Silent Western Double Feature: The Lady of the Dugout / You're Fired (Silent) (DVD)

The Lady Of The Dug-Out (BW, 1918, SILENT): Real-life outlaw Al Jennings stars in this rare silent western! A lawyer who turned to crime, Jennings was sentenced to life in prison after a daring train robbery. He was pardoned by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 (the President mistakenly believing he had been a Rough Rider.) The former bandit then entered the burgeoning motion picture industry as an actor. Hollywood capitalized on his notoriety, and usually portrayed Jennings as a bandit with a heart of gold who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Lady of the Dug-Out is one of his few surviving films, and focuses on Jennings' heroic efforts to support a single mother and her young son. He does this by pulling off a series of spectacular train robberies (in real life, his ill-gotten gains went no one but himself.) The child is played by Ben Alexander, who would grow up to be Joe Friday's partner on the Dragnet TV series (1952-1959). Jennings' career in movies was not so long-lived, however; he eventually became a traveling evangelist, speaking out against the sins that drove him to a life of crime. He died in 1961, but not before seeing Dan Duryea portray him in a big-screen adaptation of his life, Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951). Starring Al Jennings, Ben Alexander. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke.

You're Fired (BW, 1925, SILENT): Ranch owner Billy Hays learns that a wealthy family from the city want to buy his ranch. To discourage them, he disguises himself as a filthy cowhand and plays a series of practical jokes on them. But the plan backfires on Billy when he falls for the bluebloods' daughter. This long-lost silent western stars the prolific William 'Bill' Bailey, an actor with over 300 movies in his filmography, which stretched into the late 1950s. He rarely got another chance to star in a film, however; most of his roles were uncredited bit parts. Starring Bill Bailey. Directed by Paul Hurst.

• silent