“Blue Blazes” Rawden / The Great Train Robbery

BLUE BLAZES RAWDEN (1918) and LUBIN'S GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1904) BLUE BLAZES RAWDEN starring William S. Hart, Maude George and Robert McKim. Directed by William S. Hart. Hart portrays "Blue Blazes" Rawden, a tough fighting lumber jack of the north woods. While he and his chums are carousing in the local dance hall, Blazes kills "Ladyfingers" Hilgard, the villainous proprietor, and becomes the new owner of the hall. When Hilgard's mother and brother arrive from England for a visit, Blazes convinces them that Ladyfingers was a good man who died an honorable death. When the conspiracy begins to crumble, Blazes finds his own life in danger. This is a taught, well acted drama - not typical material for Hart. Very entertaining with beautiful location camera work. LUBIN'S GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY made by Lubin Studios in 1904. This film was created to capitalize on Edison's wildly popular THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY released the previous year. Far from a new, original production, it's a near shot by shot rip-off of Edison's version which surely caused confusion with contemporary audiences. On it's own, it's a well made and fascinating alternate version of one of the greatest films of all time.