Silent Western Classics: The Wildcat (1925) / Tearin' Loose (1925)

In an effort to get his top fighter back into shape, beleaguered boxing manager Barney Taggart takes Jim "The Wildcat" Eddy out west to train. Arriving at a ranch, Jim accidentally uncovers a parcel of stolen jewels. Pete Hawkins, the shifty ranch foreman, has been desperately trying to retrieve the package, and the Wildcat must use more than just his fists if he wants to stop Hawkins and his murderous cronies.

The Wildcat is the only surviving entry in a six-film series about boxer-turned-cowboy "Wildcat" Eddy starring Gordon Clifford and directed by Harry L. Fraser. An accomplished director of Westerns and cliffhanger serials, some of Fraser's most noteworthy accomplishments include the early John Wayne pictures Randy Rides Alone (1934) and 'Neath the Arizona Skies (1934). Leading man Gordon Clifford eventually proved to be more successful at songwriting. He penned both "Paradise" (performed by Pola Negri in 1931's A Woman Commands) and "I Surrender, Dear" (an early hit for Bing Crosby.) Fraser remade The Wildcat in 1936 as Wildcat Saunders starring Jack Perrin, changing only the hero's last name.

BONUS: Tearin' Loose (1925): Jim Dorn, owner of the Bar X Ranch, is accused of crimes actually committed by Bud Deering, his girlfriend Ann's brother. When the lovely Ann is kidnapped, Jim and Bud put aside their differences to rescue her. This 13-minute condensation, created for the home movie market in the 1940s, is the only known existing footage from Tearin' Loose, the screen debut of Hal Taliaferro, better known as Wally Wales. As he would in many silent Westerns, Wales plays opposite a young Jean Arthur. After the advent of sound, Ms. Arthur would be acclaimed for her roles in movies directed by Frank Capra: Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936), You Can't Take It With You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1938). She ended her film career as it began, making her last appearance in the classic Western Shane (1953).

• silent