Above: Joan Crawford in her first, and not her last, western "Law of the Range."

"Law of the Range" 1928

Cast: Tim McCoy,Joan Crawford (as Betty Dallas),Rex Lease, Bodil Rosing,Tenen Holtz


Release date - January 21, 1928

Running time - 60 minutes (6 reels)

Studio - MGM - Black and White - Silent

Directed by - William Nigh

Writing Credits - Robert E. Hopkins (titles), Norman Houston (story) and Richard Schayer.

Producer - Unknown

Cinematographer - Clyde De Vinna

Costumes - Lucia Coulter

Movie Synopsis

Jim Lockhart (Tim McCoy) is out to track down a wanted outlaw, Solitaire Kid (Rex Lease). When a stage coach that his girlfriend, Betty (Joan) is traveling on is held up by 'The Kid" (Rex Lease), he falls for the pretty Betty (Joan) and she notices he has the same tattoo as her beau, Jim (Tim McCoy) - But is it a mere coincidence?

After a little delving, it turns out the tattoo is one and the same, connecting them as brothers. Separated some two decades before, it's a story of two men who took two very different trails.

Now it's brother against brother, good versus evil and it ain't no pleasant family reunion. In the final scene, Jim (Tim McCoy) puts an end to 'The Kid's" (Rex Lease) rampage of robbery and murder once and for all, shooting him dead in front of Betty (Joan) and their mother (Bodil Rosing).

Interesting Trivia

Tim McCoy did indeed become something of a cowboy legend. A famed sharpshooter, his fast draw had to be seen to be believed - However, that was the main problem, actually seeing it! A film editor once timed it on 35mm film with 24 frames per second. It took precisely six frames from the blur of his hand to the smoke residue from the end of his gun. He was inducted into The Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1974. He died in 1978, age 86. [www.imdb.com].

Box Office Receipts - $241,000.
Inflation Value in 2007: $2,912,943.04

Photos

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Movie Posters/Lobby Cards etc...

Reviews

In a Photoplay review of the film, "If Tim McCoy has ambitions to become a Bill Hart, he makes a good start in this picture. With the help of his white horse, the "Boy Bandit," empty guns and a mammoth prairie fire, he gives us a picture which is not only a thriller but holds unusual heart interest. Joan Crawford as the sweet old-fashioned girl fires the protective instincts of both bandits and rangers......"

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