Battling Mason (1924)
Directed by Jack Nelson / William James Craft
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Synopsis by Hans J. Wollstein
Two popular genres converged in this enjoyable silent Western: the boxing melodrama and the sagebrush romance. Frank Merrill starred as a former boxer visiting his family's Western ranch. When a crooked politician (Dick Sutherland) attempts to discredit Merrill's uncle (Milburn Morante), the onetime pugilist gets a chance to strut his stuff once again. Produced by a minor firm called Hercules Productions and distributed by poverty row entrepreneur Bud Barsky, Battling Mason played the hinterlands only. Hercules' only star, the muscular Frank Merrill, is best remembered for portraying Tarzan twice, in the serials Tarzan the Mighty (1918) and Tarzan the Tiger (1919). The former stunt-man had earlier played an Arab in The Adventures of Tarzan (1921).
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Keywords
bad-guy, fight, good-guy, good-vs-evil, politician, uncle