The Fighting Strain (1923) DVD-R

Starring Neal Hart, Beth Mitchell, William Quinn, Bert Wilson, Gladys Gilland
Directed by Neal Hart

Print: Black and White
Runtime: 50 min.
Genre: Western

Lower-echelon Western star Neal Hart, a distant cousin of William S. Hart, was a true Hollywood auteur. The veteran performer (Hart's screen debut was back in 1914) wrote, starred, directed, and even titled The Fighting Stranger, which was released on the independent market by William Steiner. Returning home from the Great War, Hart finds his sister, Bess (Beth Mitchell), kidnapped by Jim Black (William Quinn), the same blackguard who once sold some fake mine stock to Canfield, the father of Hart's girlfriend (Gladys Gilland). The latter suddenly also disappears and Hart trails the missing girls and their kidnapper to the wilderness of Canada. There is the inevitable standoff before Hart can be united with his sweetheart. As for sister Bess, she finds happiness with Miss Canfield's handsome brother John (Bert Wilson).