No telling how this short was received when it came out. Ostensibly, it was a vehicle for Edmund Cobb, lanky and relentlessly cheerful, to increase his popularity with another of a seemingly endless string of western shorts for Universal. What it did do was to garner more attention for Janet Gaynor, who was making a name for herself in Hollywood silent shorts.
In this one, Cobb happens on a ranch looking for work. The ranch hands have just had a boxing contest and they try to coax him into fighting their Champion. Recovering from an undisclosed illness (and looking emaciated as always), he loses. At the same time, Gaynor and her friend (May Kennedy) arrive at the ranch and she takes a liking to Cobb, who has just lost the fight. They arrive by car, as the short takes place just after WW I, which always I find confusing, as horses and cars should not mix in westerns. And the story continues from there (notice I didn't say 'picks up'- it doesn't).
Harmless enough, but only mildly interesting. But from this point onward, Janet Gaynor became a formidable name to reckon with after the release of "The Johnstown Flood" and "The Shamrock Handicap".
In this one, Cobb happens on a ranch looking for work. The ranch hands have just had a boxing contest and they try to coax him into fighting their Champion. Recovering from an undisclosed illness (and looking emaciated as always), he loses. At the same time, Gaynor and her friend (May Kennedy) arrive at the ranch and she takes a liking to Cobb, who has just lost the fight. They arrive by car, as the short takes place just after WW I, which always I find confusing, as horses and cars should not mix in westerns. And the story continues from there (notice I didn't say 'picks up'- it doesn't).
Harmless enough, but only mildly interesting. But from this point onward, Janet Gaynor became a formidable name to reckon with after the release of "The Johnstown Flood" and "The Shamrock Handicap".
