In the town of Cache, Oklahoma, two federal marshals wearing white shirts patrol the vicinity of the corner bank. The daughter of famous Indian Quanah Parker, Laura Birdsong, a slender lady wearing a white dress, enters the bank to handle some kind of transaction. Al Jennings, a short man who wears a gray hat, dark shirt, and has a dark horse, rides up to reconnoiter the bank. Jennings tips his hat to Ms. Birdsong as she leaves. Jennings rides to the log cabin outlaw hideout to tell the five men there that the bank looks like easy pickings. Around the seven minute mark we see three real western lawmen in white shirts ride down the center of town. Bill Tilghman rides a white horse on the left, Fred Canton is on a black horse in the center, and Heck Thomas rides a black horse on the right. Thomas has a gray hat and black tie.
The bad guys ride into town and hold up the bank. In the subsequent shootout, one bank robber is dead and one is wounded. The wounded one is picked up by his comrades, who eventually escape. The posse gathers. Meanwhile the bad guys meet with the girlfriend of one, who tries to help the wounded man. But he dies, and the gang takes his body with them. The girl sits and ponders, and noticing that a posse is after the gang, rides away. The gang crosses a stream, and tosses the dead body into the water. They return to the log cabin, dismount and allow the horses to graze. They relax.
In the middle of the movie is a two-minute section of several strange scenes that are accidentally included and likely do not belong to "The Bank Robbery"; they may be deleted from some movie copies. They show Al Jennings shaking hands with a marshal. A wagon is loaded. Then a group of men ride away with a pack of dogs following. Concealed in the brush is a man in a white shirt watching the proceedings.
Back to the regular movie: The girlfriend catches up to warn the bad guys about the approaching posse; the outlaws advance towards the horses grazing in the field. But the posse has set up a nearby ambush for them, and they open fire. None of the good guys are hurt, but all of the robbers are shot, and at least two are killed. The girl cries when her lover is wounded. The roundup is concluded and the group returns to town with the stolen money. Catch Quanah Parker on a white horse; he's a posse-man with white shirt, tie, dark vest and still wears Indian braids. Parker is also the first one riding under the "Wichita National Forest and Game Preserve" sign. The posse returns to town with the wounded outlaws, girl, and cash as the townsfolk mill about.
There is not much film innovation; after all it is 1908. There are no title cards; either they have been removed or because early features sometimes had narration. Note that the men's western hats are not over-sized.
The main aspect of this rather average film is the large number of famous nineteenth century western personalities involved. Al (Alphonso) Jennings was an attorney in the early 1890s before he briefly turned outlaw and held up several trains before he was captured around 1897. But he was not a killer and was pardoned in 1904 by President Theodore Roosevelt after he was released from jail on a technicality (1902). He went straight thereafter and appeared in a number of films until the 1930s. To my knowledge he was the last-lived of the famous western personalities as he died at age 98 in late 1961. Quanah Parker, the half-white Comanche Indian, was at war with the US cavalry around 1870. Seeing significant societal changes forthcoming, he surrendered at Fort Sill, Indian Territory (OK), in 1875. He lived in his spacious Star House in Cache until 1911, dying in his sixties as a prosperous rancher. Fred Canton (née Josiah Horner), a sheriff early on, was involved in the Johnson County War (1892) and was later a deputy US marshal. He lived until 1927. Heck Thomas was a famous lawman of the Indian Territory who helped bring down the notorious Bill Doolin after he had escaped (1896). The showy Thomas often wore knee-high boots, corduroy trousers, and flannel shirt. He died in 1912. Bill Tilghman, who directed this silent movie, was a Dodge City marshal, a deputy US marshal in the Indian Territory, and capturer of Bill Doolin (1895). His unique badge was hammered-out from two twenty-dollar gold pieces. He survived the Wild West but ironically was gunned down at the age of seventy by a corrupt prohibition agent (1924) after he had retired.
The bad guys ride into town and hold up the bank. In the subsequent shootout, one bank robber is dead and one is wounded. The wounded one is picked up by his comrades, who eventually escape. The posse gathers. Meanwhile the bad guys meet with the girlfriend of one, who tries to help the wounded man. But he dies, and the gang takes his body with them. The girl sits and ponders, and noticing that a posse is after the gang, rides away. The gang crosses a stream, and tosses the dead body into the water. They return to the log cabin, dismount and allow the horses to graze. They relax.
In the middle of the movie is a two-minute section of several strange scenes that are accidentally included and likely do not belong to "The Bank Robbery"; they may be deleted from some movie copies. They show Al Jennings shaking hands with a marshal. A wagon is loaded. Then a group of men ride away with a pack of dogs following. Concealed in the brush is a man in a white shirt watching the proceedings.
Back to the regular movie: The girlfriend catches up to warn the bad guys about the approaching posse; the outlaws advance towards the horses grazing in the field. But the posse has set up a nearby ambush for them, and they open fire. None of the good guys are hurt, but all of the robbers are shot, and at least two are killed. The girl cries when her lover is wounded. The roundup is concluded and the group returns to town with the stolen money. Catch Quanah Parker on a white horse; he's a posse-man with white shirt, tie, dark vest and still wears Indian braids. Parker is also the first one riding under the "Wichita National Forest and Game Preserve" sign. The posse returns to town with the wounded outlaws, girl, and cash as the townsfolk mill about.
There is not much film innovation; after all it is 1908. There are no title cards; either they have been removed or because early features sometimes had narration. Note that the men's western hats are not over-sized.
The main aspect of this rather average film is the large number of famous nineteenth century western personalities involved. Al (Alphonso) Jennings was an attorney in the early 1890s before he briefly turned outlaw and held up several trains before he was captured around 1897. But he was not a killer and was pardoned in 1904 by President Theodore Roosevelt after he was released from jail on a technicality (1902). He went straight thereafter and appeared in a number of films until the 1930s. To my knowledge he was the last-lived of the famous western personalities as he died at age 98 in late 1961. Quanah Parker, the half-white Comanche Indian, was at war with the US cavalry around 1870. Seeing significant societal changes forthcoming, he surrendered at Fort Sill, Indian Territory (OK), in 1875. He lived in his spacious Star House in Cache until 1911, dying in his sixties as a prosperous rancher. Fred Canton (née Josiah Horner), a sheriff early on, was involved in the Johnson County War (1892) and was later a deputy US marshal. He lived until 1927. Heck Thomas was a famous lawman of the Indian Territory who helped bring down the notorious Bill Doolin after he had escaped (1896). The showy Thomas often wore knee-high boots, corduroy trousers, and flannel shirt. He died in 1912. Bill Tilghman, who directed this silent movie, was a Dodge City marshal, a deputy US marshal in the Indian Territory, and capturer of Bill Doolin (1895). His unique badge was hammered-out from two twenty-dollar gold pieces. He survived the Wild West but ironically was gunned down at the age of seventy by a corrupt prohibition agent (1924) after he had retired.
