Summary
The rollicking silent feature, Ridin' Pretty, charts the abrupt cultural collision when Sky Parker, a rugged Arizona cowboy, inherits a substantial fortune from his eccentric San Franciscan uncle. The catch: he must endure a year within the urban confines of his late relative's mansion to claim the bequest. Sky, far from a lone wolf, arrives with a boisterous entourage of five fellow cowboys, whose immediate inclination to 'raise western hell' manifests in delightfully anachronistic ways—from the audacious theft of brewery Clydesdales to the casual target practice on the mansion's architectural gargoyles. This chaotic arrival sets the stage for a classic inheritance plot, complicated by the conniving cousin Miller, who enlists the beguiling Maize to sabotage Sky’s claim. Yet, in a predictable yet charming twist, Maize finds herself genuinely falling for the untamed charm of the ramrod cowboy. Her subsequent refusal to continue the deception, and her flight from Sky’s innocent marriage proposal, propels the narrative into a thrilling chase sequence, culminating in a daring train pursuit where confessions are made and love is solidified, leading to a satisfying confrontation back at the mansion.
Synopsis
Sky Parker, an Arizona cowboy, inherits a fortune from his eccentric uncle in San Francisco; under the terms of the will, however, he must live in his uncle's mansion for a year before claiming the bequest. Sky arrives in San Francisco accompanied by five cowboys, who immediately begin to raise western hell, stealing two Clydesdale horses from a brewery and shooting the gargoyles from the mansion roof. Sky's cousin, Miller, persuades a beautiful young girl, Maize, to help him prevent Sky from obtaining the inheritance, but she soon falls in love with the rugged ramrod and refuses to continue with their attempted fraud. Sky, not knowing of her duplicity, asks Maize to marry him; filled with shame, she runs away instead and boards a fast train. Trying to stop her, Sky chases the train in a car, which crashes; he then steals a cop's motorcycle, boarding the speeding train from that precarious perch. On the train, Maize confesses her guilt, Sky forgives her, and they declare their love for each other. When they return to his mansion, Sky punches Miller and throws him out of the house.
