WOLF LOWRY

(director: William S. Hart; screenwriters: based on the short story The Rancher by Charles T. Dazey, Lambert Hillyer; cinematographer: Joseph August; cast: William S. Hart (Tom “Wolf” Lowry), Margery Wilson (Mary Davis), Aaron Edwards (Buck Fanning), William Fairbanks (Owen Thorpe); Runtime: 50; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Thomas Ince; Triangle Kay Bee/TCM; 1917-B/W, silent)

“More a romantic melodrama than a Western.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

The 50-year-old William S. Hart (“Square Deal Sanderson”/”The Cradle of Courage”) directs and stars in this silent Western (more a romantic melodrama than a Western). It’s based on the short story The Rancher by Charles T. Dazey, and is scripted by Lambert Hillyer.

The tough guy Bar Z rancher Tom “Wolf” Lowry (William S. Hart) kicks out the squatters in the Redfield Valley property he owns in the West, who buy their claims from the shifty real estate agent Buck Fanning (Aaron Edwards). But allows the attractive young Mary Davis (Margery Wilson) to stay, who has come to find her lover Owen Thorpe (William Fairbanks). But she tells Wolf he’s her half-brother.

Wolf rescues Mary from being assaulted by Buck, but is shot by him. Mary nurses him back to health, and he falls in love with her. Mary can’t find the missing Owen and believes he must be dead, so she agrees to marry Wolf. But Owen shows up looking for work and Buck, in his new location, directs him to Wolf for a job. Wolf reunites her with someone he thinks is her lost half-brother. When he finds out the truth he forces her to go through with the marriage. But on the wedding day, he changes his mind and lets them marry. He even gives them a large sum of money as a wedding gift. He then leaves to prospect for gold in Alaska. They write him five years later and tell him they named their baby Tom.

REVIEWED ON 6/19/2024  GRADE: B