The Headless Horseman

Merely adequate retelling of the famous story. Its chief interest lies in the location filming in New York's Hudson River Valley, including the actual Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow. The screenplay introduces a non-Irving subplot of Ichabod Crane being accused of witchcraft in a prank by Brom Bones. None of the comic scenes are particularly funny; one can imagine what Buster Keaton might have done as Ichabod. Some attempts are made at pictorialism, aided by the panchromatic film used here. But the valley's autumnal colors described by Washington Irving are sadly missing in black and white. And the day-for-night scenes of the climactic chase look like pure daylight without the deep blue tinting undoubtedly used in original prints.

Can't think of an awful lot to recommend this picture to any viewers, except that you can see a youthful Will Rogers perform. This being a silent movie, you can't hear his voice or any of his folksy aphorisms. So, we are left with his image and his pantomime ability, and it's not enough to satisfy.

Thanks to the Disney studio, this Washington Irving story has already been brought to life on the silver screen, and to much better effect. The cartoon had some humor, some suspense, some rooting interest, some more definition in the characterizations. The cartoon, in short, was more interesting. (Didn't see the Tim Burton feature).

This picture is about a group of mean-spirited, shabbily-dressed locals unattractively photographed and who seem to wander about without definite purpose. Nothing of great import happens, and day for night is used for the climactic sequence involving Ichabod Crane's confrontation with the Headless Horseman - the opposite of scary. This picture was filmed on the Rockefeller Estate in Pocantico Hils (Tarrytown), N.Y. It still exists today and in comparatively pristine condition as depicted in the movie. This, and the appearance of Rogers, may be the only reasons to watch this dull affair.

This is an early telling of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and runs 71 minutes. Considering that this film starred Will Rogers, I had very high hopes for this silent picture and assumed it would be a comedy. However, I soon noticed that the print was extremely horrible and often difficult to watch. Then I noticed that although Rogers was very talented and funny, in this film he was about as funny as Walter Cronkite. And then I noticed that I kept falling asleep during the film--strike three! The bottom line is that although this is a relatively faithful retelling of the Washington Irving short story, there just isn't any life in it. Plus, given that practically every viewer knows what happens at the end, there isn't any suspense either. It's watchable and interesting to note that they actually filmed it in Upstate New York, but that's really about it.

Sadly, the film is bundled another silent,THE MECHANICAL MAN, on DVD. This Italian film manages to be even less interesting or entertaining that THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN and so I strongly caution all sane people from buying this DVD. Fortunately I got it from Netflix--otherwise, I'd be feeling pretty angry now!

I can't remember seeing a film starring Will Rogers any time in the past. This is a dull, endless version of the famous Washington Irving story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." It follows the plot pretty well, but Rogers seems kind of a well-fed lummox which doesn't really follow the story's description. The townspeople hire him to teach in their school. He is a harsh master, alienating the kids and causing the parents to believe he practices witchcraft. Mostly, the quality of the show is lacking and hard to watch. Even for 1922, it is weak and tiresome. Why Katrina has any interest in him is a bit of a mystery.

Headless Horseman, The (1922)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Pretty poor version of Washington Irving's tale. Will Rogers plays the school teacher who travels to Sleepy Hollow only to discover the mysterious headless horseman. For some reason this film pays more attention to the teacher and his personal affairs rather than the headless horseman and the legend surrounding him. The movie only runs 76-minutes but it feels like a couple of hours. The story is all over the map without too many of anything actually going on. The miscasting of Rogers hurts the film as well, although the special effects and sets are good.