The Great K&A Train Robbery
About The Great K&A Train Robbery
Cullen hires Tom to stop the robberies on his railroad. Tom knows the secretary, Holt, is tipping the gang, so he works in disguise as a highwayman. The hobo DeLuxe Harry helps him bring the gang in. Tom Mix plays Tom. His horse Tony is billed. Dorothy Dwan is the woman in the picture. Will Walling and Carl Miller are billed with Harry Gripp.
Cast & crew
More about The Great K&A Train Robbery
Lewis Seiler directed. Daniel B. Clark photographed. Fox released it on 17 October 1926. It runs 53 minutes. It comes from Paul Leicester Ford’s story, first a serial in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in 1896, about Dick Gordon stopping a robbery on the K&A. Ford is the author, not a 1926 director. Later dates on file are 1927 and 2 and 9 September 1929. John Wayne is on later cast lists. Edward Peil is also billed. The picture was shot in Colorado.
Themes
Making
Seiler hides Mix as one of the robbers so Holt’s tips can be followed back to the gang. Clark’s camera is on the Colorado line the story uses for the holdups.
Look
Daniel B. Clark shot the railroad action in Colorado, including the runs Mix makes on Tony.
Music
Silent.
Preservation
A 53-minute print survives.
Notes
- The railroad in the title is the K&A.
- Tony is credited as a player, not only as Mix’s mount.
- Wayne’s name is on the cast lists. The 1926 billing that is certain is Mix, Dwan, Walling, Gripp, and Miller.
- A Commons copy uses spaces in K & A.
Scenes
- Cullen puts Tom on the robberies.
- Tom rides as a highwayman because Holt is the leak.
- DeLuxe Harry helps him take the gang.
Influenced by
- The Great K & A Train Robbery (Paul Leicester Ford, 1896)
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The Great K & A Train Robbery (1926).webm)