3 Bad Men

1926 film

3 Bad Men

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| John Ford
Written by| Herman Whitaker (novel Over the Border)
John Stone
Malcolm Stuart Boylan
Ralph Spence
Produced by| John Ford
Starring| George O'Brien
Olive Borden
Cinematography| George Schneiderman
Distributed by| Fox Film Corporation

Release date

* August 28, 1926 (1926-08-28)

Running time

| 92 minutes
Country| United States
Languages| Silent
English intertitles

3 Bad Men is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by John Ford.[1][2][3] Bob Mastrangelo has called it "One of John Ford's greatest silent epics." The film possibly inspired the title for Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film Three Bad Men in a Hidden Fortress, simply known as The Hidden Fortress in the rest of the world.[4]

## Plot

[edit]

Full movie

A discovery of gold in the Dakotas on Sioux lands in 1877 provokes a gold land rush. Numerous people come to Custer for their chance to claim land and possibly gold when the proclamation to explore the lands goes into effect, such as singing cowboy Dan O'Malley, the Carltons, and a group of three outlaws headed by "Bull" Stanley. On their way to steal a bunch of horses, the outlaws save Lee Carlton from a different set of outlaws, who kill her father. Instead of taking the horses for themselves, the three outlaws decide to head to Custer as her protectors. The town is plagued with vice and injustice, headed by the corrupt Sheriff Layne Hunter, who learns where gold is located and wants to find it before the settlers. Unbeknownst to the outlaws, he has also seduced and abandoned Bull's sister, Millie. Meanwhile, the three "bad men", tired of their life of crime, decide to arrange a marriage for Lee, who soon meets up with Dan. The three outlaws must deal with that unexpected romantic attraction, along with the looming sheriff's gang and the race of the settlers' wagons for gold. Dan and Lee find love with each other while the three outlaws kill the sheriff, before dying in their doomed last stand. Dan and Lee are married, and have a son, named Stanley Costigan Allen O'Malley, in memory of the 3 Bad Men.

Lobby card

## Cast

[edit]

* George O'Brien as Dan O'Malley
* Olive Borden as Lee Carlton
* Lou Tellegen as Sheriff Layne Hunter
* Tom Santschi as "Bull" Stanley
* J. Farrell MacDonald as Mike Costigan
* Frank Campeau as "Spade" Allen
* Priscilla Bonner as Millie Stanley
* Otis Harlan as Editor Zach Little
* Phyllis Haver as Lily (prairie beauty)
* Georgie Harris as Joe Minsk
* Alec B. Francis as Rev. Calvin Benson (as Alec Francis)
* Jay Hunt as Nat Lucas (old prospector)
* Grace Gordon as Millie's pal (uncredited)
* George Irving as Gen. Neville (uncredited)
* Bud Osborne as Hunter's henchman (uncredited)
* Vester Pegg as Henchman shooting Lucas (uncredited)

## Production

[edit]

The film was shot over a fifteen-month period in 1925 and 1926. During the filming, three of the actresses involved, Olive Borden, Priscilla Bonner, and Grace Gordon, became ill with a form of paratyphoid fever, and had to be taken to the hospital.

The shooting locations for the film included:

* Desert outside of Victorville, California
* The vicinity of Jackson Hole, Wyoming[2]

## Preservation

[edit]

Complete prints of 3 Bad Men are held by the Library of Congress, the  Cinematheque Royale de Belgique, the  Cinemateket-Svenska Filminstitutet, the Museum of Modern Art, the  BFI, the George Eastman Museum and the Deutsches Filminstitut.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Progressive Silent Film List: 3 Bad Men". Silent Era. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
2. ^ a b "3 Bad Men". afi.com. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
3. ^ "Abrreviated View of Movie Page". July 29, 2017. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017.
4. ^ Russell, Catherine. "The Hidden Fortress: Three Good Men and a Princess". The Criterion Collection.
5. ^ "American Silent Feature Film Database: Three Bad Men". Library of Congress. Retrieved March 22, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 3 Bad Men.

* 3 Bad Men (1926) on YouTube
* 3 Bad Men at IMDb

* v
* t
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Films by John Ford

Silent films|

* The Tornado (1917)
* The Trail of Hate (1917)
* The Scrapper (1917)
* Cheyenne's Pal (1917)
* The Soul Herder (1917)
* Straight Shooting (1917)
* The Secret Man (1917)
* A Marked Man (1917)
* Bucking Broadway (1917)
* The Phantom Riders (1918)
* Wild Women (1918)
* Thieves' Gold (1918)
* The Scarlet Drop (1918)
* Hell Bent (1918)
* A Woman's Fool (1918)
* The Craving (1918)
* Three Mounted Men (1918)
* Roped (1919)
* The Fighting Brothers (1919)
* A Fight for Love (1919)
* Rustlers (1919)
* Bare Fists (1919)
* Gun Law (1919)
* By Indian Post (1919)
* The Gun Packer (1919)
* Riders of Vengeance (1919)
* The Last Outlaw (1919)
* The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1919)
* Ace of the Saddle (1919)
* Rider of the Law (1919)
* A Gun Fightin' Gentleman (1919)
* Marked Men (1919)
* The Prince of Avenue A (1920)
* The Girl in Number 29 (1920)
* Hitchin' Posts (1920)
* Just Pals (1920)
* The Big Punch (1921)
* The Freeze-Out (1921)
* The Wallop (1921)
* Desperate Trails (1921)
* Action (1921)
* Sure Fire (1921)
* Jackie (1921)
* Little Miss Smiles (1922)
* Silver Wings (1922)
* The Village Blacksmith (1922)
* The Face on the Bar-Room Floor (1923)
* Three Jumps Ahead (1923)
* Cameo Kirby (1923)
* North of Hudson Bay (1923)
* Hoodman Blind (1923)
* The Iron Horse (1924)
* Hearts of Oak (1924)
* Lightnin' (1925)
* Kentucky Pride (1925)
* Thank You (1925)
* The Fighting Heart (1925)
* The Shamrock Handicap (1926)
* 3 Bad Men (1926)
* Upstream (1927)
* Four Sons (1928)
* Strong Boy (1929)

Sound films|

* The Black Watch (1929)
* Men Without Women (1930)
* Born Reckless (1930)
* Up the River (1930)
* Seas Beneath (1931)
* The Brat (1931)
* Arrowsmith (1931)
* Air Mail (1932)
* Flesh (1932)
* Pilgrimage (1933)
* Doctor Bull (1933)
* The Lost Patrol (1934)
* The World Moves On (1934)
* Judge Priest (1934)
* The Whole Town's Talking (1935)
* The Informer (1935)
* Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)
* The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)
* Mary of Scotland (1936)
* The Plough and the Stars (1936)
* Wee Willie Winkie (1937)
* The Hurricane (1937)
* Four Men and a Prayer (1938)
* Submarine Patrol (1938)
* Stagecoach (1939)
* Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
* Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
* The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
* The Long Voyage Home (1940)
* Tobacco Road (1941)
* How Green Was My Valley (1941)
* They Were Expendable (1945)
* My Darling Clementine (1946)
* The Fugitive (1947)
* Fort Apache (1948)
* 3 Godfathers (1948)
* She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
* When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950)
* Wagon Master (1950)
* Rio Grande (1950)
* The Quiet Man (1952)
* What Price Glory (1952)
* The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
* Mogambo (1953)
* The Long Gray Line (1955)
* Mister Roberts (co-d, 1955)
* The Searchers (1956)
* The Wings of Eagles (1957)
* The Rising of the Moon (1957)
* Gideon's Day (1958)
* The Last Hurrah (1958)
* The Horse Soldiers (1959)
* Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
* Two Rode Together (1961)
* The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
* How the West Was Won (1962)
* Donovan's Reef (1963)
* Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
* 7 Women (1966)

Television|

* "Rookie of the Year" (1955)
* "The Colter Craven Story" (1960)
* "Flashing Spikes" (1962)

Productions|

* The Iron Horse (1924)
* The Blue Eagle (1926)
* Mother Machree (1928)
* Hangman's House (1928)
* Riley the Cop (1928)
* Salute (1929)
* Flesh (1932)
* The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938)
* Young Cassidy (1965)

Documentaries
and training films|

* Torpedo Squadron (1942)
* Sex Hygiene (1942)
* The Battle of Midway (1942)
* December 7th: The Movie (1943)
* Undercover (1943)
* This Is Korea (1951)
* Korea: Battleground for Liberty (1959)
* Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend (1970)
* Vietnam! Vietnam! (1971) (produced and co-wrote)

Related|

* Directed by John Ford (1971 documentary)
* Five Came Back (2017 documentary)

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