THE MAN FROM PAINTED POST (1917) – Here is another Douglas Fairbanks movie from the years before he became the film world’s premier swashbuckler. Unlike the pure comedy of Fairbanks’ The Mystery of the Leaping Fish, which I reviewed last week, The Man from Painted Post was an action comedy set in the old west.
Doug starred as Fancy Jim Sherwood, a Charles Siringo-style old west private detective whose agency has been hired to investigate and shut down a Wyoming rustling empire run by outlaw chief Bull Madden (Frank Campeau). Fancy Jim sets about his task by showing up in the crime-ridden region undercover in the guise of a clumsy, citified twit from back east.
That allows Fairbanks to show off his athleticism AND talent for comedy through slapstick fakery to make his eastern Dude character seem hilariously inept at roping, riding and shooting. Fancy Jim Sherwood’s masquerade succeeds in making Bull Madden and his gang dismiss him as a non-threatening wimp.
Free from scrutiny, Sherwood successfully assembles evidence against the Madden rustling ring, including finding their headquarters in Chugwater Gulch where they stash stolen cattle and doctor the brands on those cattle. Fancy Jim also romances Jane Forbes (Eileen Percy), the local school marm that Bull Madden has been abusing and trying to bully into sex with him.
You can guess how the story goes from there. Eventually, Bull Madden and his boys decide to go all out with violence to take over Fairbanks’ ranch and abduct Jane. This forces Fancy Jim to abandon his pose of gutlessness and ineptitude in order to save the day.
As an added element of drama, in his final showdown with Madden, Sherwood learns that Bull is really the outlaw once called “30-30” – the man who killed Fancy Jim’s sister long ago and left Jim himself with a scar on his arm from their exchange of gunfire.
With the rustling gang defeated and Sherwood’s sister avenged, Fancy Jim and Jane Forbes can pursue a romance with her finally knowing who he really is. We viewers get a happy ending all around.
The Man from Painted Post features a lot of action and a fair amount of laughs. Douglas Fairbanks handles the slapstick comedy and the thrilling action scenes with aplomb.
For old west buffs like me, the story elements borrowed from real life characters and situations, like the Johnson County War and the aforementioned Charles Siringo, made this a must-see. But for others, be warned that this 58-minute film lacks the gag a minute nature of comedy shorts from the silent movie era and is more pleasant than gut-busting.
FOR MY REVIEWS OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS’ SWASHBUCKLER MOVIES FROM THE SILENT FILM ERA CLICK HERE.
Balladeer's Blog 
Interesting post. Where do you watch old films like this? On discs? Sadly I find Netflix doesn’t do them at all, although Prime used to be quite good.
Thanks! Youtube and similar sites have a lot of silent movies because many of them are public domain. Amazon Prime will periodically offer them, too.
Yes, of course, YouTube is great for curios and old films.
It certainly is!
Biggest complaints I have with the old westerns are that the dudes wear gawd-awful ugliest, sissy damned stetsons [the saloon girls in the moovies wear too much blouse] and all the gunslingers wear their holsters too high. Paladin wore his holster correctly. His Stetson pure common sense. Now, Sergio and Clint figured it out perfectly. Can’t fast draw when your gunbutt jams in your armpit before clearing the backplate and you can’t ride through a sandstorm when your damned hat bellows like a schooner mainsail canvass. Allus a good read tho, podner.
Thank you! And yeah, clothing and holsters in these old ones can drive you crazy. Take care!
That actually sounds pretty good.
Yes, it is!
Reblogged this on El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso.
Thank you, sir!
Anytime
😀
I was told by my grandmother that The Man from Painted Post was filmed on my Great Grandmother’s ranch in Laramie Wyoming. My grandmother plays the young Native American girl at the school. Victor Fleming was a camera man on the set and became smitten with my grandmother who was only 13 at the time so of course nothing came of it. However, I am told that they were pen pals during the war. Our family has a photo of my grandmother on one of the movie horses in costume.
Just a little fun history and back story of the movie.
Jenn
That is such a great piece of behind the scenes information! Thank you very much for sharing this!