The Headless Horseman

I always liked the Disney version of this story and since I like Will Rogers and I find it fascinating to see silent versions of more modern films I like, I made my way into the screening room at Cinevent 2012.

Our star, Will Rogers, is best known for his wit, which cannot be on display here because it is a silent. Strike one. The buildup to the reason to watch the movie, the headless horseman, was so long and dull, that I found myself nodding off several times, as were many of the people around me. Strike two. The climax came much too late and suddenly to justify watching this movie. Strike three.

The runtime on this movie is a little more than an hour, but it feels like triple that. It is painful to watch.

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.

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.

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.

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!