Silent Cowboy Marathon: The Desert Rider (1923) / Arizona Days (1928) (Silent) (DVD)

The Desert Rider (1923, B&W, Silent): Prospector Dan Baird is shot by outlaw Rufe Kinkaid, who steals the map to his secret gold mine. The assault is witnessed by Baird's young son, who waves down rancher Jack Sutherland. Jack vows to raise the boy and track down his father's killer. Cowboy star Jack Hoxie appeared in over a hundred silent westerns in the 1910s and 1920s, his popularity based largely on his rugged looks and his championship skills on horseback. After a half dozen talkies in the 1930s, Hoxie retired from films and left Hollywood to star in his own western-style circus. Directed by Robert N. Bradbury.

Arizona Days (1928, B&W, Silent): Every day's a bad day in Black Rock as rustlers prey on the herds of local ranchers. Chuck, an undercover investigator, arrives to ferret out the badmen, but his task is complicated by the interference of beautiful Dolly Martin, who can't figure out which side of the law Chuck is on. The movie's villains are played by its director (J.P. McGowan) and writer (Mack V. Wright). Bob Custer didn't begin life as a cowboy, as many stars of silent Westerns did. But this university-educated Kentuckian still looked the part, and his white-hat characters could ride, fight and shoot with the best of 'em. Directed by J.P. McGowan.

Bonus content includes Broncho Billy's Sentence (1915, B&W, Silent).

• western