Silent Western Double Feature: Jus' Travlin' (1925) / The Rattler (1925) (DVD)

JUS' TRAVLIN' (1925): Drifting cowboy Bob Speed comes across pretty Peggy Rankin being accosted by outlaw Jean Le Roque. Bob sends the wily fiend back home with a black eye, but Peggy explains that he won't give up that easily. Peggy's father recently discovered a gold mine, and La Roque thinks that by marrying her he'll be entitled to the deed. Bob decides to stick around the gold mine to make sure La Roque doesn't cause any more trouble...and the fact that Peggy's easy on the eyes doesn't hurt, either. Jus' Travlin' stars overlooked cowboy actor Bob Burns (1884-1957) not to be confused with comedian Bob "Bazooka" Burns. Bob grew up on a Montana ranch, and when he was old enough joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show as a trick rider and roper. By 1911 he was working as a stuntman in Hollywood. Universal put Bob in a series of Western two-reelers starting in 1919. Obscure studio Sierra Pictures then awarded him his own series of features which lasted from 1924 to 1926, of which Jus' Travlin' is one of the few surviving examples. After that Bob moved into supporting roles in Westerns, usually as sheriffs or ranchers. He was still acting when he passed away in 1957.THE RATTLER (1925): Ranch hand Chick McGuire plans to marry Arline Warner, his boss's pretty daughter. Her father wants her to marry Cecil Aubrey, a rich city slicker from the East, instead. Arline rejects Aubrey, so he has Chick hogtied and kidnapped. Chick must break free if he is ever to see the woman he loves again. The Rattler stars Jack Meehan, an actor who made five feature-length Westerns for Ermine Productions in 1925 and then disappeared. Many believe him to have really been longtime bit player Jack Mower, who made almost 600 films between 1914 and 1960 (and usually went uncredited.)

• silent