Golden West Producing Company, February 2, 1919.
Directed by Jesse Robbins. Starring G.M. Anderson, Fred Church, Joy Lewis.
After becoming a film favorite in the nickelodeon era as "Broncho Billy," G.M. Anderson left the movie business for a couple of years while pursuing other business interests. They didn't pan out very well, so he returned to the screen in 1918, producing a series of western features. Judging from the surviving material, they were terrific films, but the usual bane of independent producers (scant distribution) cut short Anderson's comeback. The Son-of-a-Gun! was the second film in the series, and it's great stuff. Here he plays a trigger-happy drifter who practically terrorizes a western town with his rough and rowdy ways... but who proves to be a hero in the end. We don't want to give away the ending, but it's one of the most unusual (and touching) conclusions of any early western we've seen. Sadly, this is this is the only one of the series that survives intact; we only wish we could see the others! It's quite different than the typical five-reel oater, and you definitely don't have to be a fan of westerns to enjoy it. From the Blackhawk Collection. Organ score by Bob Vaughn. 65 minutes.
BONUS: Anderson's next film was Shootin' Mad (Golden West Producing Company, May 1919). It was ultimately condensed into two reels, and we present it here in that length. It's another example of a tightly-plotted, fast-paced western that was dumped into the independent distribution market, and few people ever saw it. It's a real treat, though, with Anderson starring as his usual rough-around-the-edges western hero, who cleans up the town with both guns blazing!