User reviews

This film convinces me that John Ford deserves his legendary status. He seems to have had his unique gift for cinema story telling from his beginnings. This is a starkly realistic tale depicting , unromantically , some of the brutal hardship of the late 19th century west.

There is great poignancy in the loyalty and ethos which surface in even the most "bad" of men. To convey this in a silent film , with fairly minimal use of dialogue screens , required some pretty good acting and good camera work. There are several protracted facial studies which convey the critical messages very eloquently. Through most of the film I forgot that there was no "talking" dialogue. There are some surprisingly "contemporary" humor lines on the dialogue screens , not typical of westerns but quite typical of Fords evolving love of pathos.

3 Bad Men (as the title card shows it) is an outstanding example of the silent western and one of John Ford's earliest triumphs. The photography is stunning and the land rush sequences truly impressive, and while the story of redemption and sacrifice is predictable it is nonetheless still moving.

It seems John Ford made his best films when a great story happened to coincide with his own sensibilities. For a director who filmed masculine camaraderie with more tenderness than male-female romance, and almost gave more weight to the comic asides than the actual plot, 3 Bad Men seems tailor-made – a Western in which the eponymous outlaws are the heroes, and the love story between Olive Borden and the more typically heroic George O'Brien becomes a subplot.

Ford's tendency to improvise gags, and expand comic relief to entire scenes is often a bit excessive, but in 3 Bad Men it does not matter so much because the comedy characters are protagonists rather than supporting players threatening to steal the show. In fact the laughs we have had throughout the film make the poignant finale really pay off. You get a similar effect in Charlie Chaplin's features. What's more, Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald and Frank Campeau, big ugly supporting players that they were, were nevertheless great actors who here prove themselves fully capable of emotional depth.

Ford, meanwhile, can be seen gradually developing into a confident craftsman, especially as regards his shot composition. While his earliest pictures featured framing that was pretty yet distracting, he now achieves the same aesthetics with far more subtlety. A major difference is that whereas before the framing devices were "fixed" items – for example a tree or a canopy – he now achieves a more natural look – a figure leaning against a post in the foreground here, the end of a wagon there. He still occasionally makes use of the old-fashioned "heavier" framing, but only to highlight a key moment, for example enclosing Olive Borden and Tom Santschi between two cavern walls towards the end.

This is of course also an epic pioneer Western and, although the historical context is not paramount as it is in The Iron Horse, Ford constantly reminds us that a civilization is being built in the background – literally. As in many of his pictures, he balances the story of individuals with the story of masses, often in the same frame, so a dialogue scene might take place with a few horses or wagons trailing past in the distance – always done with so much control so as not to let the one outbalance the other. Perhaps the best example is in an emotional little vignette at the end of the land rush scene – a wagon fills most of the screen, but Ford allows a tiny gap on the left to show the settlers carrying on in the background – just keeping that part of the story going without allowing it to dominate.

By the way, the new Dana Kaproff score that accompanies the recent "Ford at Fox" restoration of 3 Bad Men is also very good. This is as far as I can tell the only silent score Kaproff (normally a TV composer) has done, but he handles the form with skill. It's full of little touches that I like – for example, about twenty minutes in there is a brief scene of George O'Brien's character carrying on his way, singing his song, silhouetted against the sun. Kaproff, rather than giving us the same tune, uses a minor key variation. We recognise it as O'Malley's signature tune, but it just has that little difference that stops it becoming samey, while at the same time corresponding to the sombre tone of the shot.

3 Bad Men is probably Ford's best silent picture. Here at last he has been given a story in which the silhouettes of men on horseback riding across the plains can be tinged with both excitement and poignancy. That was where romance truly lay for old Jack Ford.

This is a great find - some excellent performances here (Olive Borden as the plucky little heroine, Priscilla Bonner as poor little misguided Millie, Lou Tellegen as the corrupt sheriff in rather silly hat) and an excellent story which has a lot to say and keeps you watching. If only someone out there would restore it to its former glory ... wouldn't it look wonderful?

I like George O'Brien and when I saw the opportunity to own an early silent he made I took it and it was worth it, although, while he is the named star, he has a relatively small role in it and the movie really belongs to Tom Santschi who plays Bull, he is exceptional in his role. I'm not a huge fan of westerns, but, I enjoy all of John Ford's as he approaches his movies with a love of the West as it was being settled rather than the "Cowboys 'n' Injuns" take on things. This is the story of a girl who loses her father and is taken under the wing of the three bad men in the title, not that they are really all bad, just a bit naughty really. The real bad guy is the Sheriff who is really creepy. I don't like to give long detailed synopsises of movies, if I think a movie is good I just like to let people know that it is worth seeing and this one is. The Land rush sequence is particularly impressive and there is some very good humour, the inter titling is very well thought out. The acting is very good by all. The only downer is the quality of the available print, mine was a video from the Killiam collection and could do with a little TLC to restore it to it's former glory. This movie has absolutely everything and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's about time more money was put into the restoration and cleaning up of the silents that were not lost or destroyed, it's a crying shame when you see movies like this and many others that end up forgotten and unloved through neglect.

Although George O'Brien is given star billing, he's on the periphery for much of the time in this enjoyable Western from John Ford, only popping up every now and then to provide the love interest for the vivacious Olive Borden. It's the reliable character actors Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald and Frank Campeau who are the unlikely source of the film's heroics as outlaws who inadvertently come to Borden's rescue when horse thieves kill her father, and all three make the best of the opportunity to grab a little of the limelight. Only Lou Tellegen disappoints as the rather fey villain of the piece.

Westerns this early are difficult, as they can't quite shoot the landscapes in all their glory yet.

But this was a lot of fun: a good mixture of action, tension and comedy. The 3 bad men are ridiculously not bad, because of the girl we presume. We are told they certainly were very bad before this all happened. The sheriff, in comparison, seems like a terrible villain.

It's not a classic, but it's very enjoyable.

John Ford won four Academy Awards over his career for his direction on such classics as "How Green Was My Valley", "The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Quiet Man", but it is for his Westerns that he is best loved. Certainly "The Searchers", "Stagecoach", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "Fort Apache", etc. are among the best. Yet through much of Ford's work is his brand of "humor" which often is at odds with the film. I just re-watched "Cheyenne Autumn" and was appalled at the Dodge City (James Stewart as Wyatt Earp) sequence placed just prior to the intermission of the road show version. It is so out of place that one wonders what Ford could have been thinking of. I followed this up with another viewing of "3 Bad Men", which was a major William Fox release for 1926. In addition to George O'Brien in the lead this film has three wonderful character actors (Lou Tellegen, Tom Santschi and J. Farrell MacDonald), a big budget (judging by the large number of covered wagons), and an interesting story idea that is all wasted from Ford's very weak directing. Ford is so caught up in making things "humorous" or "touching" that he destroys the dramatic context of the film. For instance, as the 3 bad men each sacrifice themselves for the sake of the girl and her guy at the climax, Ford stages the stand off fights so poorly as to destroy any belivability in what we are watching. The bad men hero's stand out in the open to hold off a hoard of on comers. One has be given two rifles but instead uses his six-shooter which is empty after 3 shots! The film is directed by the numbers. Everything is telegraphed ahead before it happens. Ford would later take this similar story and make it as "3 Godfathers" (1939) and do it right! Ford's direction of the Dakota land rush scene pails when compared to the Oklahoma land rush in William S. Hart's "Tumbleweeds" (1925). One would think that Ford would have been at the top of his form after having recently directing his epic "The Iron Horse". "3 Bad Men" is a John Ford misfire!

I stumbled upon this on the Fox Movie channel.

it is an excellent tale of the West as only John Ford can tell it.

great cinematography, narrative, acting.

the camera-work is especially compelling.

and the updated music by Dana Kaproff is outstanding.

some of the best silent film music I've ever heard, and I write film scores, so I know what I'm talking about.

check out the Fox Movie channel if your cable company offers it.

They show great films from their library.

this is a must see and must have for anyone's collection of silent masterpieces!

Not one of Ford's better oaters, "3 Bad Men" is nonetheless a modest and satisfactory silent Western, with comic touches and serviceable storyline of three outlaws rescuing a young abandoned girl after her mother is killed in the wild west. While the able players (George O'Brien, Tom Santischi, Olive Borden, Priscilla Bonner, J. Farrel MacDonald) are in good form, the film is chiefly notable for its superlatively evocative photography, the shots of gorgeous exteriors and the typically Fordian long shot of epic landscape & riders on the horizon. It is very poetic and well-made.

Look for that exciting sequence of the Dakota land rush.

The mere mention of John Ford conjures up an image of his reputation as the premier director of Westerns. He began his career directing the films set in the Old West, and his last body of respectable films were of that genre. In a thirteen year span early in his movie career, however, he surprisingly didn't have one Western in his portfolio.

This wasn't his choice nor the Fox Studio he worked. Westerns had worn itself out by the late 1920s, and movie fans were flocking elsewhere to see a variety of dramatic and comic films. Ford's last shot at the Westerns took place with the August 1926 release of "3 Bad Men." It would be over a decade later before he redefined Westerns and made them popular again in his 1939 "Stagecoach."

Based on a Herman Whitaker 1916 novel, 'Over The Border,' "3 Bad Men" follows a caravan of settlers in their covered wagons headed for the Dakotas where gold has reportedly been struck in 1877. Along the way, three men with a rap sheet a mile long plan to steal some horses from one of the members of the wagon train, the beautiful Lee Carlton (Olive Bordon) and her father. Before they can implement their plan, however, her father gets shot by a different set of outlaw. The three wannabe horse thieves, struck by Lee's plight, decide to protect her until the end of the trail in Custer. The town, however, has a corrupt sheriff (Lou Tellegen) who heads as bloodthirsty of an outlaw gang as there is one.

One of the primary idiom for Hollywood period-piece films is don't look for historical accuracy. "3 Bad Men" contains a spectacular race by settlers for open land as found in in 1932's "Cimarron," and 1992's "Far And Away," with Tom Cruise and Nichole Kidman, which reenact the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run. The Dakotas never had such a stampede of wagons and horse riders racing to get the best land available. But the sequence is nonetheless eye popping for its utter chaos. Ford, who loved location shooting, filmed the 15-month production near Victorville, California, for the desert scenes as well as around Jackson Hole, Wymong. Three actresses became very sick from the fever during the shoot, including Olive Borden.

Bordon, who dated the co-star of "3 Bad Men," George O'Brien, was at the height of her career when she appeared in the Ford film. A year later, as a belt-tightening move, Fox Studio asked everyone to take a 10% cut in salary. She refused and had no trouble getting picked up by a couple of competitive studios. The trouble for her began when she cut her hair into the fashionable bob, placing her in the unfamiliar role as a flapper. Her career sank like a rock, especially when movies transitioned into talkies, despite her taking a number of voice lessons to get rid of her Virginian southern accent. She was broke by the late 1930s. She did serve as an Army ambulance driver in Europe during World War Two, receiving a citation for finding and turning over an enemy's ammunition truck. Once back in the states, she hit the bottle, became an alcoholic and ended up in Los Angeles' skid row, dying at the young age of 41.

Three outlaws (played by Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald and Frank Campeau) take a young woman (Olive Borden) whose father was killed by horse thiefs under their wing and help her survive the machinations of a corrupt sheriff (Lou Tellegen). The storyline shows some similarities to that of 'Three Godfathers' which director John Ford filmed more than two decades later. However, I enjoyed '3 Bad Men' a lot more than Ford's younger film. It is more original, has a romantic sub plot and is funnier and less kitschy. It is moreover beautifully filmed and well-acted throughout. There are some weak points, though. I was not entirely convinced by the sudden transformation of the three hardened criminals into sometimes a bit sentimental protectors. And as some other reviewers have pointed out, the climax has been handled poorly. The three outlaws want to defend the entrance to a canyon against the sheriff and his men; as one of them says: A good man could hold it against an army. Sure, but the good man would need to take cover instead of standing quasi in the middle of the road... But these are minor issues. All in all, this is a beautiful early western that is well worth watching.

The first hour or so of John Ford's 3 Bad Men is perfectly fine Western storytelling. The last half hour is probably the best he'd put together up to that point in his career, bringing every narrative element to full fruition in a finale that combines historical recreation, adventure, and pathos with a strong focus on character that elevates the entirety of the film to become the strongest film of Ford's silent period. This is an absolute gem of a film that feels like classic Hollywood at some of its finest.

Sometimes referred to as a precursor to Ford's later Three Godfathers, bearing certain parallel narrative elements, 3 Bad Men's story is set during the Black Hills Gold Rush. A mass of people seeking gold in the Dakota hills are traveling by wagon train including the Carlton family. Separating from the train for a few hours they struggle to catch up, eventually come upon by horse thieves. Nearby are the titular three bad men, "Bull" Stanley (Tom Santschi), Mike Costigan (J. Farrell MacDonald), and "Spade" Allen (Frank Campeau). All some kind of outlaw in the East, they look upon the thievery and decide to act. Scaring off the thieves, they discover that only one of the Carlton family remains, the adult daughter Lee (Olive Borden). Deciding to do some good, they escort her to Custer, South Dakota.

Custer is the landing ground for the land rush scheduled for a few days later. Ruled by the corrupt sheriff Layne Hunter (Lou Tellegen), the place is a den of sin, for instance in the way that Hunter has taken advantage of the young girl Millie (Priscilla Bonner) who presumably works in the brothel, ensuring that he would make an honest woman of her once a preacher came into town. Well, that wagon train contains a preacher (Alec B. Francis), and Hunter just walks away when Millie comes to him with the happy news. News comes to Hunter that an old prospector has found a rich site of gold, and he's going to get that information from him no matter what.

Into Custer rides the three bad men and their charge. They decide that they need to do something with Lee, and that something is to find her a good husband, quickly focusing on the singing cowboy Dan (George O'Brien). They bring him on, and we get some quite amusing bits of early stage courtship as the two get to know each other, obviously being perfect for each other. Things turn when Hunter finds the prospector in the wagon train encampment, tries to beat the information of the gold deposit out of him, and accidentally shooting him, drawing the attention of the whole camp. The prospector, of course, gives the information to our five heroes, and the stage is set for the climactic land rush.

Ford had shown a love for interesting side characters in many of his films, but this is really the first where they're pushed to the forefront. They're not distractions, they are the emotional fulcrum on which the whole movie ends up relying. The most prominent of the three is Bull. He's treated the most like a character while Spade and Costigan get more amusing comic business throughout, but he also has a key moment with Millie that helps inform his later motivations.

The finale is the greatest form of Ford's ability to control chaos in his silent career. The mass of wagons and horses tearing across the landscape (complete with a mobile printing press trying to record the news as it happens) is an epic site. It's all backdrop, of course, never dominating the film, for the chase that develops between the three bad men, Dan, and Lee as they race towards the gold deposit and Hunter and his men determined to follow and kill them. This would be fine on its own, but the three bad men have to become great men in trying to fight off the pursuing posse. As the party dwindles from five to less, there's real pathos to how the deterioration occurs, mixed with wonderful action beats to keep things exciting at the same time as being emotionally compelling.

The two characters whom would have been the central characters in a more traditional telling of the story, Dan and Lee, would have been a good, solid foundation on which to build such a story. However, putting it in the hands of our three anti-heroes gives 3 Bad Men a surprisingly modern feel for a film made in 1926. They have arcs more pronounced than just having two young people falling in love with the backdrop of the gold rush.

I ended up completely loving this film. It's a wonderful early work from Ford that shows all of his strengths as a director in a rough and tumble form.

3 BAD MEN is primitive in comparison to John Ford's more famous work (the 13 year gulf between this and STAGECOACH is staggering), but it remains a treat for silent movie aficionados. The plot is about three eccentric horse thieves who take a lone young woman under their wing and go up against a corrupt sheriff. There's a lot of comedy, the kind you either love or hate with Ford's movies, but at least here the protagonists are the ones indulging in the comedy. The three thieves are fun yet competent heroes, with Tom Santschi as the standout. His Bull Mulligan is out to avenge his sister, both seduced and killed by the sheriff, and Santschi adds real gravitas to his character's personality.

I'm not a fan of westerns, but I liked 3 BAD MEN a great deal. It looks fantastic on bluray.

The story is kind of all over the place, and it has a weird mixture of comedy and drama (which, of course, is hardly odd in a John Ford film), but this is a pretty good one. Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald and Frank Campeau play three outlaws who plan to rob a covered wagon of its horses, but instead find young Olive Borden weeping over her dead father. They're disarmed and decide to turn a new leaf and take care of the girl (to note: she is a young adult, not a child). They become her surrogate father and help her as she establishes herself in the newly formed town that has sprung up in the Dakotas. Soon, there is to be a land rush, and many have gathered there before the land is opened to colonization (the pesky Indians have been removed to a reservation - they aren't a huge part of the film, but occasionally they can be seen watching the white men). The three bad men start looking for a husband for Borden and hit upon George O'Brien. The villain here (Lou Tellegen) is interestingly the law man and wears a white hat. The photography is gorgeous and Ford's direction is excellent. Despite the sloppiness of the script, it's a gripping Western. The land rush sequence is equal to the one in Cimarron four years later.