The Headless Horseman (1922)

[bobfells]

Last night I watched Will Rogers in THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN on a Grapevine Video dvd. The print looks like 16mm but a very good one and the tints helped a lot. (Didn't Blackhawk Films once sell this title?). Grapevine noted that this was the "complete" version so presumably truncated versions have been bouncing around. Like his fellow Ziegfeld Follies co-star W.C. Fields, Rogers was at a disadvantage in silent films w/o the ability to use his voice. Yet playing an engaging character could help so I'm puzzled why Will was cast as Ichabod Crane, a nerdy role perhaps better suited to Franklin Pangborn. Rogers has no opportunity to display his prowess with a lasso or horseriding although the climatic scene involves just that.



The cast is basically no-name but I suspect they were New York-based actors who worked on the stage much more than in films.


The outdoor photography is the chief asset and offers most of the film's charm, with location photography in upstate New York near Tarrytown. An imdb reviewer states that the Rockefeller estate was used and that it looks pretty much the same there today.


The real surprise for me was the use of panchromatic film to capture a dramatic sky:


Further reading indicates that HORSEMAN was the first feature film to use panchromatic stock. I had thought that distinction went to Fairbanks' DON Q SON OF ZORRO, made three years later.


If the filmmakers had been willing to tinker with the Washington Irving story a bit, the film might have been more appealing with Rogers as Bram Bones, and indeed that character ends up marrying the leading lady while Crane is scared off by the title character. Even in the Disney version, Bram is likeable while Ichabod is a jerk. Rogers' filmography shows that he was making quite a number of films during this time, both features and shorts, so I suspect that he didn't ponder over this film very long before moving on to other projects.

[mndean]

Panchromatic film had been introduced by Eastman, so it certainly was available. I believe it was quite a bit more expensive per foot which limited its attractiveness to movie producers.

[silentfilm]

Will Rogers and Lois Meredith in The Headless Horseman

Since this still was poorly lighted and Will Roger's hands are moving, it was probably taken during the filming of this scene.

Blackhawk Films used to sell a three-reel abridgement as well as the complete feature.

[filmnotdigital]

Coincidentally, I just watched on Canadian TV the somewhat overblown 1999 Tim Burton version, "Sleepy Hollow," with Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane.

[gjohnson]

Yet playing an engaging character could help so I'm puzzled why Will was cast as Ichabod Crane, a nerdy role perhaps better suited to Franklin Pangborn.

What role did you want him to play, the Headless Horse?

[bobfells]

Yet playing an engaging character could help so I'm puzzled why Will was cast as Ichabod Crane, a nerdy role perhaps better suited to Franklin Pangborn.

What role did you want him to play, the Headless Horse?

Ha,ha, Gary, but you need to read on. I suggested adjusting the part of Brom Bones for Rogers since that character is more likeable and marries the leading lady at the end.