The Return of Draw Egan
About The Return of Draw Egan
A posse traps outlaw Draw Egan and his gang in a mountain cabin. They drop through a trapdoor and a tunnel. With a bounty on him, Egan rides into Yellow Dog as William Blake. He floors a barroom rowdy in one punch. Mayor Mat Buckton hires him as marshal. Blake quiets the town and falls for the mayor's daughter, Myrtle. Arizona Joe, an old gang hand, arrives and threatens to tell unless Egan helps him take the town. Egan faces him. Joe blurts the past in public. Egan kills Joe, then gives himself up. The town will not hold him, Myrtle says the past does not matter, and he stays marshal.
Cast & crew
More about The Return of Draw Egan
William S. Hart directed and plays Egan. Thomas H. Ince produced. C. Gardner Sullivan wrote it. Joseph H. August photographed it. Triangle released it. The premiere was October 1, 1916, in New York, with October 15, 1916 as the listed release date. It runs five reels. Modern credits name Cliff Smith as assistant director and Robert Brunton as art director. It was re-released in 1924.
Themes
Background
Ince's Kay-Bee unit was turning Hart's outlaw-to-marshal stories into features for Triangle in 1916, the year five reels had become a normal Western length.
Making
Hart was directing himself for Ince by 1916, in five-reel Westerns built on an outlaw who takes a badge. August shot the cabin fight and the Yellow Dog streets.
Look
Joseph H. August shot the five reels, including the cabin shootout and the Yellow Dog saloon.
Preservation
A print survives. Wikipedia points to a free copy on the Internet Archive. The film was re-released in 1924.
Notes
- Louise Glaum plays the dance-hall woman Poppy. Margery Wilson is Myrtle Buckton. Robert McKim is Arizona Joe. J. P. Lockney is Mayor Mat Buckton.
- Leo Willis is the barfly Egan knocks down.
- Egan's alias in Yellow Dog is William Blake.
- The escape from the cabin is a trapdoor and a tunnel, not a ride through the posse.
- Wikipedia notes a copy on the Internet Archive under TheReturnofDrawEgan.
Scenes
- The gang drops through the cabin trapdoor while the posse is still outside.
- Blake drops a saloon rowdy with one blow and is offered the marshal's job.
- Arizona Joe names him in front of the town.
- Egan kills Joe, surrenders, and the town refuses to lock him up.
Also available
- Internet Archive (TheReturnofDrawEgan)
