A covered wagon is crossing the prairie, a man, a woman, their moppet daughter, and a young lad on horseback. While he's off hunting game, bandits ride up, kill the man and woman, set the wagon on fire and abduct the girl. The boy spends fifteen years tracking them until he has grown into Tom Mix. He's still looking, but he's been assigned to deal with some bandits, among whom is Margery Daw. Her character is named Mary, just like the kidnapped girl. Could it be....? Could there be two women named Mary in Texas?
Miss Daw, pretty as she is, is credited third. First comes Tom Mix, and he is just fine, offering some great stunts on and off horseback. When it's on horseback, it's on the back to the second star of the movie (still credited before Miss Daw, of course): Tony. He's given slightly more screen time than Miss Daw, and he does far more things to advance the story and impress the audience.
In short, it's a Tom Mix feature that does what a Tom Mix feature is supposed to do. Given the restoration by the Museum of Modern Art, it's a fine movie to look at; there's just a bit of shimmering that indicates the emulsion was starting to come away from the film at the start of the second reel. Let's hope it becomes more generally available.
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