helen Ferguson (July 23, 1901 – March 14, 1977) was an American actress later turned publicist. Biography Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1901, Ferguson graduated from Nicholas High School of Chicago and the Academy of Fine Arts. Ferguson was ...

as Elvira * Robert McKim as Don Ramies, chief villain * Frank Rice as the Sheriff * Dick Sutherland (uncredited)

Preservation status

This film is preserved in the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

and

Filmoteca de Catalunya The Filmoteca de Catalunya is a film archive located in Catalunya, Spain, aiming at the preservation of film and the dissemination of audiovisual and film culture. The head office and public rooms (cinemas, exhibition rooms, library) are located ...

, Barcelona.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''Spook Ranch''
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spook Ranch 1925 films Universal Pictures films 1925 Western (genre) films Films directed by Edward Laemmle Films set in mining communities American black-and-white films Silent American Western (genre) films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films English-language Western (genre) films