O'Malley of the Mounted. 1921. Directed by Lambert Hillyer.

(2/11/00)

I couldn't get into this film for a long time, probably because my eyes were hurting. I wasn't interested in the rodeo sequence. But it grew on me as it went along. William S. Hart plays a noble man in a moral dilemma. He is sent to find a man and pretends to be an outlaw and join a group of outlaws. If the duplicity weren't bad enough he starts to become emotionally involved with the sister of the man he is pursuing. And then he discovers that the man he is hunting as a murderer pursued and killed the man who burnt his house and took his sister who commited suicide. The moral dilemma brings the film to life.

O'Malley resolves the problem by not bringing back his quarry and resigning from the mounties. It is nice that his supervisor approves his action and tells him he can leave with his head held high. And O'Malley leaves a message for the girl that he loves that he will return for he if he can and if she still wants him.

I might have enjoyed the film considerably more under other circumstances.