Wild Horse Mesa | 1925 | Silent Western

Title: Wild Horse Mesa | 1925 | Silent Western Director: George B. Seitz Studio: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation Starring: Jack Holt, Noah Beery Sr., Billie Dove, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Based on: Novel “Wild Horse Mesa” by Zane Grey Release Date: September 14, 1925 Runtime: 95 minutes Format: Silent; black-and-white; 35mm; 1.33:1; 8 reels Country: United States Language: Silent Genres: Western --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Arrival at the Melberne camp 00:15:30 Barbed-wire scheme proposed 00:34:00 Romance and rivalry 00:56:30 Warning and rising tensions 01:15:00 Stampede toward the wire 01:31:00 Aftermath on the mesa --- Summary: A ranch outfit on Wild Horse Mesa plans to capture a free-running herd by driving it into a hidden barbed‑wire trap. Trail rider Chane Weymer opposes the scheme, warning it will maim and kill the animals. His growing bond with Sue Melberne deepens the rift with men determined to profit at any cost. As rivalries intensify, Chane risks himself to turn the stampede away and save the herd, forcing a moral reckoning among the would‑be trappers. Themes of frontier ethics, romance, and the conflict between exploitation and stewardship run through the story. --- Background: Produced by Famous Players‑Lasky for Paramount release, Wild Horse Mesa adapts Zane Grey’s novel first serialized in The Country Gentleman in 1924. Filmed on location in Arizona, including the Grand Canyon area, the picture was directed by George B. Seitz with cinematography by Bert Glennon. Its popularity led to later remakes by Paramount in 1932 and RKO in 1947. --- Trivia: Douglas Fairbanks Jr. appears in an early role as Chess Weymer. Uncredited bit players reported in contemporary sources include Gary Cooper, Eugene Pallette, and Tom Tyler. The feature ran eight reels , typical for prestige silent Westerns of the mid‑1920s. Cinematographer Bert Glennon later photographed John Ford’s Stagecoach , for which he received an Academy Award nomination. The New York premiere took place the week of August 9, 1925, ahead of general release. Surviving prints are documented in silent film preservation catalogs, and the movie is available from multiple archives. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: September 14, 1925 Original Studio / Distributor: Paramount Pictures Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: Unknown --- Hashtags: WildHorseMesa 1925 SilentFilm Western PublicDomain ZaneGrey JackHolt DouglasFairbanksJr Paramount Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wild_Horse_Mesa_(1925).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Wild_Horse_Mesa_%281925%29.webm