THE PONY EXPRESS – Betty Compson, Ricardo Cortez
The Pony Express (1925)
Direction: James Cruze
Screenplay: Walter Woods; from Woods and Henry James Forman’s story
Cast: Betty Compson, Ricardo Cortez, George Bancroft, Ernest Torrence, Wallace Beery, Al Hart
The Pony Express is a rousing James Cruze Western depicting the founding of the Pony Express with a backdrop of political ambitions concerning a senator’s plans to get California to secede from the United States so he can build his own empire.
A great cast and Cruze’s direction keep this one interesting — even though Ricardo Cortez in a period film seems woefully out of place and pretty Betty Compson’s role is more or less that of an ingenue, merely requiring her to look good while reacting to the things going on around her. Ernest Torrence, George Bancroft, and Wallace Beery score highest.
Reviewed at Cinesation 2009
© James Bazen
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Tags: Betty Compson, Cinesation 2009, Classic Movies, Ernest Torrence, Film Reviews, George Bancroft, James Cruze, Ricardo Cortez, Silent Films, The Pony Express, Wallace Beery
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