The Iron Horse (1924)

86% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(482 ratings)

John Ford directed this epic-scale silent western, which was one of his first major successes and was hugely influential on outdoor films that followed. David Brandon (James Gordon) is a surveyor in the Old West who dreams that one day the entire North American continent will be linked by railroads.… More John Ford directed this epic-scale silent western, which was one of his first major successes and was hugely influential on outdoor films that followed. David Brandon (James Gordon) is a surveyor in the Old West who dreams that one day the entire North American continent will be linked by railroads. However, to make this dream a reality, a clear trail must be found through the Rocky Mountains. With his boy Davy (Winston Miller), David sets out to find such a path, but he's ambushed by a tribe of Indians led by a white savage, Peter Jesson (Cyril Chadwick); while the boy manages to escape, David is killed. Years later, the adult Davy Brandon (George O'Brien) still believes in his father's dream of a transcontinental railroad, and legislation signed by President Abraham Lincoln has made it an official mandate. Davy is hired on as a railroad surveyor by Thomas Marsh (Will R. Walling), the father of his childhood sweetheart Miriam (Madge Bellamy). While Davy hopes to win Miriam's heart as he helps to find the trail that led to his father's death years ago, he's disappointed to discover that Miriam is already married -- and shocked to discover her husband is Peter Jesson, now working with the railroad as a civil engineer. As the Union Pacific crew presses on to their historic meeting at Promitory Point, Davy must find a way to earn Miriam's love and uncover Peter's murderous past. Shot on location in Arizona in Ford's beloved Monument Valley, The Iron Horse was a massive production that employed over 6,000 people; two temporary cities were built to accommodate them, with 100 cooks on hand to serve meals. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: John Ford
Genres: Western, Drama, Classics

In Theaters: Aug 28, 1924 Wide
On DVD: Feb 14, 2006

Critic Reviews

Sean Axmaker, Parallax View
John Ford's first American epic is not a birth of a nation, but its physical and symbolic unification in the wake of the Civil War.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Surprising by virtue of how much of Ford's mature work is already in evidence.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
It's hard to argue that the film is more than very competent.
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
Although Ford is not yet at the peak of his artistic powers in The Iron Horse, the film is still immensely entertaining and fascinating as a glimpse of the early Ford.
Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online
It's the atmosphere that Ford captures so beautifully, from the location shooting to the labor and process of clearing land and laying track.
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
It's a large canvas, and one that the filmmaker, then 29, often has trouble filling.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's not a great film, but it is captivating in its grandeur.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Cast

            Winston Miller as Davy (younger)

            George O'Brien as Davy Brandon

            Madge Bellamy as Miriam Marsh

            Peggy Cartwright as Miriam (younger)

            Charles Edward Bull as Abraham Lincoln

            James Gordon as David Brandon Sr.

            Cyril Chadwick as Peter Jesson

            Fred Kohler as Deroux

            John Farrell MacDonald as Cpl. Casey

            Gladys Hulette as Ruby

            James Marcus as Judge Haller

            Francis Powers as Sgt. Slattery

            James Welch as Private Schultz

            Colin Chase as Tony

            Walter Browne Rogers as Gen. Dodge

            John Padjan as Wild Bill Hickok

            Charles O'Malley as Maj. North

            Charles Newton as Collis P. Huntington

            Delbert Mann as Charles Crocker

            Frances Teague as Polka Dot

            Stanhope Wheatcroft as John Hay

            Danny Borzage
            
            Clark Gable
            
            Judge Charles as Abraham Lincoln

            Chief John Big Tree as Cheyenne Chief

            Edward Peil Sr. as Old Chinaman

            William Walling as Thomas Marsh

            George Waggner as Buffalo Bill Cody

            John B. O'Brien as Dinny

            Chief White Spear as Sioux Chief
See full cast

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