
With the assistant of his trusted associate Clifford Smith (who handled most of the second-unit
stuff), William S. Hart directed his own starring vehicle The Aryan. After years of labor, miner Steve
Denton (William S. Hart) gathers up his fortune and sets out to visit his ailing mother (Gertrude
Claire). He is detained, however, in the town of Yellow Ridge, where a dance hall girl named Trixie
(Louise Glaum) not only cheats him of his gold, but also conceals a message wired to him from his
dying mother. Learning the next day that his mother is dead, Steve kills Trixie's lover (Herschel
Mayall) and then drags the dance hall girl into the desert, where he assumes the leadership of a
band of Indian and Mexican bandits. Two years later, a caravan of Mississippi farmers, lost in the
desert, appeals to Steve for help, but he refuses. That night, one of the settlers, little Mary Jane
(Bessie Love), visits him secretly to plead their cause and express her belief that no white man
would refuse to protect a woman in distress. Deeply moved, Steve guides the caravan out of the
desert and then resumes his wanderings. Incredibly, despite his box-office clout, William S. Hart's
salary as both actor and director was a paltry $150 per week.
Plot Synopsis is a combination of Plot Synopses from allmovie.com & afi.com
~Cast~
William S. Hart ... Steve Denton Gertrude Claire ... Mrs. Denton Charles K. French ... 'Ivory' Wells Louise Glaum ... Trixie, 'the Firefly' Herschel Mayall ... Chip Emmett Ernest Swallow ... Mexican Pete Bessie Love ... Mary Jane Garth Enid Bennett Jean Hersholt John Gilbert ... Extra (uncredited)
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~Remaining Credits~
Production Company: Kay-Bee Pictures
Distributed by: Triangle Distributing
Produced by: Thomas H. Ince Original Music by: Hugo Riesenfeld Cinematography by: Joseph H. August
Length: 5 Reels Runtime: 50 Minutes Released: April 9, 1916
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imdb.com - general information (data base form)
allmovie.com - plot synopsis
tcm.com - general information also including plot synopsis
afi.com - general information