The Heart of a Bandit is a 1915 American short silent Western film featuring Harry Carey. The film is preserved by the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. It is the earliest surviving Western starring Carey and is one of the last films he made with Biograph before signing with Universal.
Synopsis
Cast Harry Carey as Pete "Texas Pete", The Bandit Claire McDowell Violet Reed (credited as Violet Reid) Charles West (credited as Charles H. West)
Production The Heart of a Bandit was one of Carey's first Westerns after he followed D. W. Griffith's production company move to the West Coast.
The film includes an extreme long shot of the posse in pursuit. The location was found by Carey in the Santa Clarita valley. This location would be used again in several Carey Westerns.
The film promotes negative Mexican stereotypes. The character Mendoza is portrayed as a Mexican "half-breed" villain intent on raping white women. This was not unusual, as the Mexican "greaser" stereotype was common stock character in US films of the era. In films of the 1910s, the greaser was often depicted as a violent thief and the white cowboy would save the day. This ultimately led to a 1922 Mexican boycott of films that depicted Latinos in negative ways.
Reception The Wilmington, North Carolina Morning Star called it "a strange tale of a desperado with a heart" and "a thrill a second".
Legacy The film was preserved by the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. It is the earliest surviving Western starring Carey and one of the last films he made with Biograph before signing with Universal. It was screened at Giornate del Cinema Muto 2023.Giornate del Cinema Muto 2023 catalog, p. 187.
See also Harry Carey filmography
References
Sources
External links