The premise is pretty simple. A group of men go to rob a train, but first they tie up the telegraph operator in the station. They shoot a few people, who die by sticking their arms straight up in the air above their heads, then falling over. They get everything they came for and escape to their hideout in the woods.
Meanwhile, the telegraph operator wakes up and uses his hands to hoist himself onto his chair to send out a message. Then, he remembers he's supposed to be tied up so he quickly holds his hands behind his back like I wouldn't notice. A girl helps finish "untying" him so he can go get help. He does, and a posse chases down the evil gang. The final scene is the best. It shows a close up of a cowboy who shoots straight at the screen. This was one of the first films ever made, so the audience was like, oh that was a nice story, OH NO that guy is shooting at me!! That would have been really scary. I like how the filmmakers thought: hey let's put in a guy shooting at them, that'll scare them! They have the same sense of humor I do. I will give this film a 7/10.
In many ways this little film reminds me of the films my friends and I would make when we were children. It looks like some guys having a great time with the camera, like you mention, the last scene. The difference is 80 years. These guys were freakin' pioneers!
ReplyDeleteVery true. We used to do that too, it was so much fun!
Delete