3 Bad Men (1926) User Reviews (21)

Three Golden and Warm-Hearted Men

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 24 July 2009]

In 1876, an old man finds gold in the Sioux lands, provoking a gold and land rush from immigrants to Dakota. On the way to Custer, the lonely cowboy Dan O'Malley (George O'Brien) helps to fix the wheel of Mr. Carlton's wagon and flirts with his daughter Lee Carlton (Olive Borden). Later, Lee and her father are attacked by horse thieves and Mr. Carlton is murdered; however, the outlaws "Bull" Stanley (Tom Santschi), Mike Costigan (J. Farrell MacDonald) and "Spade" Allen (Frank Campeau) save her from the criminals and head with her to the camp where the pioneers are waiting for President Grant proclamation to explore the lands. In the site, the corrupt Sheriff Layne Hunter (Lou Tellegen) rules with his henchmen with horror and injustice. The trio of outlaws decides that Lee needs to get married and select Dan to be her husband. When Bull's sister Millie Stanley (Priscilla Bonner) is murdered by Hunter's right arm Nat Lucas (Jay Hunt), "Bull" organizes the men to chase Hunter. But it is 1877 and the gold and land race of wagons is ready to start.

The melodramatic "3 Bad Men" is a delightfully naive silent western of the director John Ford. The cinematography is amazing, and the big land and gold race of wagons is fantastic for a 1926 silent movie, and comparable to the 1992 Ron Howard's "Far and Away" that uses modern cameras and equipment. The acting is top-notch, and the actors and actresses are able to transmit intense feelings using body and expressions only, despite the exaggerated acting in the death of the villain Hunter. There are funny moments, and I liked when Mike and Spade evaluate a dandy to marry Lee; or when Dan plays a romantic song in his harmonica for Lee; or the dialogs of Mike and Spade. The sequence with the baby is visibly inspired in Sergei M. Eisenstein's "The Battleship Potemkin" from 1925. The conclusion is corny and moralist, but absolutely inside the context of the moral and ethical values of the society in 1926. Last but not the least; the title is not accurate since the three "bad men" are actually three golden and warm-hearted men. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "3 Homens Ruins" ("3 Bad Men")

Very good acting and cinematography. Extremely realistic .

[geocon90293 · 8/10 · 10 March 2005]

This film convinces me that John Ford deserves his legendary status. He seems to have had his unique gift for cinema story telling from his beginnings. This is a starkly realistic tale depicting , unromantically , some of the brutal hardship of the late 19th century west.

There is great poignancy in the loyalty and ethos which surface in even the most "bad" of men. To convey this in a silent film , with fairly minimal use of dialogue screens , required some pretty good acting and good camera work. There are several protracted facial studies which convey the critical messages very eloquently. Through most of the film I forgot that there was no "talking" dialogue. There are some surprisingly "contemporary" humor lines on the dialogue screens , not typical of westerns but quite typical of Fords evolving love of pathos.

Ford inventing the modern western in the '20s

[mhesselius · 8/10 · 21 July 2010]

I expected this to be Ford's first adaptation of "The Three Godfathers." And while the film borrows elements from Peter Kyne's story, it's really quite different, owing little to any source, having merely been "suggested" by Herman Whitaker's novel "Over the Border." It opens with a wildly inaccurate summary of post Civil War western settlement, but soon settles down into a surprising tale of good-guy outlaws battling bad-guy lawmen, a similar kind of world-turned-upside-down theme to which Ford would return in his first talking western, "Stagecoach."

But unlike the Ringo Kid in that film, these bad men, "Bull" Stanley, "Spade" Allen, and Mike Costigan, aren't just misunderstood; they're cold-blooded killers. After fighting off sheriff Layne Hunter's lawmen for the prize of some thoroughbred horses brought from Virginia by a Major Carlton to compete in a Dakota territory land rush, Bull is about to establish his claim by putting a bullet through the brain of a figure kneeling over the major's body when a hat falls off to reveal the tresses of the major's daughter, Lee, played by Olive Borden. Bull has apparently murdered men under similar circumstances, but he can't kill a woman. His saving grace is his love for his sister Millie who was seduced away from home by a man against whom Bull has sworn revenge.

Lee, believing the bad men came to her father's aid, pleads for Bull's assistance. Bull's compassion is awakened, and instead of stealing her horses he persuades his baffled comrades to help Lee in the land rush. Opposing them is Layne Hunter, sheriff of the town of Custer, looking sexually ambiguous with his white face, dandy clothes and long hair. He not only covets the Carlton thoroughbreds but Lee herself, apparently planning to seduce and pimp her out like his other prostitutes. One of his recent acquisitions we learn is Bull's sister.

The bad men are compelled to save Lee by finding her a husband. They choose Dan O'Malley (played by George O'Brien), an Irish cowboy the Carltons had met on their way to Custer. The partners also learn from a prospector the location of rich diggings in the Black Hills. The lawmen burn down a church and Millie is shot trying to shield the minister. Bull is finally reunited with his sister who dies with him at her bedside.

All five partners ride the Major's thoroughbreds in the Custer land rush. But the Hunter gang is waiting for them over the starting line, intending to follow the partners who they are certain will lead them to the gold. Outnumbered, the bad men must sacrifice themselves one by one to cover the route of Lee and Dan, redeeming their criminal pasts by saving the two lovers, and allowing Bull a final opportunity to obtain justice for his dead sister by killing her seducer.

I don't know how much input Ford had on the final script. He usually had a hand in most aspects of his films. But even if other westerns occasionally featured corrupt officials and goodhearted bad men, the idea of murderers as martyrs and the town sheriff as a sexually ambiguous pimp complicates the plot more than you might expect in a movie of this era, and shows how far ahead of his time Ford actually was.

Ford's infamous and unmistakable brand of humor suggests he had more than a little to do with the script. But even though the humorous interludes take too long, they're not as distracting here since they are consistent with character and plot development, which isn't often the case in Ford's films. We shouldn't be too shocked at racially insensitive title cards since such language was common to the time in which the film takes place. And finally, the Grand Tetons, standing in for the Black Hills, furnish the type of spectacular backdrop - like Monument Valley in later Ford action scenes - for some exciting images of the land rush and the heroic sacrifice of three good men.

A silent masterpiece

[jjcremin-1 · 10/10 · 17 December 2007]

I agree with a previous review that the actor who makes the most impression is Tom Santschi, whose story of revenge this really is. His failure of saving Millie who sees Sheriff Hunter (Lou Tellegrin), her murderer, as the last image she sees while in Santaschi's arms, is quite cinematic. This hour and a half film has everything you would want in a western, sound or silent.

There's a cute meet of George O'Brien and Olive Borden and one knows they're going to be together at the end by the 3 "bad men". Santschi is the leader who makes sure that happens. J. Farrell McDonald and Tom Campeau become a comedy team when they search for a proper suitor for Borden, but when Borden settles for O'Brien, it's settled.

The fight scenes look truly realistic and John Ford shows his genius for great visuals. The church burning scene and the abandoned infant of the Oklahmoma Land Rush scene are among the best scenes he ever did.

Santschi died in 1931. His sad eyes and his authoritative style is mostly forgotten and is one of the reasons the film should be better remembered. MacDonad would live on to 1952 and was featured in many Ford and others but barely registers like he does here. His eyebrows alone are very funny to watch and he, as in the Iron Horse, was very good as the comedy relief guy.

Great use of the outdoors and putting extra meanings in the framing of scenes was Ford's stock in trade. Not all of his movies are classic. But this one most definitely is.

"At a smile-a-minute pace"

[Steffi_P · 10/10 · 31 December 2008]

It seems John Ford made his best films when a great story happened to coincide with his own sensibilities. For a director who filmed masculine camaraderie with more tenderness than male-female romance, and almost gave more weight to the comic asides than the actual plot, 3 Bad Men seems tailor-made – a Western in which the eponymous outlaws are the heroes, and the love story between Olive Borden and the more typically heroic George O'Brien becomes a subplot.

Ford's tendency to improvise gags, and expand comic relief to entire scenes is often a bit excessive, but in 3 Bad Men it does not matter so much because the comedy characters are protagonists rather than supporting players threatening to steal the show. In fact the laughs we have had throughout the film make the poignant finale really pay off. You get a similar effect in Charlie Chaplin's features. What's more, Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald and Frank Campeau, big ugly supporting players that they were, were nevertheless great actors who here prove themselves fully capable of emotional depth.

Ford, meanwhile, can be seen gradually developing into a confident craftsman, especially as regards his shot composition. While his earliest pictures featured framing that was pretty yet distracting, he now achieves the same aesthetics with far more subtlety. A major difference is that whereas before the framing devices were "fixed" items – for example a tree or a canopy – he now achieves a more natural look – a figure leaning against a post in the foreground here, the end of a wagon there. He still occasionally makes use of the old-fashioned "heavier" framing, but only to highlight a key moment, for example enclosing Olive Borden and Tom Santschi between two cavern walls towards the end.

This is of course also an epic pioneer Western and, although the historical context is not paramount as it is in The Iron Horse, Ford constantly reminds us that a civilization is being built in the background – literally. As in many of his pictures, he balances the story of individuals with the story of masses, often in the same frame, so a dialogue scene might take place with a few horses or wagons trailing past in the distance – always done with so much control so as not to let the one outbalance the other. Perhaps the best example is in an emotional little vignette at the end of the land rush scene – a wagon fills most of the screen, but Ford allows a tiny gap on the left to show the settlers carrying on in the background – just keeping that part of the story going without allowing it to dominate.

By the way, the new Dana Kaproff score that accompanies the recent "Ford at Fox" restoration of 3 Bad Men is also very good. This is as far as I can tell the only silent score Kaproff (normally a TV composer) has done, but he handles the form with skill. It's full of little touches that I like – for example, about twenty minutes in there is a brief scene of George O'Brien's character carrying on his way, singing his song, silhouetted against the sun. Kaproff, rather than giving us the same tune, uses a minor key variation. We recognise it as O'Malley's signature tune, but it just has that little difference that stops it becoming samey, while at the same time corresponding to the sombre tone of the shot.

3 Bad Men is probably Ford's best silent picture. Here at last he has been given a story in which the silhouettes of men on horseback riding across the plains can be tinged with both excitement and poignancy. That was where romance truly lay for old Jack Ford.

out west again ...

[didi-5 · 26 June 2000]

This is a great find - some excellent performances here (Olive Borden as the plucky little heroine, Priscilla Bonner as poor little misguided Millie, Lou Tellegen as the corrupt sheriff in rather silly hat) and an excellent story which has a lot to say and keeps you watching. If only someone out there would restore it to its former glory ... wouldn't it look wonderful?

Very good, though the final showdowns were handled poorly.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 6 July 2009]

3 BAD MEN is clearly based on an earlier Ford film, MARKED MEN--which had been made and remade six times over the years. The most familiar (though not best) version was THREE GODFATHERS with John Wayne. Just like this other story, 3 BAD MEN is about how three criminals forget their evil ways and sacrifice their lives to save a young lady they came upon in the wilderness. There are many differences, however, and if you've seen any of the six versions of MARKED MEN, it's still worth seeing.

The story involves three criminals who plan on stealing horses as they are being taken across the wilderness by wagon. However, just as they are about to attack, another group of crooks attack first--killing the old man leading the wagon. They then attack and drive off the first group of desperadoes and are about to kill the final person with the horses when they see it's a pretty young lady. Inexplicably, they all immediately become captivated with her (!?) and instead become her protectors.

While the story idea is silly and recycled, the film is well worth seeing because of two main reasons. First, it's very entertaining. Second, and this is the part that struck me, the cinematography was amazingly beautiful. At times, it looked like an Ansel Adams landscape come to life. Additionally, the portraits of the American Indians at the beginning of the film are wonderful historical moments, as these Indians looked real--not the Hollywood idea of these natives, but real Indians.

Despite enjoying and still recommending you see the film, I must admit that blue-7's review is essentially correct. The final showdowns where the three "bad men" all sacrifice their lives one at a time to save the young lady they love were handled very poorly--which is a surprise for a master director like Ford. Each of these men did a rotten job holding off the enemy--not even bothering to hid behind rocks or thinking through their attacks. They simply threw away their lives--and not very convincingly.

So overall, you've got a silent film with a lot of mistakes and plot problems yet it still manages to entertain and have value. Not a great film by any stretch but still one John Ford or silent film fans should see.

An early John Ford gem

[Damfino1895 · 9/10 · 2 September 2005]

I like George O'Brien and when I saw the opportunity to own an early silent he made I took it and it was worth it, although, while he is the named star, he has a relatively small role in it and the movie really belongs to Tom Santschi who plays Bull, he is exceptional in his role. I'm not a huge fan of westerns, but, I enjoy all of John Ford's as he approaches his movies with a love of the West as it was being settled rather than the "Cowboys 'n' Injuns" take on things. This is the story of a girl who loses her father and is taken under the wing of the three bad men in the title, not that they are really all bad, just a bit naughty really. The real bad guy is the Sheriff who is really creepy. I don't like to give long detailed synopsises of movies, if I think a movie is good I just like to let people know that it is worth seeing and this one is. The Land rush sequence is particularly impressive and there is some very good humour, the inter titling is very well thought out. The acting is very good by all. The only downer is the quality of the available print, mine was a video from the Killiam collection and could do with a little TLC to restore it to it's former glory. This movie has absolutely everything and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's about time more money was put into the restoration and cleaning up of the silents that were not lost or destroyed, it's a crying shame when you see movies like this and many others that end up forgotten and unloved through neglect.

3 Bad Men review

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 30 June 2020]

Although George O'Brien is given star billing, he's on the periphery for much of the time in this enjoyable Western from John Ford, only popping up every now and then to provide the love interest for the vivacious Olive Borden. It's the reliable character actors Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald and Frank Campeau who are the unlikely source of the film's heroics as outlaws who inadvertently come to Borden's rescue when horse thieves kill her father, and all three make the best of the opportunity to grab a little of the limelight. Only Lou Tellegen disappoints as the rather fey villain of the piece.

Terrific early Ford

[JohnSeal · 8/10 · 11 September 1999]

3 Bad Men (as the title card shows it) is an outstanding example of the silent western and one of John Ford's earliest triumphs. The photography is stunning and the land rush sequences truly impressive, and while the story of redemption and sacrifice is predictable it is nonetheless still moving.

Sweet early western

[Marcyph3r · 7/10 · 10 March 2020]

Westerns this early are difficult, as they can't quite shoot the landscapes in all their glory yet.

But this was a lot of fun: a good mixture of action, tension and comedy. The 3 bad men are ridiculously not bad, because of the girl we presume. We are told they certainly were very bad before this all happened. The sheriff, in comparison, seems like a terrible villain.

It's not a classic, but it's very enjoyable.

Tom Santschi is the Star!!!

[kidboots · 10/10 · 21 June 2012]

Starting out as a Mack Sennett bathing beauty (along with Phyllis Haver who also has a small role) Olive Borden's exotic beauty soon caught the attention of Fox Studios and Tom Mix and after appearing as his leading lady in a couple of westerns she was then given the much sought after role as Lee in John Ford's "3 Bad Men". Although often confused with "Three Godfathers" by Peter B. Kyne it was actually based on the novel "Over the Border". It was a very unusual western for John Ford, blending tradition with romance. The sentimental subplot (which in my opinion is the heart of the whole movie) involving Tom Santschi out to wreak revenge on the man who seduced his sister was a theme William S. Hart would have been proud of even though by the mid 1920s Hart was making his last movies, having been thought to be too old fashioned among the younger, slicker cowboys such as Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson. Despite the popularity of "3 Bad Men" it was Ford's last Western for 13 years.

Dan O'Malley (George O'Brien) is just one of thousands hoping to make a new life for himself in the Dakota land rush. After a very cute scene involving a broken wagon wheel he makes the acquaintance of Lee Carleton (beautiful Olive Borden) who is on her way to Dakota with several race horses. The stunning scene that introduces the "3 Bad Men" with the only lighting from the rising sun is just glorious. "Bull" Stanley (Santschi) is a bit different to his two companions - his continuous wanderings are part of a relentless search for the man who ruined his sister.

Lane Hunter (Lou Tellegen) is a typical western movie sheriff - upright to the town's unknowing citizens but also head of the local criminal gang whose crimes include horse stealing. When his gang tries to steal the Carleton race horses, the "3 bad men" get involved and they become Lee's "3 bad men" when she hires them to see her through to Dakota. They come to regard her as their daughter and as well as looking after her are also on the look out for someone who is good husband material (George O'Brien re-enters the movie). Lee is also on the end of Lane's slimy advances and little does "Bull" know he is the man his sister, Millie, wrote so glowingly about. Unfortunately for her she was quickly discarded and now lives in the town's bordello - although as played by Priscilla Bonner she is completely untouched by the vice around her.

A little slow initially the movie builds up to a major action sequence in the magnificently staged land rush scene with some sweeping shots of the race of the covered wagons ("Cimmaron" must have copied it) and picking up the pace in the last 30 minutes when old scores are settled. Another scene at the very start has an old Indian chopping down a tree to reveal a spectacular view of the West - lake, forest, Indian settlement and mountain peaks towering to the top of the screen. Yet another scene has that old standby - the burning of the church. Millie has overheard Lane's plot and rushes to the church to warn the preacher (Alec B. Francis) but too late as the outlaws send burning wagons down the hill. "Bull" is reunited with his sister in the ensuing riot, just long enough for her to tell him the name of her seducer!!

The movie was initially planned as a blockbuster vehicle to star Fox's three big action stars - George O'Brien, Tom Mix and Buck Jones but that idea was eventually dropped and Tom Santschi, who really looked like he came out of a Matthew Brady photograph, was substituted instead. He had been a Western actor from the earliest days, having appeared in "The Spoilers" (1914).

I could swear I saw John Wayne as a young bugler boy, just before the land rush. Can anyone else recognise him?

John Ford Misfire!

[blue-7 · 7/10 · 5 March 2009]

John Ford won four Academy Awards over his career for his direction on such classics as "How Green Was My Valley", "The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Quiet Man", but it is for his Westerns that he is best loved. Certainly "The Searchers", "Stagecoach", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "Fort Apache", etc. are among the best. Yet through much of Ford's work is his brand of "humor" which often is at odds with the film. I just re-watched "Cheyenne Autumn" and was appalled at the Dodge City (James Stewart as Wyatt Earp) sequence placed just prior to the intermission of the road show version. It is so out of place that one wonders what Ford could have been thinking of. I followed this up with another viewing of "3 Bad Men", which was a major William Fox release for 1926. In addition to George O'Brien in the lead this film has three wonderful character actors (Lou Tellegen, Tom Santschi and J. Farrell MacDonald), a big budget (judging by the large number of covered wagons), and an interesting story idea that is all wasted from Ford's very weak directing. Ford is so caught up in making things "humorous" or "touching" that he destroys the dramatic context of the film. For instance, as the 3 bad men each sacrifice themselves for the sake of the girl and her guy at the climax, Ford stages the stand off fights so poorly as to destroy any belivability in what we are watching. The bad men hero's stand out in the open to hold off a hoard of on comers. One has be given two rifles but instead uses his six-shooter which is empty after 3 shots! The film is directed by the numbers. Everything is telegraphed ahead before it happens. Ford would later take this similar story and make it as "3 Godfathers" (1939) and do it right! Ford's direction of the Dakota land rush scene pails when compared to the Oklahoma land rush in William S. Hart's "Tumbleweeds" (1925). One would think that Ford would have been at the top of his form after having recently directing his epic "The Iron Horse". "3 Bad Men" is a John Ford misfire!

great early Ford film

[blitzebill · 10/10 · 13 December 2008]

I stumbled upon this on the Fox Movie channel.

it is an excellent tale of the West as only John Ford can tell it.

great cinematography, narrative, acting.

the camera-work is especially compelling.

and the updated music by Dana Kaproff is outstanding.

some of the best silent film music I've ever heard, and I write film scores, so I know what I'm talking about.

check out the Fox Movie channel if your cable company offers it.

They show great films from their library.

this is a must see and must have for anyone's collection of silent masterpieces!

Modest Western

[Kalaman · 22 October 2003]

Not one of Ford's better oaters, "3 Bad Men" is nonetheless a modest and satisfactory silent Western, with comic touches and serviceable storyline of three outlaws rescuing a young abandoned girl after her mother is killed in the wild west. While the able players (George O'Brien, Tom Santischi, Olive Borden, Priscilla Bonner, J. Farrel MacDonald) are in good form, the film is chiefly notable for its superlatively evocative photography, the shots of gorgeous exteriors and the typically Fordian long shot of epic landscape & riders on the horizon. It is very poetic and well-made.

Look for that exciting sequence of the Dakota land rush.

John Ford Last Western for 13 Years

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 6 March 2022]

The mere mention of John Ford conjures up an image of his reputation as the premier director of Westerns. He began his career directing the films set in the Old West, and his last body of respectable films were of that genre. In a thirteen year span early in his movie career, however, he surprisingly didn't have one Western in his portfolio.

This wasn't his choice nor the Fox Studio he worked. Westerns had worn itself out by the late 1920s, and movie fans were flocking elsewhere to see a variety of dramatic and comic films. Ford's last shot at the Westerns took place with the August 1926 release of "3 Bad Men." It would be over a decade later before he redefined Westerns and made them popular again in his 1939 "Stagecoach."

Based on a Herman Whitaker 1916 novel, 'Over The Border,' "3 Bad Men" follows a caravan of settlers in their covered wagons headed for the Dakotas where gold has reportedly been struck in 1877. Along the way, three men with a rap sheet a mile long plan to steal some horses from one of the members of the wagon train, the beautiful Lee Carlton (Olive Bordon) and her father. Before they can implement their plan, however, her father gets shot by a different set of outlaw. The three wannabe horse thieves, struck by Lee's plight, decide to protect her until the end of the trail in Custer. The town, however, has a corrupt sheriff (Lou Tellegen) who heads as bloodthirsty of an outlaw gang as there is one.

One of the primary idiom for Hollywood period-piece films is don't look for historical accuracy. "3 Bad Men" contains a spectacular race by settlers for open land as found in in 1932's "Cimarron," and 1992's "Far And Away," with Tom Cruise and Nichole Kidman, which reenact the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run. The Dakotas never had such a stampede of wagons and horse riders racing to get the best land available. But the sequence is nonetheless eye popping for its utter chaos. Ford, who loved location shooting, filmed the 15-month production near Victorville, California, for the desert scenes as well as around Jackson Hole, Wymong. Three actresses became very sick from the fever during the shoot, including Olive Borden.

Bordon, who dated the co-star of "3 Bad Men," George O'Brien, was at the height of her career when she appeared in the Ford film. A year later, as a belt-tightening move, Fox Studio asked everyone to take a 10% cut in salary. She refused and had no trouble getting picked up by a couple of competitive studios. The trouble for her began when she cut her hair into the fashionable bob, placing her in the unfamiliar role as a flapper. Her career sank like a rock, especially when movies transitioned into talkies, despite her taking a number of voice lessons to get rid of her Virginian southern accent. She was broke by the late 1930s. She did serve as an Army ambulance driver in Europe during World War Two, receiving a citation for finding and turning over an enemy's ammunition truck. Once back in the states, she hit the bottle, became an alcoholic and ended up in Los Angeles' skid row, dying at the young age of 41.

Beautiful early western

[Philipp_Flersheim · 7/10 · 11 February 2022]

Three outlaws (played by Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald and Frank Campeau) take a young woman (Olive Borden) whose father was killed by horse thiefs under their wing and help her survive the machinations of a corrupt sheriff (Lou Tellegen). The storyline shows some similarities to that of 'Three Godfathers' which director John Ford filmed more than two decades later. However, I enjoyed '3 Bad Men' a lot more than Ford's younger film. It is more original, has a romantic sub plot and is funnier and less kitschy. It is moreover beautifully filmed and well-acted throughout. There are some weak points, though. I was not entirely convinced by the sudden transformation of the three hardened criminals into sometimes a bit sentimental protectors. And as some other reviewers have pointed out, the climax has been handled poorly. The three outlaws want to defend the entrance to a canyon against the sheriff and his men; as one of them says: A good man could hold it against an army. Sure, but the good man would need to take cover instead of standing quasi in the middle of the road... But these are minor issues. All in all, this is a beautiful early western that is well worth watching.

Antiheroes in the Old West

[davidmvining · 10/10 · 11 October 2021]

The first hour or so of John Ford's 3 Bad Men is perfectly fine Western storytelling. The last half hour is probably the best he'd put together up to that point in his career, bringing every narrative element to full fruition in a finale that combines historical recreation, adventure, and pathos with a strong focus on character that elevates the entirety of the film to become the strongest film of Ford's silent period. This is an absolute gem of a film that feels like classic Hollywood at some of its finest.

Sometimes referred to as a precursor to Ford's later Three Godfathers, bearing certain parallel narrative elements, 3 Bad Men's story is set during the Black Hills Gold Rush. A mass of people seeking gold in the Dakota hills are traveling by wagon train including the Carlton family. Separating from the train for a few hours they struggle to catch up, eventually come upon by horse thieves. Nearby are the titular three bad men, "Bull" Stanley (Tom Santschi), Mike Costigan (J. Farrell MacDonald), and "Spade" Allen (Frank Campeau). All some kind of outlaw in the East, they look upon the thievery and decide to act. Scaring off the thieves, they discover that only one of the Carlton family remains, the adult daughter Lee (Olive Borden). Deciding to do some good, they escort her to Custer, South Dakota.

Custer is the landing ground for the land rush scheduled for a few days later. Ruled by the corrupt sheriff Layne Hunter (Lou Tellegen), the place is a den of sin, for instance in the way that Hunter has taken advantage of the young girl Millie (Priscilla Bonner) who presumably works in the brothel, ensuring that he would make an honest woman of her once a preacher came into town. Well, that wagon train contains a preacher (Alec B. Francis), and Hunter just walks away when Millie comes to him with the happy news. News comes to Hunter that an old prospector has found a rich site of gold, and he's going to get that information from him no matter what.

Into Custer rides the three bad men and their charge. They decide that they need to do something with Lee, and that something is to find her a good husband, quickly focusing on the singing cowboy Dan (George O'Brien). They bring him on, and we get some quite amusing bits of early stage courtship as the two get to know each other, obviously being perfect for each other. Things turn when Hunter finds the prospector in the wagon train encampment, tries to beat the information of the gold deposit out of him, and accidentally shooting him, drawing the attention of the whole camp. The prospector, of course, gives the information to our five heroes, and the stage is set for the climactic land rush.

Ford had shown a love for interesting side characters in many of his films, but this is really the first where they're pushed to the forefront. They're not distractions, they are the emotional fulcrum on which the whole movie ends up relying. The most prominent of the three is Bull. He's treated the most like a character while Spade and Costigan get more amusing comic business throughout, but he also has a key moment with Millie that helps inform his later motivations.

The finale is the greatest form of Ford's ability to control chaos in his silent career. The mass of wagons and horses tearing across the landscape (complete with a mobile printing press trying to record the news as it happens) is an epic site. It's all backdrop, of course, never dominating the film, for the chase that develops between the three bad men, Dan, and Lee as they race towards the gold deposit and Hunter and his men determined to follow and kill them. This would be fine on its own, but the three bad men have to become great men in trying to fight off the pursuing posse. As the party dwindles from five to less, there's real pathos to how the deterioration occurs, mixed with wonderful action beats to keep things exciting at the same time as being emotionally compelling.

The two characters whom would have been the central characters in a more traditional telling of the story, Dan and Lee, would have been a good, solid foundation on which to build such a story. However, putting it in the hands of our three anti-heroes gives 3 Bad Men a surprisingly modern feel for a film made in 1926. They have arcs more pronounced than just having two young people falling in love with the backdrop of the gold rush.

I ended up completely loving this film. It's a wonderful early work from Ford that shows all of his strengths as a director in a rough and tumble form.

3 bad men in a great film

[MissSimonetta · 8/10 · 23 June 2021]

3 BAD MEN is primitive in comparison to John Ford's more famous work (the 13 year gulf between this and STAGECOACH is staggering), but it remains a treat for silent movie aficionados. The plot is about three eccentric horse thieves who take a lone young woman under their wing and go up against a corrupt sheriff. There's a lot of comedy, the kind you either love or hate with Ford's movies, but at least here the protagonists are the ones indulging in the comedy. The three thieves are fun yet competent heroes, with Tom Santschi as the standout. His Bull Mulligan is out to avenge his sister, both seduced and killed by the sheriff, and Santschi adds real gravitas to his character's personality.

I'm not a fan of westerns, but I liked 3 BAD MEN a great deal. It looks fantastic on bluray.

Very good silent Ford

[zetes · 8/10 · 6 April 2014]

The story is kind of all over the place, and it has a weird mixture of comedy and drama (which, of course, is hardly odd in a John Ford film), but this is a pretty good one. Tom Santschi, J. Farrell MacDonald and Frank Campeau play three outlaws who plan to rob a covered wagon of its horses, but instead find young Olive Borden weeping over her dead father. They're disarmed and decide to turn a new leaf and take care of the girl (to note: she is a young adult, not a child). They become her surrogate father and help her as she establishes herself in the newly formed town that has sprung up in the Dakotas. Soon, there is to be a land rush, and many have gathered there before the land is opened to colonization (the pesky Indians have been removed to a reservation - they aren't a huge part of the film, but occasionally they can be seen watching the white men). The three bad men start looking for a husband for Borden and hit upon George O'Brien. The villain here (Lou Tellegen) is interestingly the law man and wears a white hat. The photography is gorgeous and Ford's direction is excellent. Despite the sloppiness of the script, it's a gripping Western. The land rush sequence is equal to the one in Cimarron four years later.

On the same morning when MSNBC focuses on the Standing Rock Sioux Girls . . .

[oscaralbert · 8/10 · 28 October 2016]

. . . who ran across America to protest the Trumpsters' plan to pump the Final Life Force out of the Sioux's Sacred Homeland with a Rich People Party Money-Grubbing XL Pipeline-type Project, it's sobering to watch 3 BAD MEN document the 2nd Act in this 140-year on-going Tragic Marathon Passion Play. Act One, of course, was Native American Ally George Custer getting lured into a corrupt liquor profiteers Rich People Party trap set for him by the soon-to-be-convicted Warmongering Hench People of one of the worst U.S. Presidents ever, Mr. Fifty Dollar Bill, Grant (who proved that the average four-star general is just as incapable of being Commander-in-Chief as an 8-time Emmy-Loser Game Show Host). 3 BAD MEN ends exactly one year after Grant arranged to rub out Custer, as the Rich People Party arbitrarily divvies up the Sioux Sacred Homeland. In the hands of a great director such as Frank Capra or William Wellman, this page of Shameful History might have come to poignant life like GRAPES OF WRATH (director John Ford's ONLY flick with some heart and soul). Though 3 BAD MEN is one of the few remaining watchable films by this over-rated Fascist (HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY is the only other one I can think of right now), Ford's lone scene of Native Americans here is limited to about three seconds of stock footage. Only someone with total tunnel vision will care about Ford's concept of "Honor Amongst Thieves," or whether anyone should make distinctions between Cosby and Trump if one of them molested 85 chicks, and the other "just" 80.