The Headless Horseman
About The Headless Horseman
Sleepy Hollow is waiting for its new schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, from New York. He already knows the story of the Headless Horseman, said to be looking for the head he lost in battle. Ichabod goes after Katrina Van Tassel. Abraham Van Brunt, who is courting her, is angry. Ichabod's hard way of teaching turns more of the village against him. People want him gone.
Cast & crew
More about The Headless Horseman
Edward D. Venturini directed. Carl Stearns Clancy wrote and produced, from Washington Irving's 1820 story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. W. W. Hodkinson distributed it. It was the first feature photographed on panchromatic black-and-white stock. Three silent films were made from the story. This is the longest, and the only one that survives.
Themes
Reviews
Christopher Workman wrote that the Headless Horseman appears in only two short passages, one at the opening and one at the finish, and that much of the riding was shot day-for-night.
Technique
It was the first feature shot on panchromatic black-and-white film.
Preservation
This is the only one of the three silent Sleepy Hollow films that survives. A print is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- Will Rogers plays Ichabod Crane. Lois Meredith plays Katrina Van Tassel, in her last major screen role. Ben Hendricks Jr. plays the rival who is already courting her.
- Wikidata leaves the director blank. Wikipedia and Silent Era credit Edward D. Venturini.
- Carl Stearns Clancy both wrote and produced.
- The catalog plot names the rival Abraham Van Brunt.
Scenes
- Ichabod arrives already talking about the horseman.
- The horseman appears again in the closing chase.
Influenced by
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Washington Irving, 1820)
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-the-headless-horseman)