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4.4/10
Archivist John
Senior Editor
A definitive 4.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Son of the Golden West remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have an hour to spare and want to see why Tom Mix was a massive star, this is worth a look. It’s not a deep movie. It doesn’t try to be. If you’re looking for a psychological Western where characters contemplate the morality of the frontier, you’re going to be bored to tears. But if you want to see a man who clearly does not value his own physical safety jump around the Rocky Mountains, this is the right place.
The first thing that hits you is that the 'Rocky Mountain' setting feels real because it is. There’s a scene where the stagecoach is barreling toward a cliff edge with Sharon Lynn inside, and for a second, you actually worry about the stunt team. When the coach finally topples over the side, it doesn't look like a miniature. It looks like a heavy, expensive piece of wood and iron smashing into rocks. Tom Mix's rescue of Alice in that moment is timed so precisely it makes modern CGI feel incredibly lazy.
Mix has this way of moving that feels more like a gymnast than a cowboy. He’s constantly hopping on and off Tony the Horse with a fluidness that’s almost distracting from the plot. Speaking of Tony, the horse gets a fair amount of screen time and honestly has better reaction shots than some of the bandits. There’s a specific moment where Tony just stands there looking at the chaos with a vibe of 'I've seen this all before,' which I found more relatable than the actual human drama.
Mark Hamilton plays Kane, and he is doing a lot of acting with his eyebrows. He spends a good portion of the film making 'advances' toward Alice, which mostly consists of him standing way too close to her and looking menacing. It’s the kind of silent film villainy that feels a bit dated even compared to something like The Great Impersonation, where the tension feels a bit more grounded.
The middle section drags. Once everyone gets to Kane’s 'stronghold cave,' the momentum of the Pony Express chases just dies. The cave itself looks like a standard set—a bit too clean, a bit too conveniently lit. The bandits, played by Lee Shumway and others, mostly just mill around waiting for the US troops to show up. There’s a weird edit during the capture scene where a bandit seems to fall over before anyone actually touches him. It’s a small thing, but once you see it, it’s hard to un-see.
A few observations from the notebook:
It’s a bit like Dynamite Dan in the sense that the plot is just a clothesline to hang physical feats on. You aren't here for the dialogue (or the title cards). You're here to see if the guy in the white hat can beat the guy in the black hat before the film reel runs out. It’s fast, it’s a bit silly in the cave scenes, and the ending is as predictable as a sunrise, but the mountain footage makes it feel bigger than it actually is.
If you’re a fan of the genre’s history, it’s a solid watch. If you hate silent films where the plot is 'man saves woman from cave,' you can probably skip it without missing much.
IMDb —
1918
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