Having completed 13 features in the calendar year 1915, Raoul Walsh took it easy in 1916, directing only three films. The first of these was Blue Blood and Red, which Walsh also produced and wrote, reserving a juicy leading role for his actor brother George Walsh. Expelled from Harvard, wealthy Algy DuPont (George Walsh) is cut off without a cent by his dyspeptic father. With only a motorcar and a butler to his name, Algy heads to the Wild West, hoping to make something of himself without his dad's millions. Stopping over in Montana, Algy picks up a quick $200 by "going the distance" with the local boxing champ. He then gets a job as a cowpuncher, winning the love of his boss' daughter. A jealous rival tries to bring about Algy's downfall, but our hero is a little too fast and much too clever for him. The film's happy ending is so overloaded with cliches that one suspects that Raoul Walsh was deliberately trying to "rib" the viewers.
by Hal Erickson
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