The Great Train Robbery
Directed by Edwin S. Porter
Written by Scott Marble and Edwin S. Porter
1903/US
Edison Manufacturing Company
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/YouTube
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Tagline: It Electrified Dad! It Terrified Mother! It Will Amuse You!
My current project is to review the pre-1934 movies on the 1001 Movies List that I have not yet reviewed on this blog. This, one of.the first films with a plot, was fun.
Gun-crazy bandits disable a telegraph operator, shoot the postmaster on a train and blow up his strongbox, and stick up the passengers. A gun-crazy posse is soon on the trail of the bad guys.
This 11- minute Eastern neatly encapsulates the plot of many more elaborate Westerns. It’s enjoyable and the closing image is iconic.*******************
I also watched Robert Z. Leonard’s “The Mysterious Lady” (1928). Greta Garbo is a Russian spy and Conrad Nagel is the German officer who falls for her. MGM production values and the beauty of the leads cannot redeem the predictable plot.
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