Crashing Through (1928): A Quiet Ride Through the Old West

Alright, so if you're sitting there wondering if Crashing Through is something to seek out today, well, it depends. If you're a silent film enthusiast, or just curious about the roots of the Western genre, then yeah, it’s a perfectly decent way to spend an hour. But if you're used to, say, anything with sound or even just *dialogue* that isn't on a title card, you're probably gonna find it a bit of a slow roll. It's for the patient viewer, for sure. 🤠

This 1928 flick is pretty standard cowboy stuff. You got your good guy, Jack Padjan, playing a foreman who’s just trying to do right. Then there’s a bad guy, Buster Gardner, who’s got his eyes on some land, or maybe a lady, or both – you know the drill. And of course, Mary Wynn is there, looking lovely and needing rescuing. It’s all very straightforward.

Padjan has this earnestness about him, a sort of wide-eyed sincerity that makes his character easy to root for. When he smiles, it feels genuine. When he's worried, his brow really furrows. It’s classic silent era acting, big expressions and all, but it works for him.

The plot, penned by F. Anderson, Wyndham Gittens, and Jack Stevens, moves at a pretty casual pace. There are moments where you just watch people ride horses across a field for a good long while. It’s not boring, not exactly, but it’s definitely not rushing anywhere. You can almost feel the desert sun beating down. One scene with a long shot of cattle being herded, it just *lingers*. I mean, it goes on for maybe 30 seconds longer than you’d expect, just showing cows. 🐮

And speaking of the bad guys, Buster Gardner as the heavy, he’s got this sneer that he perfects early on. You know, the kind where you just *know* he’s up to no good. There's this one shot where he’s planning something devious, and the way his eyes dart around, it’s almost comical how villainous he looks. No subtlety there, which is part of the charm, honestly.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Crashing Through (1928) through its definitive frames.

The action sequences, when they kick in, are pretty solid for the time. There’s a decent horse chase or two, and some good old-fashioned fistfights. You can tell they’re really *going for it*. One particular moment, a tumble off a horse, looked genuinely rough. I actually flinched a little.

What I found most interesting, maybe, was just how *simple* everything felt. The motivations, the conflicts, even the resolutions. It's not trying to be Greed or anything super complex. It’s just a story, told cleanly. The intertitles, while sometimes a little wordy, do a good job of moving things along and explaining what everyone’s feeling, in case you missed the dramatic eyebrow raises.

Mary Wynn, as the female lead, plays the part well. She’s often in distress, as was common for the era, but she also has moments of quiet strength. There's a scene where she's trying to warn Padjan's character, and her urgency really comes through even without a single spoken word. Her eyes convey a lot.

The movie does get a little repetitive with some of the dramatic tension. Like, the villain shows up, causes trouble, hero saves the day, then the villain shows up again. It’s a loop for a bit. But hey, it was 1928, and they knew what worked for a matinee crowd.

Overall, Crashing Through is a neat little time capsule. It's not going to set your world on fire, but it’s a perfectly charming example of early Western cinema. You’ll see some decent stunts, some truly *dramatic* acting, and a story that doesn't ask too much of you. Just lean back, imagine the piano music, and enjoy the ride. It’s a nice reminder of how far movies have come, but also how some things, like a good guy winning, never really change. 👍