Wild and Woolly (1917)

I love this movie so much

Sorry, this movie sucks

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The wonderful opening scene of "Wild and Woolly" already tells us just about EVERYTHING about our hero: like a little boy, he's sitting in his room on the floor in front of a tipi, with a camp-fire burning next to him, and devouring a Western novel; then he gets up to admire the picture of his cowboy heroes and his collection of guns, and to jump onto a real saddle and practice shooting, and then play with his lasso - but then... his father's butler enters to inform him that he's got to leave for the office... Oh, but HOW much does Jeff, the son of a New York railroad magnate (JUST the kind of businessmen who have 'tamed' the West with their 'fire horses') long to be a TRUE Westerner! But one day, he finally DOES get the chance to see the West: his father sends him to the little town of Bitter Creek, Arizona, to see if it's worth connecting it to the railway line! There's only one problem: the West of 1917, of course, isn't the 'good old Wild West' of the 80s anymore that Jeff dreams of... But, knowing of Jeff's big foible, the inhabitants of the sleepy hollow make their preparations for his arrival: they turn the hotel into an old-fashioned saloon, dress up like cowboys and Western girls, and even stage some 'tough' incidents for him to intervene and 'save' pretty young Nell from drunken 'baddies', and (after having replaced all the bullets with fake ones) later on even plan a fake 'hold-up' - and Jeff sure gets the thrill of his life! But since, unknown to the peaceful townsfolk, there also are REAL baddies in town, the plot suddenly takes a QUITE different turn...Before achieving his world-wide fame with his great swashbucklers, Douglas Fairbanks had already become a much-loved star of comedies and westerns (a fact which, regrettably, is very often being overlooked today, and many of his early films have almost sunken into oblivion) - but he certainly was at his VERY best in a combination of both; just the kind of movies like "Wild and Woolly"! Here, our handsome young hero, romantic, bubbly, temperamental and athletic, is most DEFINITELY in his element when he can finally prove that he's a real 'Westerner' (in fact, Doug WAS a real Westerner, of course: he was born in Denver, Colorado, and in the days when the West still WAS somewhat wild; but he'd also spent quite some years in New York, playing on Broadway), and as always show us his marvelous acrobatic tricks - note HIS way of getting into his room on the second floor, with all the stairs being blocked by the gangsters...The cast is wonderful, with lovely Eileen Percy (who was quite a star in those days, but today unfortunately is one of those many 'forgotten' names...), and the two 'usual suspects', Sam De Grasse and Charles Stevens (Doug's friend, a Native American and great-grandson of the famous Chief Geronimo) as the baddies; storyline and direction are superb, the pace is fast and keeps us entertained, amused and in suspense for EVERY single moment - in short: "Wild and Woolly" is one of those films that NEVER lose their freshness! And it'll thrill even 'newbies' to the silent cinema, it's great entertainment for the whole family; and besides that, it might be VERY interesting for fans of the Western genre to have a look for once at the way Westerns were long BEFORE the 'classic' Western era...

By the time of "Wild and Woolly", only 18 months after his debut, Douglas Fairbanks was one of Hollywood's highest paid actors, third only after Chaplin and Pickford. His films were totally escapist - not for him the poor boy making good, his characters were usually wealthy so the problem of becoming a success before he could marry the girl never arose. He was free to play the gallant (as in "A Modern Musketeer") and the message to most young men in the audience was that they too could be successful if they just faced life with a smile!! This movie had one of his favourite themes - that of the uptight city dweller who longs for the life of a cowboy, which was really just about every kid's dream in those times!!With a photoplay by Anita Loos, photography by Victor Fleming, along with Doug, just a who's who of people at the start of their careers who were really going to make a big impact. From the start Doug's athleticism is on display: he plays Jeff, son of a railroad magnate and his bedroom is decked out like a scene from the Old West. He sleeps in a tepee, cooks his breakfast from a camp fire and even has his own saddle which he uses in his vivid daydreams of life on the open range. When the butler calls him, he ropes in the servant, displays some fancy shooting and ends up carrying him downstairs!! The only place where Jeff can feel a real part of the great outdoors is at the local cinema where the constant stream of cowboy movies keeps him entertained.Meanwhile back at the real ranch (Bitter Creek, Arizona) trouble is brewing - a crooked Indian agent (Sam De Grasse) is selling stock stolen from the Indians, across the border to Mexico, in the meantime keeping the Natives "lickered up"!! He also has a keen eye for pretty Nell (Eileen Percy), the hotel keeper's daughter. It just so happens that Jeff's father has mining interests there and he hopes that by sending Jeff out there he will cure his western "nuttiness"!! The citizens of Bitter Creek though need his support and they hope that by putting on a Wild West welcome for him - 1880s style, things will go in their favour. They plan a fake hold up of the Arizona Express (Bull Montana is one of the cowboys) but the Indian agent and his cronies get in on the act and decide to make it real. By the end Jeff's derring do and courage under fire saves the town and wins him his Nell!!Even though the print is murky and some of the racial stereotypes leave a lot to be desired this is a hilarious film. Eileen Percy was only 17 at the time "Wild and Woolly" was made and really found her fame through being married to songwriter Harry Ruby.Highly Recommended.

Director: JOHN EMERSON. Screenplay: John Emerson, Anita Loos. Story: Horace B. Carpenter. Photography: Victor Fleming. Film editor: William Shea. Art director and construction manager: Bob Fairbanks. Assistant director: William Henabery. Production manager: Jack Fairbanks. Producer: Doug Fairbanks.Copyright 16 June 1917 by Artcraft Pictures Corp. U.S. release: 24 June 1917. Los Angeles opening: 4 July 1917. 5 reels. 72 minutes. Alpha's nice Kodascope cutdown runs 60 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A New York railroad magnate's spoiled, twenty-year-old son is a mad western freak who fondly imagines that America's West is still wild and woolly – and he wants to be part of the action! COMMENT: A movie that pokes fun at itself even way back in 1917? Fortunately, Alpha have a very good print of this one – even if it is a nice 4-reel Kodascope black and white cutdown. It would be great to see a tinted original, but I think prospects there are dim. Be thankful that Oldies have unearthed such a good print! Most of Kodak's cuts seem to have been made in the New York scenes. Anyway, the movie itself as we now have it, is a viewer's delight from go to whoa. The direction is brisk, the script witty, the actors most capable, and Fairbanks himself comes across in fine form. If you've never seen a Fairbanks movie of this vintage, you'll be surprised at how sophisticated it is, both in the making and the telling. In fact it's hard to decide which is the more amusing – the on screen action or the titles that wryly comment upon it all.

This is one of the best silent comedies I've ever seen--and I have seen just about every film by the greats such as Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. While today Douglas Fairbanks is known simply for his action-adventure films, he also made some terrific comedies in the 1910s--and I can't imagine one that is better than this film.The film is set in 1917. In New York, the son (Fairbanks) of the President of a railroad is a bit of a nut. He apparently thinks that 'the old West' is alive and well and has brought a lot of this over-idealized version of the West to the city! He dresses in western garb, fires his pistols in the house and ropes his butler like some sort calf!! So, when someone from the railroad is needed to investigate the need for a line in Arizona, the nut's father sends him--hoping to cure him of his silly beliefs. However, the folks of the town decide to give the town a makeover--and make it exactly like the son expects. They reason that if the young man has a grand time playing cowboy, he'll recommend the railroad approve the expansion. So, they schedule an Indian raid, a train robbery and all the clichés of the West. And, to make sure nobody gets hurt, they load all their guns (and Fairbanks') with blanks. What they don't know is that an evil Indian agent is planning on making it all too real--using real bullets and staging a real robbery and kidnapping. When this occurs, it's up to Fairbanks to save the day...just like some sort of Western movie star! This film is a delight. It's the perfect combination of Fairbanks' strengths--amazing athleticism AND comedic timing. I laughed from start to finish and don't know why this film isn't more famous--it's as perfect a comedy as I've seen from the era and better than comedies of the day (the films we generally consider to be the best comedies during the silent era didn't come out until the 1920s). Brilliant.By the way, the copy I saw was from Televista and was duped directly from a Blackhawk film 8mm print!! As a result, it looks really bad. The film sorely needs to be restored and I have no idea if there is a better copy out there.