The Dixie Flyer

Shown at Capitolfest in Rome,NY yesterday, the curator of the film said that they had found a second print of this film, once considered lost, and the final result was not quite ready. So instead we saw the restored print that has been in circulation for some time, but still is in excellent condition. He also said when he circulated the title to various classic film festivals nobody seemed to want it unless they were running an hour short and needed a filler. I can only assume that this is true because the silent cast is practically anonymous.

The opening scenes had me wondering. It opens in a board room and talks about how the president of a railroad company will lose his position if a new stretch of railroad is not completed on time. At the same time, it is revealed to the audience that a member of the board is conspiring to oust the current president via various back stabbing antics and take over in his place. I sighed. Oh no, not another evil financiers/business intrigue drama! But I couldn't have been further from the truth.

The Dixie Flyer is full of action as the foreman on the job (Cullen Landis as Sunrise Smith) teams up with the railroad president's daughter (Eva Novak as Rose). You see, Rose gets a job on site as telegraph operator using an alias so that nobody - including her father - knows who she is and that she is helping her dad. Together Sunrise and Rose save one action-packed situation after another, since several of the back stabbers and trouble makers are at the work site committing acts of sabotage. Rose isn't your typical 20's heroine, waiting for someone to rescue her. She takes action, jumping from moving railway car to car, helping Sunrise in a fight by jumping from one train to the next to hit the villain on the head with a heavy tool, etc.

The ending is extremely ironic and just and all I can say is I never saw that end coming! Enjoy it if you ever get the chance.