Ace of Cactus Range

"Ace of Cactus Range" (1924) stars Art Mix, Virginia Warwick, Clifford Davidson, Harvey Stafford, Dorothy Chase, Charles Colby, and a couple of others in a Western full of old "B" Western tropes all done on the cheap...BUT!!!!

Yes, I said "Art" Mix, not Tom Mix, and, no, they're no relation. For a guy who made so many really bad films later, especially when he was the star - not often - in the middle 30s - this film is actually very, very good. I'll begin by thanking Jack Hardy at Grapevine for having the guts to even release this. There's so much nitrate deterioration after the first reel that it might put off anybody from even continuing - but then about half way through the fourth reel or so it's fine again till the end, although there are one or two crucial scenes that seem to be missing...sorry. But we have this example of Mix as a cowboy - actually a US deputy marshal - and he's an actor with talent. This film has performers who really are quite good! Unlike so many "B" Westerns where some actors and actresses couldn't act their way out of a paper bag, the performances here are all first rate. The direction is tight for the most part, too. Photography? Well, Jack Fuqua (11 cinematographer credits - ending in 1933) tries to do a number of different things, just for variety's sake, but he's only mediocre at best. His traveling shots of horses being ridden across the desert look as if he's in an automobile next to the action and simply staying up with it. Story certainly holds the viewer.

This one is about diamonds. One finds that out almost five minutes from the end. Before that, we know there is a group of baddies. Exactly what is going on...well...?? We know that Virginia Warwick and her father are being manhandled and threatened, but we're not sure why. Enter Mix...he's here to do something, but we're not sure what. He helps Virginia Warwick escape from the very lecherous and mean clutches of Bull Davidson, played by Clifford (yes) Davidson. Davidson's boss, played by Harvey Stafford, throws a hissy fit when he finds out that Warwick's now missing. Most of the show is the good guys escaping the clutches of the bad guys' pursuit. It's very well done - even exciting. The opening five minutes or so have residual toning that must have been beautiful at one time.

I won't say everybody will have the patience to get through what remains here. But it shows a talent that never really got anywhere. Kind of a shame. For those wanting to understand the genuine Hollywood: Art Mix appeared in over 230 known pictures. He did have a career. But he certainly wasn't the star for long. His last starring feature was in 1934, a picture called "A Rawhide Terror", and Edmund Cobb's the co-star. It has been compared to "Plan 9 from Outer Space".

For silent Western aficionados this is a rare treat. Unfortunately, to get through all the nitrate deterioration (probably as much as a reel and a half of what remains of five reels) you'll need to be forgiving and patient, but it's worth it. For the record, the title has nothing to do with anything whatsoever except for the cactus desert that does appear in the plot. On location shooting is very good and Art Mix an outstanding horseman and stuntman - truly outstanding in both!

In the vast American southwest, deputy US marshal Art Mix (as Bob Cullen) is on a secret mission when he discovers pretty Virginia Warwick (as Virginia Marsden) hiding in a cabin. Putting up quite a struggle, Ms. Warwick had just escaped an ambush by diamond smuggler Clifford Davidson (as Bull Davidson), which we see in flashback. With his border gang of thieves, Mr. Davidson captures Mr. Mix and our heroine, but they escape on horseback. Alas, the desperado returns with boss Harvey Stafford (as Randolph Truthers) to abduct both Warwick and her elderly father. Slow-moving "servant" A.W. Dearie (as Sam) provides little help. The film is badly deteriorated in spots, mostly during the second reel.

**** Ace of Cactus Range (4/24) Denver Dixon ~ Art Mix, Virginia Warwick, Clifford Davidson, Harvey Stafford

In addition to the "Feature Films" listed in Kodascope catalogs, were two or three pages of "Westerns". Many of these of course were 2-reelers. But there were some features among them, including movies like "Ace of Cactus Range" (1924), starring lanky, square-jawed Art Mix, in which a rather sparse story about determined but not over-bright diamond smugglers is enlivened by lots of lively on-location lensing. Heroine Virginia Warwick is a nice-looking girl, but the heavies led by Cliff Davidson (in his first of three films), Harvey Stafford (his only movie) and Dorothy Chase (her only movie) seem to have been selected at random from Central Casting. The 55-minute Grapevine print under review has suffered around 15 minutes of severe deterioration.