Henry Suggs, by daytime a vigilante and leading citizen of the town of Cattelo, is by night a marauder who terrorizes the countryside; his true identity is known only by Tarzan, a horse whose master is killed by the desperado. Suggs succeeds in having the horse condemned to death because of his supposed wickedness, but Ruth Gaunt, daughter of the murdered man, persuades Tom Drury, an itinerant cowboy, to find a way to save Tarzan.

Is “The Unknown Cavalier” worth watching today? Short answer: yes, but with significant caveats that demand a specific viewing appreciation. This film is a fascinating historical d...
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Comparing the cinematic DNA and archive impact of two defining moments in cult history.

Albert S. Rogell

Alexander Butler
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"The Unknown Cavalier" unfolds a classic Western morality tale centered on the duplicitous figure of Henry Suggs. By day, Suggs embodies the upright citizen and vigilante of Cattelo; by night, he is a shadowy marauder, his true villainy known only to Tarzan, a horse whose former master he murdered. When Suggs, driven by a fear of exposure, manipulates the town into condemning Tarzan for fabricated wickedness, the murdered man's daughter, Ruth Gaunt, makes a plea. She implores the wandering cowboy, Tom Drury, to save the majestic animal. This act of rescue solidifies an immediate, deep bond between Tom and Tarzan, simultaneously igniting a tense rivalry between Tom and Suggs for Ruth's hand. The film then propels its heroes through a gauntlet of narrow escapes, culminating in a climactic confrontation where Tom and Tarzan collaboratively unmask the villain, bringing a satisfying, if somewhat predictable, justice to the untamed frontier.

Otis Harlan
Kenneth Perkins, Don Ryan, Marion Jackson
United States


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