3 Bad Men | 1926 | Western

Title: 3 Bad Men | 1926 | Western. Director: John Ford. Studio: Fox Film Corporation. Starring: George O’Brien, Olive Borden, Lou Tellegen, Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald, Frank Campeau. Based on: Over the Border by Herman Whitaker. Release Date: August 28, 1926. Runtime: 92 minutes. Format: Silent; Black-and-white; 9 reels ; English intertitles. Country: United States. Language: Silent . Genres: Western; Romance; Drama. --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Gold rush and the outlaws 00:18:00 Caravan attack and Lee’s loss 00:35:00 The three become guardians 00:54:00 Land rush and rising stakes 01:12:00 Showdown with Sheriff Hunter 01:28:00 Farewell and new beginnings --- Summary: In the Dakota Territory during a gold-fueled land rush, three outlaws—“Bull” Stanley, Mike Costigan, and “Spade” Allen—save pioneer Lee Carleton after her father is killed, and pledge to protect her as the corrupt Sheriff Layne Hunter schemes to seize the best claims. Lee’s path crosses with Dan O’Malley, a singing cowboy, and a romance develops amid frontier turmoil. As the settlers race for land and Hunter’s men close in, the three “bad men” confront their own codes of loyalty and sacrifice, making a final stand to secure Lee and Dan’s future. Themes of redemption, community, and the moral complexities of the frontier run through the narrative. --- Background: Fox Film Corporation produced and distributed the picture, adapted from Herman Whitaker’s 1917 novel Over the Border. John Ford staged large-scale location work in the Mojave Desert near Victorville, California, and around Jackson Hole, Wyoming; production stretched across 1925–1926, and reports noted paratyphoid illnesses among actresses Olive Borden, Priscilla Bonner, and Grace Gordon during filming. The film opened August 28, 1926, and would later be remade by Fox as the 1931 sound feature Not Exactly Gentlemen. --- Trivia: The onscreen title card reads “3 Bad Men,” but many contemporary sources reviewed it as “Three Bad Men.” AFI notes the credits misspelled the novelist’s surname as “Whittaker.” Fox filed the original copyright on August 22, 1926, as LP23044. Shooting locations included the Mojave Desert near Victorville and Wyoming’s Jackson Hole; a Los Angeles Times item cited work on the Teton Ranch. Fox remade the story as Not Exactly Gentlemen , directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starring Victor McLaglen and Fay Wray. Complete prints are preserved at major archives including the Library of Congress, MoMA, BFI, and others. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: August 28, 1926. Original Studio / Distributor: Fox Film Corporation. Copyright Status: Public Domain. Renewal: Unknown. --- Hashtags: 3BadMen JohnFord SilentFilm Western OliveBorden GeorgeOBrien FoxFilm PublicDomain ClassicCinema 1926 Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3_Bad_Men_(1926).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/3_Bad_Men_%281926%29.webm