MOTOR PIRATES (1906) American release title The Modern Pirates – This British action short was directed by England’s monumentally underrated silent film director Arthur Melbourne Cooper. Motor Pirates clocks in at under 9 minutes but crams quite a bit into that runtime.
A pair of brilliant criminals have designed an armored vehicle in which to carry out crimes. And remember, this was before tanks were being used in combat. The armored car also sports a few diesel-punk gadgets.
The Motor Pirates drive their vehicle on to a country estate where they employ its front-end “suction feature” to vacuum up several chickens. Four men of the estate come out with guns blazing to stop the crooks, but they shoot down their victims, leaving three dead and one barely clinging to life as they drive off.
Personally, I wouldn’t want murder charges hanging over my head for a crime as petty as chicken-poaching, but what can you do? A child comes along and the victim who is clinging to life has the little girl go and fetch a police officer. Continue reading
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