Summary
In the dusty isolation of a U.S. Cavalry outpost, Lieutenant Ranson is a man consumed by the lethargy of peace and his own towering ego. To pique the nerves of his fellow officers and mock the local terror known as 'The Red Rider,' Ranson makes a reckless wager: he can successfully hold up a stagecoach using nothing but a pair of tailor’s scissors. His hubris is rewarded with success, but the prank curdles into a nightmare when a real robbery occurs the following day, resulting in the death of a postmaster's bodyguard. Arrested for a crime that mirrors his own foolish boast, Ranson finds himself at the center of a military tribunal. The narrative shifts from a frontier comedy of manners to a high-stakes melodrama when Cahill, the post trader and father of Ranson’s love interest, Mary, offers a false confession to save the Lieutenant. While the officers grapple with honor and circumstantial evidence, the real Red Rider remains a shadow on the horizon, waiting for the smoke of the courtroom to clear.
Synopsis
U. S. Cavalry Lieutenant Ranson belittles the exploits of a bandit known as "The Red Rider," and boasts to his fellow officers that he could hold up a stagecoach with a pair of scissors. And rides out and does so. But the next day, the postmaster, returning from a neighboring town, is also held up and his bodyguard is killed. Ranson is arrested on suspicion and placed on trial. But at the trial suspicion point to Cahill, post trader, and father of Ranson's sweetheart, Mary. In order to save him, Ranson pleads guilty but, in return and knowing that his daughter loves Ranson, Cahill admits he is "The Red Rider." Meanwhile, the real "Red Rider" is still at large.
Review Excerpt
"Is Ranson's Folly (1926) worth your time today? Short answer: Only if you are a dedicated student of silent era melodrama or a completionist for the Richard Barthelmess filmography.This film is specifically for those who enjoy the transition period of the American Western, where the ruggedness of the frontier began to merge with the polished theatricality of the 1920s. It is absolutely not for viewers who require the gritty realism of modern revisions or even the high-octane pacing of a John For..."
