When Warren Kerrigan finds a man who has fallen ill on his sheep ranch, he takes him home to heal. When his kindness is repaid by the stranger seducing his wife, Kerrigan takes a terrible vengeance in this early short western directed by Allan Dwan.
Dwan came into directing by happenstance, according to his own recounting, and this film shows his uncertainty with directing humans. When it came to understanding how to shoot a landscape interestingly, however, he showed enormous ability straight out of the gate. His long shots of the open land, filled with a huge flock of sheep, are beautiful, as are the scenes of the final encounter between Kerrigan and the piece's villain by the rough Californian coast.
Coming from an engineering background, Dwan would build quickly on his problem-solving abilities to become a top director over the next ten years, and develop an uncanny ability in letting the pleasures of his actors' performances come across on the screen. For the moment, though, he had to rely on what had already become archaic film acting, leaving only the visual excellence of his photography to carry this movie.
Dwan came into directing by happenstance, according to his own recounting, and this film shows his uncertainty with directing humans. When it came to understanding how to shoot a landscape interestingly, however, he showed enormous ability straight out of the gate. His long shots of the open land, filled with a huge flock of sheep, are beautiful, as are the scenes of the final encounter between Kerrigan and the piece's villain by the rough Californian coast.
Coming from an engineering background, Dwan would build quickly on his problem-solving abilities to become a top director over the next ten years, and develop an uncanny ability in letting the pleasures of his actors' performances come across on the screen. For the moment, though, he had to rely on what had already become archaic film acting, leaving only the visual excellence of his photography to carry this movie.
