The Headless Horseman

This adaptation of the Washington Irving story is watchable, and it has some good moments, but that's the best you can say about it. It makes you feel as if somewhere it missed the opportunity to be a little better. While it tells the story in a clear and capable fashion, that's about all it does. There is never really a distinctive atmosphere or any sustained tension, and there are only a few brief moments of comic relief, despite ample opportunities for any or all of these.

It seems a bit of a shame to have the thoroughly likable Will Rogers portray a smug and rather petty character like Ichabod Crane. Rogers does a satisfactory job, but he is limited by what the role has to offer. The other characters likewise are believable, and are recognizable from the story, but it needed some atmosphere or creative touches to make the characters and the situation more compelling.

It's probably still worth seeing for silent movie fans. The climactic sequence - which offers material much more cinematic in nature than the rest of the narrative - is done well, and it allows the movie to end with some energy.