Bucking Broadway

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I had not previously seen a very early John Ford film, but his directorial tropes are clearly evident here. The plot, though simple, is effective and I was happy to watch it all through (which is not something I could say about the last multiplex film I went to.

Running time in this version is 52:11, and it made me watch 'The Searchers' again to see if I could spot William Steele as he was 40 years after this film!

John Ford (known as Jack Ford until 1923 in his credits), made this one from later on in 1917. The same year as his first film, Straight Shooting (1917). This film is a little bit better, probably because the film takes a different turn away from the western scenario and takes it to a more urban-city environment. A typical story of love, romance, betrayal, scorn and abandonment.

Boy meets girl. Girl leaves guy for New York with rich guy. Girl finds out rich guy is a jerk. The cowboy hero and his buddies race to New York to get her back. Eye-Candy shots of open-prairie and the beautiful west are in the film too, with some gun-slinging and bar brawling that every cowboy loves to see, inter-spliced, in-between.

There is the required Ford "front-door" shot in this, as we see Ford's career moving forward. Too bad the censorship board made him fix a bunch of shots/scenes. Too many low-cut dresses on the ladies and too much fake violence for 1917, I guess. I still think it was a little bit better than Straight Shooting (1917), in design and execution. Ford's early career was fast and cheap, but the greatness is not far off.

7.8 (B- MyGrade) = 8 IMDB

Cheyenne Harry (Harry Carey) is a ranch hand who gets engaged to the owner's daughter Molly. However, she falls for the charms of city dude Thornton and runs off to marry him. When she finds that neither Thornton nor New York City high life to be to her taste, she sends a letter to Harry, who comes to New York and rescues her with some help from the other ranch hands.

A very well done movie, with a nice mix of action, drama and humor, though the beginning is a bit slow.

The French digital restoration is very nice, with scratches and most other damage to the print removed.

The second John Ford film after Straight Shooting (1917) known to survive.

The scenario of "Bucking Broadway" is full of clichés: the Baddie dude lures the girl from the West to go East with him under the proposal of marriage-breaking her prior engagement to the good Western hero. The hero goes East to rescue her. Yet, past the story moviegoers have seen numerous times is some exceptional cinematography for 1917. There's some beautiful photography of the Western landscape, including long vistas, with hilly countryside, misty horizons and lovely compositions. The application of lighting is also quite expert, including nighttime photography and use of low-key lighting for mood. Additionally, there's a mirror shot of Helen reinforcing that she's in a reflective state of mind. And, there are some shots through doorways-a John Ford trademark from the beginning (he also had them in "Straight Shooting" (1917)).

I was taken aback by the photography in this film, despite it being made by would-be great Western filmmaker John Ford, because his earlier 1917 film, "Straight Shooting" was rather static, and this was early in his career-filming cheap Westerns at a then relatively small company. "Bucking Broadway" seems a vast improvement photographically over "Straight Shooting", if my memory serves me correctly. To be fair, "Straight Shooting" appears to have been Ford's first feature, but the advancement within one year is still impressive. "Bucking Broadway" doesn't entirely rely upon long shots, as there are a good number of close-ups. Some moments are dated, such as the aforementioned horse-breaking scene statically filmed from a long-shot stationary camera. If anything else, Ford and his cinematographers may have somewhat overused low-key lighting, such as in dark scenes where the mood is light. Nevertheless, it's a good-looking film, especially when it's set in Wyoming. Nice tinting and a quality print also help.

A couple further remarks: Harry Carrey had a nicely rugged face, which is more evident here than in 'Straight Shooting' and elsewhere. His looks are comparable to the biggest silent-era Western star William S. Hart, and that's probably why they employed Carrey in the genre, with the screen persona of "Cheyenne Harry" (in the "Broncho Billy" tradition of having a consistent character and name).

There are quite a few humorous moments in "Bucking Broadway", including the hasty, farcical brawl. Mostly, they aren't bad here, which is praiseworthy considering how often that isn't the case in comical Westerns. Ford would often inject comedy relief into his films, which is a notable difference from some other early Western filmmakers, like Hart, Thomas H. Ince, or D.W. Griffith. The more important beginning here for John Ford, however, was in beginning to master excellent cinematography.

This is better. Obviously built from the ground up as a feature length film, Bucking Broadway, John Ford's fourth feature length film (and only second surviving), as the sinews of a story that fills its screen time healthfully. It's another simple tale with broadly drawn characters and situations, but it's told with care, energy, and clarity, creating a fun fifty-three minute film.

Harry Carey plays Cheyenne Harry (not the same character from Straight Shooting, presumably, because, you know, movies didn't work like that back then), a ranch hand who has fallen for the boss's daughter, Helen (Molly Malone). He's a hard-working man, and he whittles a small heart for her to keep, only to return to him if she were ever in trouble. In an amusing episode, after having won her heart, both Harry and Helen go to Helen's father (L. M. Wells) to ask for his permission to marry. Harry is so nervous while Ford puts an amusing focus on his feet as he stammers for the right words, eventually winning over her father with his spirit and gumption for taking care of his new bride in the future, including the fact that he built his own house.

Everything seems well until the rich city slicker, Thorton (Vester Pegg), shows up to buy some of the ranch's horses. He's dashing, arrives in a new fangled automobile, and he's good on a horse, too, wrangling the one they all called the "Cowboy Killer". He's handsome, and he pays Helen a lot of attention that she's happy to receive. It gets so much that on the night of her engagement announcement for the whole ranch to Harry, she steals away with Thorton, leaving the rolling hills of Wyoming behind for New York City.

Helen quickly begins to feel remorse at her decision, sending back the heart to Harry with the note saying that she remembers why he gave it to her. Harry isn't going to take this lying down, so he becomes the fish out of water when he buys a train ticket to New York, jumping on the train as it goes from his horse, taking his saddle with him as he jumps, and pushing his way to his seat. When he gets to his hotel, he refuses all help from the bellboy, pushing him out of the way as he flops his saddle onto the nice floor of the hotel lobby, doing everything wrong about signing in like licking the fountain pen and getting a mouthful of ink. He even confuses the radiator for a rattlesnake. Is this high art? No, not really. Is it consistently entertaining? Yes, yes it is.

Harry has come to New York to find his fiancée, but he doesn't know where to start looking. What gets him to Helen, though, isn't the most convincing series of events, but it's told lightly and entertainingly enough. He gets pickpocketed by a male and female pair of crooks, but he makes such an innocent and positive impression on the woman that she can't bear to steal from him, returning his wallet to his pocket without Harry realizing it. He shows her a picture of Helen, and then the criminal duo go off to find other rich people to fleece. At the next party they go to they see Helen and Thorton in a corner. At the same time, all of the other ranch hands have shown up in New York to deliver the horses that Thorton ordered. Quickly, the female pickpocket tells Harry about whom she's seen, Harry has her call the station where the ranch hands have just arrived, and Harry barrels into the party. Thorton has become a complete louse on the drink, becoming violent towards Helen, and Harry is there to save the day. It becomes a giant brawl as the rich young men of New York duke it out first with Harry and then the rest of the ranch hands.

It's organized chaos, and it's immensely amusing.

Bucking Broadway is a simple tale of how country folk are better than city folk told with a wonderful sense of propulsive and almost anarchic energy from John Ford. It's a small gem from his earliest days, and a very fun little movie.