#Mack and his crew always ask questions about the movie too-

[alish-artie]

Would the Smithy Gang have a Titanic crying party (AKA watching Titanic)?

Not a crying party : some of them would be confused, others would cry indeed, but mostly the emotional scenes are ruined by Speardovich's jabs at others.

That’s just how movie nights go for them-

[theresnourieandme]

Iron Maiden.

TJ never thought the devil wouldn't dress Prada. Especially after being forced by Amber to see that movie. Yet neither Andi Mack, Buffy Driscoll, nor Cyrus Goodman wore designer clothes, excluding the Mint Chip’s ones. All the boys and girls at the school would never dare be on their way as they headed to the locker rooms, or in the classroom, but not because they were afraid, rather because they were revered as gods. Instead, TJ thought only that they were rude and too touchy to admit the truth – that they, after all, were like all other teenagers, selfish and in need of attention. That's why TJ had no problem standing in front of them as they walked, and he had no problem getting in right before one of them in class, because none of those three made his knees tremble.

Marty, on the other hand, behaved like everyone else in their year, even though he only had eyes for Driscoll, what he called ‘his soul mate’. He had a crush on her since he met her at the first party at Andi Mack's house, and from there he hadn't taken her out of his head.

Jonah always tried to be nice to them, even though he was with everyone. TJ, however, had noticed, observing him when the Good Hair Crew – this is how Buffy, Andi, and Cyrus called themselves – passed by them, that the friend followed with the gaze always and only Andi. TJ knew full well that Jonah didn't have a chance, because Andi and Amber had been dating for a while, but he didn’t want to shut the little dreamer’s wings.

It was a Tuesday in the cafeteria that TJ realized he had done it all wrong. He was quietly seated at a table with his two best friends when Marty saw in the distance the three gods approaching. Every time they walked with their heads held high, time seemed to slow down and it was as if everything was going in slow motion. Marty fidgeted on the bench as he warned TJ and Jonah of the three's impending arrival at their table.

When TJ heard a fake cough right behind him, he turned annoyed. The Good Hair Crew stood behind him and watched him full of disapproval.

Marty was becoming visibly nervous. "Hello," he greeted in a whisper. Andi gave him a quick look before returning her gaze to TJ.

"Kippen," Buffy began. The curls adorned her face to perfection and she seemed to have no out-of-place hair; her eyes were burning as if they had been lit up by some kind of fiery arrow. "You have to stop."

TJ sighed, frowning. "To do what?"

"Don't be a dummy, we don't believe you," Andi continued. "You have to stop not respecting us."

He chuckled and turned a second towards Marty, who said no to him with his head. He returned to study the guys in front of him with a puzzled look. "I'm sorry I don't do your comforts, but I would like to live my life in peace."

Before Buffy could retort, Cyrus interrupted her. "Come on, girls," he said, putting his hand on her friend's shoulder. "Let's leave him alone. In the end, he's right." He smoothed his Mint Chip's blue shirt while all who were present looked at him puzzled.

"Sorry, how?! I thought we all agreed to kick this idiot's ass!" protested Andi, pointing to TJ, who heard everyone in the cafeteria's eyes on him – because yes, when it came to the Good Hair Crew everyone was looking in their direction.

Cyrus put his hands forward and raised his eyebrows. "You two agreed," he said, gesturing between the two. "and then you got me involved." Buffy and Andi looked at each other in amazement and turned to heels, leaving Cyrus there at that moment. The boy sighed and then turned to TJ, still shocked by the scene that had presented itself before his eyes. "Sorry, they just wanted to..." Cyrus didn't find the right excuse and made him understand with a sign of his hand that he had to let go. "Are you all right?" he asked.

TJ nodded. "I always thought they were bitches, but they're... they're terrible."

Cyrus chuckled and sat down with ease, right in front of Jonah. "You probably already know me, am I wrong?"

The three nodded in response, and Marty raised an eyebrow. He had finally recovered from the initial shock at seeing a member of the Good Hair Crew sit at their table. "And you probably don't know who we are, am I wrong?"

He shook his head with a smile. TJ first noticed that, well, he wasn't bad as a guy. "You're Marty, aren't you? We do computer science together. I'm sorry, I don't remember your last name."

The other belittled him with a hand gesture. "Marty’s fine," he said, smiling.

"And then," Cyrus continued, moving his index finger to the right to point the boy in front of him. "You are Jonah Beck, the frisbee boy." He nodded, really pleased that someone remembered him for one of his passions. "And you're TJ Kippen, the captain of the basketball team," he finished, pointing to the blond next to him. Cyrus seemed to have almost an iron memory, and in fact, TJ remembered the lessons he spent with the moor, in which he could almost memorize an entire chapter of the biology book. "I've always wondered what your real name was, though."

Jonah shrugged his shoulders. "He doesn't want to tell us either."

"And we've known each other since we were three years old," Marty added, leaning slightly over the table as if it were a secret.

TJ responded with the most serious tone in the world, even if his cheeks were slightly purple. "I'm not telling you because it's too embarrassing."

"How embarrassing was it that you can play the piano?" asked Jonah, his tone of voice sarcastic and raised eyebrows.

"You can play the piano?" asked Cyrus, startled. He settled better on the bench and TJ nodded just as the bell rang the end of the lunch break. "Well, see you after school? At the Spoon?" he proposed, continuing to send furtive glances at TJ, who noticed and pretended nothing. Marty nodded with a smile on his face and everyone got up to head out.

Marty and TJ greeted Jonah, who had chemistry class, while the two of them had math. "I think Cyrus is slightly interested in you, you know?" said Marty, putting the literature book into his backpack for the next hour. TJ remembered when he had begged Principal Metcalf to change his locker to put him next to his best friend's, and he, tired of hearing complaints, had allowed him to exchange with Gus, who was much more comfortable with his old locker for his moving.

"Nah, I think he was just trying to be cute after Driscoll and Mack's outburst." And anyway, TJ wasn't interested in him. All those years the Good Hair Crew had thrown shit at him and wouldn't have forgiven them easily. But now that he thought about it, Cyrus seemed really sorry for everything that had happened, and those eyes, God, were the most beautiful TJ had ever seen.

Marty shook his head amusedly. "You said that of Kira last year, and yet she was interested in you."

"But I wasn't interested in her."

"Ah, " Marty seemed surprised by those words. "So, you like Cyrus."

TJ blushed more than he should’ve and tried to hide it by looking back at the locker and starting to close it. "I didn't say that."

"As you wish," he laughed, slamming the door of his and beginning to walk toward the classroom. TJ shook his head, giving up on making him think, and followed him trying not to lose sight of him.

 Jonah placed his hand on his shoulder as they left. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "How did biology go? Goodman was there, too, wasn't he?"

TJ nodded. "He sat next to me."

"Sorry, who sat next to you when?" asked Marty, rushing to them. He had his gym bag in his hands and his face all red and sweaty: TJ imagined that he had made a new time. He took advantage of it to change his mind.

"Did you break your record?"

Marty nodded in reply. "I made 11.5 for the first time. But answer my question."

The other snorted before blushing a little, hoping that the friends would take the blush on his cheeks like an effect of the cold that froze the streets. "Cyrus, in biology time."

Jonah raised his eyebrows at Marty. "Now he calls him by name, heard?" Marty nodded and glanced unrestrainedly at TJ, who ignored his friends' jabs altogether.

"Guys, stop it. We haven't even talked that much."

"However, have you already decided who you're going to see the Iron Maiden concert with if and when you're going to buy the tickets?" asked Jonah. TJ knew full well that both of his friends would want to go with him, but his mother had allowed him and Amber to bring only two other people – of course Amber would invite Andi – but he still hadn't decided. Marty was definitely his best friend, but Jonah went crazy for Iron Maiden, so the choice was really hard.

"I don't know, guys. Can't one of you pay for your own ticket?"

Jonah put his hands forward. "Don't look at me: you know what my family is in."

The other two nodded, perfectly remembering that Jonah's father had been fired and now they were going to the broken bank. Marty then shook his head to answer the question. "I had to spend all my savings on my sister's birthday," she explained. Marty's little sister, Michelle, had been born two years earlier and he really loved her very much, even more than he loved TJ – and it was all about.

TJ passed his hand through his blond hair and exhaled heavily. "I will try to make a decision, but I promise nothing. It may well be that the savings will not be enough for me,"' he joked. The other two took a little fun look at him and remained silent until the destination, the Spoon. "Do we really have to?"

Marty seemed astonished. "TJ, Cyrus Goodman wants to meet us at the Spoon! We've made an incredible upgrade!"

"A fall from grace," Jonah added, pushing the diner's door and tinging the golden bell over their heads.

TJ barely remembered the last time he was there. His father had insisted on spending a final day with him and Amber before he left and had bought them strawberry milkshakes. Then he had taken them home without a word and put ten dollars apiece in their hands. Then he left to never come back. In conclusion, TJ didn't have a good memory of the Spoon while Amber was working on it – that's how she met Andi. However, the setting was not bad: the orange and blue leather sofas stood out between the white tables, and the counter was crowded with people waiting for their takeaway. Cyrus was sitting at a rectangular table in the middle of the room and had already ordered a milkshake, though he was sending continuous glances to the kitchen, perhaps waiting for something else.

A blond man TJ found familiar approached him and placed his hand on his shoulder, sitting next to him. Cyrus's face lit up with a slightly too forced smile at the sight of his supposed friend, but his eyes glistened as he saw the three approaching the table.

"Hey, guys!" he exclaimed, as they took their seats on the free chairs. "You already know Reed."

The blonde to his right smiled at TJ, who was sitting at the head of the table, right to Cyrus’ left. "Do we know each other?"

TJ dug through his memories to find the blond and, after squared him up well, said, "I think so. Do you often ride a motorbike with Lester to the construction site?"

Reed nodded and suddenly seemed to remember him. "You are TJ! Man, you've got a great bike. How much did it cost you?"

"My father bought it for my birthday, but I think a few tens of thousands of dollars."

An awkward silence descended on the group that TJ could have cut with a knife. Luckily, Amber, in her blue maid uniform, arrived with a basket full of baby taters. "Hey, Cyrus! Andi and Buffy?" he asked, looking around.

Cyrus bit his lip and TJ couldn't help but think he was really cute when he was agitated. "They don't come today," he said, better settling in the chair. "Let's say I've found someone else I can't share my baby taters with today," he chuckled.

Amber smiled amusedly and noticed TJ, who looked at her with an almost guilty look. "TJ, I hadn't seen you," she said, her tone calm and her eyes studying him. "Hello, Marty. Jonah," she added and glanced warily at Reed before returning behind the counter.

Cyrus had an unequivocally puzzled look. "Do you know each other?" he asked, sliding his eyes from TJ to Marty, to Jonah, and then to look again at the blond to his left.

Marty nodded, speaking before TJ could. "Amber and TJ are brothers, and Jonah was her boyfriend a few years ago."

Reed fidgeted in his chair before he began to speak. "That reminds me…" he began, looking at Cyrus.

"Oh, it's true. It completely crossed my mind and I don't even know why. I've been getting a lot of distracted lately and-”

"Cyrus, you're rambling," Reed said.

Cyrus took a breath before smiling. "It's true, sorry. Reed and I are together."

The news was met with an unwelcoming silence. Although TJ tried to deny it to himself, the last sentence caused him an ache in the chest and to lose a beat. Reed was probably the right one and he had to be happy for them. But what did Reed have more than him? They were both blond, tall, beautiful, athletic, they both had a bike. The only differences were two: the first was that Reed was rude and was said to have once brought a gun to school; the second was that Cyrus most likely knew Reed longer ago. TJ wondered what would have happened between him and Cyrus if they had known each other before.

 "Good luck with Andi," he said, dissolving the embrace in which her sister had hugged him.

"Good luck with yourself," she joked but reserved a sad smile for him.

"It's a very sad thing to be wished," he replied, greeting Amber with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. He saw her walking away smoothing out the pink and white dress she bought with two-year savings just that night. Happy teenagers came in and out of the school gym. He turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder and found himself in front of Jonah.

"Hey," he said. He had the usual smile printed on his face, and his hair was combed neatly with the familiar tuft. The suit bandaged his athletic and lean body as if it had been sewn to measure for him. "Amber's gone in already?"

TJ nodded gravely. "You asked Natalie to accompany you, didn't you?"

Jonah widened his smile – as if it were possible to do so. "Yes. She's waiting for me," he added, pointing to the noisy gym with a nod. "I still don't know how Driscoll agreed to go with Marty."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I only know that they went out sometimes and strangely she accepted with a smile."

"Marty was so confident when he asked her," Jonah said. "Hopefully everything will be okay. Anyway, they're already here. Are you waiting for someone?"

TJ held his breath: he wanted to say yes, but the truth was that he knew Cyrus would go with Reed, and he didn't even have the guts to name the prom next to Cyrus. Yet he would have liked to enter with him under his arm, take him for a drink, dance with him under the hot lights of the spotlight. "No," he said, seeming almost exasperated by that reality. He passed his hand through his hair free of the gel at least for that evening, sighed and then wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders, as he made his way to the entrance. When they were inside, Jonah smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder before reaching Natalie, on the track, waiting for her knight. TJ spotted Marty and Buffy dancing in the middle of the track – they were probably competing in a bloody last-breath race – and Amber and Andi laughing near the drinks table.

He examined the gym in search of his lean and defenseless figure, his bright eyes as the stars, his genuine way of laughing. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to find himself facing an amused Cyrus.

"Were you looking for someone?"

TJ hesitated. "Yes, actually." He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I was looking for you."

Cyrus bit his lip, trying to fend off a smile that still appeared on his lips. "I was looking for you too."

A knot in the stomach, a lost beat, a breath held back. All sensations that had almost become familiar when Cyrus was close to him. "Why?"

Cyrus' gentle gaze met his green eyes, and in an instant TJ felt as if he was carried away by a current of an invisible sea towards the horizon, unable to do anything to counter it. "I dumped Reed," Cyrus replied as if it were nothing, looking around casually and shrugging his shoulders.

TJ tried not to point out his red cheeks and hoped that Cyrus, in the darkness, couldn't see him well. "Why?"

"I found out he doesn't like Iron Maiden! Can you be so ungrateful to the world?" joked Cyrus and TJ chuckled, knowing that there was most likely something else underneath. "Also, there's a more serious reason: he stole his father's gun to ‘have fun’, as he said. I don't want to deal with someone who ‘plays’ with a gun."

TJ nodded, swallowing soundly. He didn't know what else to say, so he tried to bring in the only thing he found out they had in common. "So... you like Iron Maiden, huh?"

Cyrus smiled and nodded. Then he seemed to remember one thing. "Oh, you know there's going to be that concert an hour's drive from here?"

TJ nodded in response. "I've already got the tickets, really."

Cyrus seemed slightly disappointed. "Oh," he said. He lowered his eyes to the polished floor of the gym and raised it after sighing. "Actually... I wanted to ask you to come with me."

TJ looked up in a second. "Yes, that's fine!" He cleared his voice to calm himself down and Cyrus chuckled at that reaction. "I wanted to say that... I can give my tickets to Jonah and Marty, who wanted to come, and I could come with you."

Cyrus smiled and TJ's heart made a somersault for happiness. "Of course." They smiled mutually for a few moments, admiring each other. "Do you want to dance?" he asked, as Queen's ‘Don't Stop Me Now’ started by filling the dance floor.

"Why not," TJ replied, shrugging his shoulders. He offered an arm to Cyrus, who clung to him affectionately. TJ smiled, and he thought that sometimes dreams really come true.

[moviessilently]

Stage star Lenore Ulric brings her signature role to the screen in this melodrama set in Canada. We have Mounties, trees and bloody revenge. The usual Hollywood Canadian wilderness picture, in other words, but we have the added bonus of a super Mountie and a location shoot in Yosemite.

Home Media Availability: Released on DVD.

This is my contribution to the O Canada Blogathon hosted by Silver Screenings and Speakeasy. Be sure to read all the other reviews!

Go get ‘em, tiger!

I do love Mountie flicks and I know I’m not alone. What’s not to love about noble gents in great hands tracking down evildoers? Unfortunately, the quality of Mountie pictures can be described as spotty at best. For every piece of quality entertainment, we have a few bombs. For example, Nomads of the North features Lon Chaney as a sexy fur trapper. Really. Where the North Holds Sway is essentially a western with more flannel. See what I mean? Well, let’s see if this picture will make up for the bad ones.

Will Forrest Stanley’s Mountie win us over?

Tiger Rose is an adaptation of a 1917 stage play written by Willard Mack (you can read a public domain copy here) and produced by the famed David Belasco, who had quite a number of western and wilderness pictures in his repertoire. Warner Bros. scored a casting coup when they obtained the services of Lenore Ulric, who had created the role of Rose on the stage and had not been seen in movies in six years. The film was subsequently remade as both a silent and a talkie as a 1929 Lupe Velez vehicle but, alas, the remake is not on home video.

(I should note that the version of the film I saw runs for just one hour. Tiger Rose as originally released ran for eight reels, which would be eighty minutes at minimum and likely far longer. The storyline is smooth and I did not notice any particularly large holes in the plot.)

The things you find when you go fishing.

The film opens in a quiet Canadian trading community that bears a shocking resemblance to Yosemite. (Mainly because the exteriors were shot there. Whodathunkit?) Sergeant Michael Devlin (four-time Marion Davies leading man Forrest Stanley) is a Mountie’s Mountie and he comes riding hell for leather into town. He has fished a half-drowned woman (Lenore Ulric) out of Loon River and turns her over to the kind locals for some first aid.

We know that this young woman has been through a lot because she looks like this:

I wish I could look that good after almost drowning.

Yipes! When they say “waterproof” on the mascara bottle, they mean it! And who made her hairspray? Color me impressed.

Devlin tells the story of his brave rescue in flashback and it strikes me that this would have been a far more impressive opening scene for the film than shots of the great outdoors. Devlin races on horseback to catch up with the woman in the water—she’s caught in a current heading for a waterfall because this is a melodrama—and then he dismounts and throws himself off a cliff into the river below. That is some grade A stunt work and it’s a pity that the suspense is spoiled by using the flashback structure.

Now THAT is what I call an epic rescue.

Anyway, the young woman is named Rose and she likes to hunt and swear in the most adorable way possible. Devlin is interested but Rose falls for Bruce Norton (Theodore von Eltz), a dashing engineer. (Not there are two words I never thought I would type in the same sentence.) It’s love at first sight but Bruce is on a mission: he has tracked down a nefarious bad guy-type and he means to kill him for the sake of someone called “Helen.” There’s a suitably violent struggle for a pistol and Bruce ends up shooting his target, one of the local doctors.

When confronting one’s arch-nemesis, one would think one would be on the lookout for hidden weapons.

Another local doctor (this town is flush with ‘em, it seems) examines the body and delivers a mysterious proclamation. It seems that everyone in this picture has decided to become Lemony Snicket. The second doctor is played by Sam De Grasse, noted villain of Fairbanks flicks, and he sets out to help Bruce… or does he?

Devlin receives news of the murder and springs into action. He takes his trusty rifle and is able to wing Bruce lickety-split. Bruce is in a pickle as a storm is coming in and Devlin’s posse has the area surrounded. He takes refuge in Rose’s cellar, where she and the doc discover him a bit later. But Devlin hasn’t given up the chase and it’s going to take a very clever plan to evade our unstoppable Mountie.

Bruce learns that Devlin plays for keeps.

Will Bruce get away? Do we really want him to get away? I mean, that Devlin guy is pretty cool. In any case, find out in Tiger Rose!

Lenore Ulric does well overall but her Broadway experience causes her to play things in a broad way. (Get it? Get it?) It’s not too distracting but there are a few scenes in which her gestures get out of control and I wish I could assure her that we saw her in the nickel seats. She also applies her makeup with a trowel, which is distracting alongside the more subtle cosmetics of her costars and the general grit and outdoorsiness of the picture. (Makeup in the silent era was wildly inconsistent but the basic rule was that the actors should try to match one another in general amount and application.)

I’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more lipstick.

Ulric is further hampered by silly title cards that attempt to mimic French Canadian dialect. And does her background ever amount to anything in the picture? It does not. I am on record as hating dialect title cards and unnecessary dialect title cards are even worse. Frankly, it’s amazing that Ulric manages to rise above the silliness.

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Let’s face it, Rose’s motivation is a little weak. She met Bruce the day before and had a flirtation that lasted all of five minutes, that hardly seems like a good reason to risk everything for him. But… this is a melodrama. Love at first sight is a staple. What’s more problematic is the fact that her contributions to the story are pretty much superfluous. The doc and Bruce would have escaped on their own and the ending of the film (being intentionally vague here) would have been essentially the same with or without Rose. Yes, it’s fun to see a silent heroine wield a pistol but it’s not unheard-of. (See Back to God’s Country, a smashing Canadian wilderness picture in which Nell Shipman saves the day with firearms and a killer dog.)

For Helen – You will always be in my heart, In my mind, And in your grave.

Theodore von Eltz is okay as Bruce but the film misfires when it plays Button Button with his past and motivation. It would have been far more believable if he had confided his sad tale to Rose. As the film stands, the leads are forced to run around being terribly mysterious when any normal person would be asking some questions. “Um, why’d you shoot the guy? I know the doc said you had good reasons but I’d kinda like some clarification. Also, do you shoot girls? Asking for a friend.” Look, this mournful “Oh, my horrible past that I will not clarify!” stuff is amusing in A Series of Unfortunate Events but it gets rather tedious in a drama.

This looks like a job for… Devlin the Super Mountie!

I usually find Forrest Stanley to be a bit on the dull side but I really liked Devlin the Super Mountie. He doesn’t show up much in the beginning but every time he does, he performs some splendid stunt, strikes a heroic pose and otherwise shows himself to be Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. In our world of gravel-voiced antiheroes, Devlin’s unabashed good guy-ness is a positive breath of fresh air and Stanley manages to do it all without coming off as sanctimonious or trite.

No villain is safe on Canadian soil!

Devlin’s whole “unstoppable manhunting force for good” act just gets better and better as the film progresses. I don’t know about everyone else but I was definitely rooting for him to get his man. The fact that Bruce’s motivation is not revealed until the finale makes him a rather opaque hero, which in turn makes Devlin’s straightforward lawman stuff even more appealing. Why were there no Sgt. Devlin of the RCMP spinoffs? Come on, people, you missed a huge opportunity!

Looks trustworthy to me.

I have to say, though, that the casting of Sam De Grasse really threw me off. Here’s a man who can make picnics and candy and flowers look sinister and he spends the entire picture lurking about in a most ominous manner. I kept expecting him to stab Bruce in the back or something.

Legendary cinematographer Charles Rosher makes the most of the films Yosemite locations and the cast is frequently posed against lovely natural backdrops. Hey, if you’ve got it, you flaunt it. He does equally well with the moody shadows of the nighttime storm scenes. The man was good, is what I’m saying. Check it out:

When interviewed by Kevin Brownlow for The Parade’s Gone By, Rosher revealed the film was significant in his career as it was the only time movie mogul Harry Warner ever gave him (or anyone else) a bonus. Lenore Ulric was due back in New York for rehearsals and if the film was not finished in time, the entire crew would have to follow her to the east coast and finish making it there at great expense.

She has a schedule to keep and you do not want to cross her.

Director Sidney Franklin was too nice to rush things along so Rosher took over the role as expediter and the picture was finished on schedule. Ulric got to New York in time, Warner Bros. didn’t have to move production across the country and everyone was happy. Harry Warner personally thanked Rosher and told him that shooting in the east would have added $25,000 to the film’s budget. There was a funny bit of business where Warner wouldn’t let go of the check but Rosher got his bonus in the end. Fully deserved too, I might add.

(Rosher also received a telegram from Belasco himself complimenting him on his camera work. Rosher claimed it was just because Ulric, a Belasco favorite, liked her closeups.)

In the cellar, out of the cellar, in the cellar… make up your minds!

But back to the film as we need to discuss some significant flaws. The main issues of the story come from the script. Its stage roots show particularly in the third act as the story’s setbound nature becomes obvious. The leads scamper from the house to the cellar to the house to the cellar to the cabin to the house. Rosher and Franklin try their best to open things up with shots of the great outdoors but there’s only so much that can be done and the story ends up feeling a bit claustrophobic.

No, sitting under a staircase doesn’t count as a scene change.

(Spoilers Ahoy!)

The finale of the film descends into absolute Victoriana, coincidences and all. It turns out that the doc was Bruce’s brother-in-law all along and it looks like everyone is going to get away when Devlin reveals himself and begins to make his arrest. Rose springs into action and holds Devlin back with a pistol while Bruce and the doctor escape. This means prison for Rose but after holding Devlin prisoner all night, Bruce returns to turn himself in and save her from sacrificing herself. Why they didn’t just tie Devlin up and all escape together, I have no idea. In any case, Devlin is moved by the gesture but he still arrests Bruce.

Hurray! You know, for people whose Hollywood motto is, “We always get our man,” the Mounties certainly seem to let a lot of fugitives go. I’d complain but then I remember that I almost never get my mail delivered during snow, sleet and dark of night. Hollywood needs more realistic mottos for its government organization. “We always get our man unless he’s dating that girl we used to like.” Well, not this time! Devlin remains a Mountie’s Mountie and thank goodness. Of course, Bruce just gets a few months in the pokey, which kind of retroactively nullifies the urgency of his escape. “I need to get away! I can’t serve six months! It’s inhuman!”

(End Spoilers)

Goodby and good luck in your new life, Rose. I planted cocaine in your dog sled.

Is it worth seeing? Oh, definitely. Tiger Rose is as corny as can be and no Mountie film cliché is left out, though some are twisted about and played with. Also in the plus column, the cast is game, Rosher’s cinematography is gorgeous and it’s all in good fun. If you get into the spirit of the thing, I think you’ll have a great time. It’s one of the better Mountie flicks of the silent era.

P.S. #TeamDevlin

Where can I see it?

Tiger Rose is available on DVD from Grapevine.

Tiger Rose (1923) A Silent Film Review Stage star Lenore Ulric brings her signature role to the screen in this melodrama set in Canada.