See review and synopsis at: www.acinemahistory.com/2016/05... The epic western about the construction of the transcontinental railroad which made John Ford famous.
I looked this movie up because the opening scene 2:40 is filmed in my hometown of Wadsworth NV. I recognized the street immediately. The houses are still there, and the church in the top left corner is still being used. Crazy!!
This is a masterpiece of storytelling and epic history. John Ford is masterful in his directing, as well as managing a cast of thousands; actors, horses, buffalo, Indians, cowboys, and locomotives. Everyone was on location for months in Utah, probably; through winter and summer. The final scene of the meeting of the Union and Central Pacific is perfect, exactly as it was photographed in 1869. The orchestral soundtrack is excellent. Five Stars.
This is 2024. Just a century . I still enjoyed the history of railroads in the hostile lands of the west. John Ford is one of the best directors in silent age & talki. Thanks you tube .
Yes... I wish Mogul would build a beautifully engineered border security fail-safe stupendous cross country southern border wall once and for all, so we could have an Academy award film made about America the beautiful South, West, North & East. 🇺🇸 That will make him a historical president.
Do you know there were more Mexicans aling the Rio Grande Valley up to and including New Mexico as late as the 1860s? The same with Southern Califoria. The Central Valley of California, East Texas and Utah was overwhemingly white by the 1860s but not most of the rest of the Southwest. Thus a Wall to keep out US Citizens?
Judge Charles Edward Bull is an ancestral cousin. He was a judge in Reno, Nevada and was considered the best Abraham Lincoln impersonator by the society sharing the president's name. He starred in two movies: Ford's "The Iron Horse," in 1924, and Lloyd Bacon's "The Heart of Maryland," in 1927. I was able to locate a working copy of "The Iron Horse" in PAL format in the UK. I converted it to NTSC format on VHS tape then converted it to DVD for our family researchers. These old movies won't have the same quality as the original due to the aging of the film. In fact, there is no working copy of Bacon's movie to be found. Most of the old film were not stored properly and deteriorated to deplorable conditions. I was happy just to obtain a working copy of "The Iron Horse."
When I was 10 every Sunday night I saw that movie would come on introduced by Lillian Gish. This was one of them and even though it started at 11:00 and I had to stay up till 1:30 to finish watching it I did my best and barely stayed awake through the very ending. It only got three stars in the movie book but I think it's one of the best movies of the twenties!
Never ever thought I'd watch a silent movie 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 39 seconds long, but I did, and enjoyed it. Thanks Mr Early Cinema History for uploading it.
Lyman H. Howe(1856-1923), was the first person to ever use synchronized sound effects With a motion Picture back in the the early days! But as film Technology started to advance, he started using more live sound effects for his films rather than just phonographs and this would countinue until the first Talking Pictures arrived!
@@AR-jg9im Oh... So that's why they murdered the boy's father in cold blood in the very beginning? My friend, if you think any land belongs to any human being, no matter what race, that is an ignorant way of belief system. The discrimination is between who know God, and who does not know God. The Lord, Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the only proprietor of all moving and non-moving entities. He owns the land and the seas, the rivers and the mountains, and not a blade of grass moves without His sanction. He who systematically sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being. vedabase.io/en/library/iso/
WOW!!! What a PICTURE! That's the first time I've seen "The Iron Horse". I'm a fan of both silent films AND John Ford. It's absolutely one of his best and can easily be placed on the same pedestal as any one of Ford's great sound films, whether it's "The Grapes of Wrath", "The Searchers" or "Rio Grande". Excellent performances, great story and an inspiring historical piece. I would also like to commend the gorgeous musical score by Christopher Caliendo which accompanies this particular version. I truly can't say I would enjoy the film as much in the future without this score. I would like to know if this was the original score for the film or was it created more recently. Whatever the case, it is a perfect fit with such variety and emotion to fit all aspects of the film. My sincere thanks to the people of "Early Cinema History" for posting this MAGNIFICENT motion picture. I am NOW going to subscribe to your channel. All the best!
It would have been interesting to see though, how did they get all those steel forged beams, crafted in Sacramento, in numerous stacks/loads out 200 miles from there and beyond?
It was the view of those who lived in 1924; we know more of how things really were then than those folks did at the time. View it in that context. We also know John Ford was a great filmmaker.
A number of the people in and around the movie had been part of the actual construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. You have to figure that they probably had a better idea of how things were done than we do.
I watch a lot of silent movies & generally prefer a conventionally orchestrated score. It took me a while to get used to this one but finally I didn't mind it. If there is a surviving original score, I would probably prefer it, however. The same composer provided much more traditional--but splendid!--music for Ford's "Four Sons." I recommend that one highly.
The star of the movie doesn't show up till 56 minutes in, now that's ballsy. George O'Brien has such an aw shucks quality about him that feels very real but it doesn't take away from the fact that he will kick anyone's butt if they cross him. The last fight, with the two fingered man, was actually quite realistic, none of this crazy cartoon stuff shown in movies today.
cecil b demille did the same sort of story in 1939 for UNION PACIFIC,but de mille was no john ford.A GREAT WESTRERN SILENT EPIC after the success of THE COVERED WAGON 1923
Having read the Scott Eyman biography, and other sources about the director John Ford my opinion differs a little from some of the comments. Yes. love his better pictures (he had a few mediocre films too in a very long career) as cinematic triumphs. This film is an impressive start. But the man himself? Do some reading. He is a classic example of LOVE THE ART, separate it from the artist. His cinematic art stands out in his more memorable films. Admire and respect that.
Yes they did! The C.P. Huntington was the engine that helped to built the transcontinental railroad. Plus, Huntington is the original locomotive, not a replica
According to Wikipedia, "All motion pictures made and exhibited before 1925 are indisputably in the public domain in the United States. This date will move forward one year, every year, meaning that films released in 1925 will enter the public domain in 2021, films from 1926 in 2022, and so on." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_in_the_public_domain_in_the_United_States#Date_of_publication
Selfish lady. Appeals to the workers for abstract national reason but when it comes to Brandon vs. Jesson she only sees: What about me? Also, she won't accept that man's fight but gets portrayed as a heroine taking a gun on the relief train. She should have to be forgeiven by *him*. - Next to mention the role of the Cheyenne Indians labelled hostile while it was their holy territory and their name that got stolen. - This scene impressed me the most: 02:10:28. Deroux dead, Brandon and Marsh joint in grief ... while work is unevitably being started again in the background.
Antonio Coppola Good point, the musical score didn't really align itself with the narrative, e.g. when the railroad layers sang "Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill" and when Lincoln is invoked at the end with "His truth is matching on" there's no "Battle Hymn of the Republic" melody.
@@SoloPilot6 I heard that they weren't supposed to be. By then they were probably numbered instead of named and where did it get down to it enough to save them I'm not knowing their history someone just scrapped them with the rest would be my guess.
@@Ham549 : Two different locomotives, owned by two different companies. UP has always used numbers, Central Pacific had changed to Southern Pacific, but all through their lives, Jupiter and 119 were well known for the history they created. The scrapping wasn't done by accident.
@@Ham549 They were just numbered by then, Central Pacific did away with names in the 1870s. Jupiter was sold to the Gila Valley, Globe, and Northern in 1893, and that road was controlled by the SP by the time Jupiter was scrapped. The UP had control of the SP at that time as well, and they simply didn't care...
@@nurderbvbabernurderbvb this was made well after those two had been scrapped. The engines in this film are obviously more modern, I'd be interested in finding out what engines they used in this film...
@@jayo1212 yes, that makes sense because the original 119 was scraped by 1903, the Jupiter by 1909. So it's very difficult to say, i thought I am very clever to check it out on Wikipedia 😂
This is not a criticism to the poster... but this is a lousy version without a good score, the playing tempo is way too slow and the original tints have been removed.
The last shot represents the actual photo, the Chinese workers who did most of the work were not included in the photo. So that last scene, was sadly quite accurate .
@@earlycinemahistory3118 The shorter version of the movie (2h9min) has a score that is more suited to the action, even though there's some "indian" music to it. The fight scene at the saloon has a very impressive soundtrack to it. This one is definitely 'modern'. The biggest problem is that the version I saw ends abruptly, before the meeting of the engines and the golden spike being put.
Never leave history interfere with a good Movie. The Pony Express went out business when the Telegraph between the East and California was finished in 1861. This movie is set post 1864. No Pony Express in 1864.
No, that would destroy the intended original black and white cinematography. There is a tinted version, but just recoloring the film wouldn't add to it.
@26:30 (Oxen would have been stronger, instead of horses my friends.) ✌🏻🐃🐂 Mr. Trump, (Mogul), please please stay your course of determination, like old Abe. You will go down in history when you physically secure the border by your engineering and building of border wall skill. America will be endowed with something so great that it will turn around the course of illegal destruction to the fabric of American good life and the land of dreams coming true. Build the wall as the railroad was built; insight.
I looked this movie up because the opening scene 2:40 is filmed in my hometown of Wadsworth NV. I recognized the street immediately. The houses are still there, and the church in the top left corner is still being used. Crazy!!
This is a masterpiece of storytelling and epic history. John Ford is masterful in his directing, as well as managing a cast of thousands; actors, horses, buffalo, Indians, cowboys, and locomotives. Everyone was on location for months in Utah, probably; through winter and summer. The final scene of the meeting of the Union and Central Pacific is perfect, exactly as it was photographed in 1869. The orchestral soundtrack is excellent. Five Stars.
Words cannot express how wonderful this movie is! Truly a masterpiece directed by the great John Ford. Is is amazing!
This is 2024. Just a century . I still enjoyed the history of railroads in the hostile lands of the west. John Ford is one of the best directors in silent age & talki. Thanks you tube .
not easy to put into words how great this film is
Yes...
I wish Mogul would build a beautifully engineered border security fail-safe stupendous cross country southern border wall once and for all, so we could have an Academy award film made about America the beautiful South, West, North & East.
🇺🇸
That will make him a historical president.
@@tulayamalavenapi4028 go back under your rock.
Do you know there were more Mexicans aling the Rio Grande Valley up to and including New Mexico as late as the 1860s? The same with Southern Califoria. The Central Valley of California, East Texas and Utah was overwhemingly white by the 1860s but not most of the rest of the Southwest. Thus a Wall to keep out US Citizens?
Judge Charles Edward Bull is an ancestral cousin. He was a judge in Reno, Nevada and was considered the best Abraham Lincoln impersonator by the society sharing the president's name. He starred in two movies: Ford's "The Iron Horse," in 1924, and Lloyd Bacon's "The Heart of Maryland," in 1927. I was able to locate a working copy of "The Iron Horse" in PAL format in the UK. I converted it to NTSC format on VHS tape then converted it to DVD for our family researchers.
These old movies won't have the same quality as the original due to the aging of the film. In fact, there is no working copy of Bacon's movie to be found. Most of the old film were not stored properly and deteriorated to deplorable conditions.
I was happy just to obtain a working copy of "The Iron Horse."
Roger - I am very interested in this film and wondered if its possible to get in touch with you. smsadis@gmail.com
When I was 10 every Sunday night I saw that movie would come on introduced by Lillian Gish. This was one of them and even though it started at 11:00 and I had to stay up till 1:30 to finish watching it I did my best and barely stayed awake through the very ending. It only got three stars in the movie book but I think it's one of the best movies of the twenties!
Never ever thought I'd watch a silent movie 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 39 seconds long, but I did, and enjoyed it. Thanks Mr Early Cinema History for uploading it.
This is the longest silent movie I've ever seen
Lyman H. Howe(1856-1923), was the first person to ever use synchronized sound effects With a motion Picture back in the the early days! But as film Technology started to advance, he started using more live sound effects for his films rather than just phonographs and this would countinue until the first Talking Pictures arrived!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this beautiful film!
Genocide of native indians is not beautiful. Not white mans land.
@@AR-jg9im
Oh... So that's why they murdered the boy's father in cold blood in the very beginning?
My friend, if you think any land belongs to any human being, no matter what race, that is an ignorant way of belief system.
The discrimination is between who know God, and who does not know God.
The Lord, Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the only proprietor of all moving and non-moving entities. He owns the land and the seas, the rivers and the mountains, and not a blade of grass moves without His sanction.
He who systematically sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.
vedabase.io/en/library/iso/
Epic Classic John Ford.
WOW!!! What a PICTURE! That's the first time I've seen "The Iron Horse". I'm a fan of both silent films AND John Ford. It's absolutely one of his best and can easily be placed on the same pedestal as any one of Ford's great sound films, whether it's "The Grapes of Wrath", "The Searchers" or "Rio Grande". Excellent performances, great story and an inspiring historical piece. I would also like to commend the gorgeous musical score by Christopher Caliendo which accompanies this particular version. I truly can't say I would enjoy the film as much in the future without this score. I would like to know if this was the original score for the film or was it created more recently. Whatever the case, it is a perfect fit with such variety and emotion to fit all aspects of the film.
My sincere thanks to the people of "Early Cinema History" for posting this MAGNIFICENT motion picture. I am NOW going to subscribe to your channel. All the best!
It would have been interesting to see though, how did they get all those steel forged beams, crafted in Sacramento, in numerous stacks/loads out 200 miles from there and beyond?
simply awesome!
It was the view of those who lived in 1924; we know more of how things really were then than those folks did at the time. View it in that context. We also know John Ford was a great filmmaker.
A number of the people in and around the movie had been part of the actual construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. You have to figure that they probably had a better idea of how things were done than we do.
Quite the opposite
I watch a lot of silent movies & generally prefer a conventionally orchestrated score. It took me a while to get used to this one but finally I didn't mind it. If there is a surviving original score, I would probably prefer it, however. The same composer provided much more traditional--but splendid!--music for Ford's "Four Sons." I recommend that one highly.
The star of the movie doesn't show up till 56 minutes in, now that's ballsy. George O'Brien has such an aw shucks quality about him that feels very real but it doesn't take away from the fact that he will kick anyone's butt if they cross him. The last fight, with the two fingered man, was actually quite realistic, none of this crazy cartoon stuff shown in movies today.
That is an old trick of John Ford, for example in Stagecoach all the other main actors are seen first, John Wayne is the last one to appear.
Springfield Illinois, surrounded by mountains😉
Thank you for your comment. I think Union Pacific is also quite good actually. But it's a talkie made 15 years later, difficult to compare.
cecil b demille did the same sort of story in 1939 for UNION PACIFIC,but de mille was no john ford.A GREAT WESTRERN SILENT EPIC after the success of THE COVERED WAGON 1923
It was obvious! The Jupiter and the 119 come closer together at 2:28:09 . But in the end, they were a bit separate 2:29:02
Having read the Scott Eyman biography, and other sources about the director John Ford my opinion differs a little from some of the comments. Yes. love his better pictures (he had a few mediocre films too in a very long career) as cinematic triumphs. This film is an impressive start. But the man himself? Do some reading. He is a classic example of LOVE THE ART, separate it from the artist.
His cinematic art stands out in his more memorable films. Admire and respect that.
gracias ángeles :)
What did you like about the movie?
Great film and although I didn't mind the modern score, now I'd like to see it with it's original.
There is a shorter version with a much better score, more suited to the action. But it ends at 2h9min, cutting the real ending.
C.P. Huntington and Gov. Stanford are in this movie
Copyright free, Are you sure,
can i use this movie for my youtube channel (to change background, sound & others)
Oh good grief. Why the criticism?
Wonderful.movie
John Ford masterfully lays the romance out as the rails are laid. 🇺🇸🍎🎈👄
Did they actually use the C.P. Huntington for the movie? at 26:20?
Yes they did! The C.P. Huntington was the engine that helped to built the transcontinental railroad. Plus, Huntington is the original locomotive, not a replica
🥰🙌
Do you have any advice on how to obtain a higher resolution version of this film?
You can get the DVD e.g. on Amazon.com
Thanks!
Can you please confirm if this is a copyright free movie?
According to Wikipedia, "All motion pictures made and exhibited before 1925 are indisputably in the public domain in the United States. This date will move forward one year, every year, meaning that films released in 1925 will enter the public domain in 2021, films from 1926 in 2022, and so on." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_in_the_public_domain_in_the_United_States#Date_of_publication
Early Cinema History Thank you so much for talking the time to answer. I really appreciate your help. Wish you a lovely day.
Jean Arthur was suppose to have a small bit in this as a reporter. I must've blinked and missed it. Does anyone know where in the film she was?
Nevermind. I found her at 20:23 from the right as Lincoln enters the room.
Selfish lady. Appeals to the workers for abstract national reason but when it comes to Brandon vs. Jesson she only sees: What about me? Also, she won't accept that man's fight but gets portrayed as a heroine taking a gun on the relief train. She should have to be forgeiven by *him*. - Next to mention the role of the Cheyenne Indians labelled hostile while it was their holy territory and their name that got stolen. - This scene impressed me the most: 02:10:28. Deroux dead, Brandon and Marsh joint in grief ... while work is unevitably being started again in the background.
PeterBB I kept wondering why nobody bothered to tell her that her fiance had tried to shoot Davy in the back before the fight erupted.
Can anyone point out where Jean Arthur is visible? Is this the woman who dies during a Cheyenne attack?
Very nice music from Mr. Caliendo but too invasive. Often it distracted me from the vision. Too big. Too thick. Too much.
Antonio Coppola Good point, the musical score didn't really align itself with the narrative, e.g. when the railroad layers sang "Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill" and when Lincoln is invoked at the end with "His truth is matching on" there's no "Battle Hymn of the Republic" melody.
Just mute it and play your own favorite or appropriate music. It's a free country.
(I personally enjoy the acting alot that way!)
(CHECKPOINT) 1:22:08
The original Jupiter and 119 were scrapped before the Iron Horse
Makes you wonder what people were thinking -- two of the most famous locomotives in world history, destroyed for convenience.
@@SoloPilot6 I heard that they weren't supposed to be. By then they were probably numbered instead of named and where did it get down to it enough to save them I'm not knowing their history someone just scrapped them with the rest would be my guess.
@@Ham549 : Two different locomotives, owned by two different companies. UP has always used numbers, Central Pacific had changed to Southern Pacific, but all through their lives, Jupiter and 119 were well known for the history they created. The scrapping wasn't done by accident.
@@Ham549 They were just numbered by then, Central Pacific did away with names in the 1870s. Jupiter was sold to the Gila Valley, Globe, and Northern in 1893, and that road was controlled by the SP by the time Jupiter was scrapped. The UP had control of the SP at that time as well, and they simply didn't care...
Goof: 119 is 116 2:24:29
@2:24:22 I wonder what engines were actually used in this scene...
The 119 was a 4-4-0 build by Rogers Locomotive and Maschine Works in 1868, the Jupiter was also a 4-4-0, build by Schenectady Locomotive Works in 1868
@@nurderbvbabernurderbvb this was made well after those two had been scrapped. The engines in this film are obviously more modern, I'd be interested in finding out what engines they used in this film...
@@jayo1212 yes, that makes sense because the original 119 was scraped by 1903, the Jupiter by 1909. So it's very difficult to say, i thought I am very clever to check it out on Wikipedia 😂
je trouve ce film pas très interresant
This is not a criticism to the poster... but this is a lousy version without a good score, the playing tempo is way too slow and the original tints have been removed.
Is there a better one publicly available?
What happened to the Chinese workers?
The last shot represents the actual photo, the Chinese workers who did most of the work were not included in the photo. So that last scene, was sadly quite accurate .
Ennuyeux
The Jupiter and 116? Lol
Funny thing is they weren't even the real trains, lol. So not only did they get the name wrong, they also just blatantly lied...
Cheesy, crappy modern music soundtrack has been recently added by people who think this enhances the move. Don't tamper with the original.
Have you got the original score?
@@earlycinemahistory3118 Looks like a piano reduction of the score has recently turned up. link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137410726_9
@@earlycinemahistory3118 The shorter version of the movie (2h9min) has a score that is more suited to the action, even though there's some "indian" music to it. The fight scene at the saloon has a very impressive soundtrack to it. This one is definitely 'modern'. The biggest problem is that the version I saw ends abruptly, before the meeting of the engines and the golden spike being put.
Just mute it and put on your favorite music... What's the difficulty?
The original run was in theaters with orchestras of up to 100 pieces.
Never leave history interfere with a good Movie. The Pony Express went out business when the Telegraph between the East and California was finished in 1861. This movie is set post 1864. No Pony Express in 1864.
like si eres centri 🤪🤮
Hey can somebody do a Narrated Version of this silent classic?
Well made movie for its time. Unfortunately, the plot was pure propaganda of the time.
Can I just request? Can they just bring it in colour so we can enjoy it much.
No, that would destroy the intended original black and white cinematography. There is a tinted version, but just recoloring the film wouldn't add to it.
@26:30
(Oxen would have been stronger, instead of horses my friends.)
✌🏻🐃🐂
Mr. Trump, (Mogul), please please stay your course of determination, like old Abe.
You will go down in history when you physically secure the border by your engineering and building of border wall skill. America will be endowed with something so great that it will turn around the course of illegal destruction to the fabric of American good life and the land of dreams coming true.
Build the wall as the railroad was built; insight.
Wow. You know planes exist right?....