Iron Horse, The (TCF 1924)

Grand-scale retelling of the building of the first transcontinental railroad, told through the stories of several individual characters. The builders are beset by bands of marauding Indians, inclement weather and all manner of hardship. John Ford set the epic tone of much of his later work with this important silent film.

By the time he directed The Iron Horse, the 3l-year-old John Ford had already amassed a staggering thirty-five features and a dozen two-reelers. With the box-office success of this, his longest and most expensive film up until that date, Ford received his first widespread critical attention.

production details
USA | Twentieth Century Fox | 150 minutes | 1924

Producer and Director: John Ford
Director of Photography: George Schneiderman
Script: Charles Kenyon, John Russell

cast
George O’Brien as Davy Brandon
Madge Bellamy as Miriam Marsh
Charles Edward Bull as Abraham Lincoln
Cyril Chadwick as Jesson
Will Walling as Thomas Marsh
Francis Powers as Sergeant Slattery
J. Farrell MacDonald as Corporal Casey
Jim Welch as Private Mackay
George Waggner as Buffalo Bill
Fred Kohler as Bauman
James A. Marcus as Judge Haller
Gladys Hulette as Ruby
Jean Arthur as Reporter
Chief John Big Tree as Cheyenne Chief