The Brute

One of Hollywood’s true professionals, Irving Cummings showed little of his later directorial sophistication in this terrible silent comedy-Western about a con man (Monte Blue) trying to fleece a group of wealthy but gullible Indians out of a fortune in oil. Along the way, Blue and his Runyonesque pals (Clyde Cook, Carroll Nye and Paul Nicholson) rescue a pretty lass (Leila Hyams) from a brutal saloon owner. Part Cherokee-Indian himself and a fine comic actor, Blue should have known better than to star in this racist drivel.