The Trail of the Axe (1922)

Genres - Adventure  |  
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Synopsis by Janiss Garza

Dustin Farnum stars in this predictable Northwoods melodrama. As in The Yosemite Trail, the film he made just prior to this one, he plays a hero that's so stiff and self-righteous that's it's hard to feel any sympathy for him. David Malkern (Farnum) and his brother Jim (George Fisher) are both lumbermen; they're also both in love with the same girl, Betty Somers (Winifred Kingston). In spite of the fact that he's an alcoholic ne'er-do-well, Jim gets her. David hopes his engagement to the girl will straighten his brother out, but it doesn't. Finally, David is forced to fire him from his job. To get revenge, Jim dynamites the sawmill. In the explosion, David is almost killed, but he manages to escape from the log that has trapped him. He finds Jim at Betty's home. Because they are blood relatives, David can't bring himself to turn Jim over to the authorities. Instead, he lets him get away. David at least gets the girl, because the whole incident causes Betty to wisen up.

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Keywords

evil, good [quality], alcoholism, brother, escape, foreman, killing, love, love-triangle, revenge, self-sacrifice