Summary
From the gilded cages of Eastern civility, a greenhorn entourage descends upon the untamed vastness of the American West, a landscape so formidable it dwarfs Manhattan's sprawl and stretches further than the famed Gay White Way. At the heart of this timid expedition is Ruth Harkness, a young heiress inheriting the sprawling Flying W ranch. She arrives accompanied by her prim, conventional aunt and uncle, and her fiancé, Willard Masten, a man whose 'Western' attire is less an adaptation and more a Fifth Avenue tailor's condescending interpretation. Unbeknownst to these urbanites, their arrival triggers a perfidious plot: two cunning cowboys conspire to swindle Ruth of her newfound inheritance. Yet, fate intervenes in the form of Rex Randerson, a charismatic, clear-eyed ranger whose happy-go-lucky demeanor belies a sharp sense of justice. He swiftly thwarts the initial machinations, his intervention blossoming into an unexpected romance with Ruth. This burgeoning affection, however, ignites the jealous fury of Masten, who, in a desperate fit of pique, casts his lot with the original conspirators, escalating their scheme to include Randerson's demise. The lovers find themselves ensnared in a deadly trap, their prospects bleak, but Rex's indomitable courage in a climactic, single-handed confrontation with the villains turns the tide. Rescued from the brink, Ruth pledges her heart and hand to her fearless savior, culminating in a quintessential cowboy wedding that seals their frontier love story, bringing a bright resolution to their harrowing ordeal.
Synopsis
Out of the elite and civilized east into the rough and primitive west there comes a little party which judged the desert must be larger than all New York, and their trail a little longer than the Gay White Way. Ruth Harkness, who has inherited the Flying W ranch from a relative, heads the timid little band. A prim and conventional aunt and uncle and Willard Masten, her fiancé, all dolled up according to his Fifth Avenue tailors ideas of the west, accompany her. Headlong the little party plunges into the meshes of a conspiracy of two cowboys to mulct the girl of her holdings. Rex Randerson, a happy-go-lucky ranger with a clear-gray eye, steps in to frustrate the plot, and incidentally falls in love with Ruth. This enrages Masten, who joins the conspirators and extends their plot to include Randerson's death. The girl and the ranger are caught in their "death trap'' and count themselves lost, but the fearlessness of Rex in a single-handed battle with the villains saves the day. Ruth thanks him by consenting to become his bride, and an old-fashioned cowboy wedding ends the dark adventure.
Review Excerpt
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Riding the Range of Romance and Treachery: A Deep Dive into 'The Range Boss'
In the nascent days of cinematic storytelling, the American West provided an inexhaustible wellspring of narratives, a canvas upon which tales of rugged individualism, burgeoning romance, and stark moral conflict were painted with broad, sweeping strokes. Among these early entries, W.S. Van Dyke’s 1916 silent feature, The Range Boss, stands as a testament to the enduring allure of the frontier mythos. Penned b..."
