Braveheart

The Nelson Fish Cannery is preventing Indians from gaining access to their ancestral fishing grounds in violation of the U.S. Government treaty, and the tribe is threatened with starvation. Chief Standing Rock, in an attempt to prevent an bloody uprising led by hot-headed brave Ki-Yote, sends his son Braveheart to college to learn the white man's law and champion the tribe's rights in the legal system. Braveheart becomes a football star and writes a best selling book whose profits fund the tribe's legal battles. In an attempt to instigate a shooting war, Ki-Yote and his braves abduct a white girl. Braveheart is given 24 hours to hunt and kill Ki-Yote and return the girl unharmed, or the Cavalry will attack the reservation.

Dashing shirtless star Rod La Rocque headlined Braveheart two years after rocketing to fame in the Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 masterpiece, The Ten Commandments. La Rocque made a successful transition to sound, appearing in classics such as The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1939) and Meet John Doe (1941) before retiring to a successful real estate career. Director Alan Hale would go on to be a journeymen character actor in scores of productions probably best remembered as Little John in the classic The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938).

BONUS: The Driver Of The Deadwood Coach (1912): Starring William H.West and Jane Wolfe

• silent