THE IRON HORSE (1924)

Cast

Plot

John Ford's 50th and most celebrated silent film demonstrates the ideals of expansion, enterprise and achievement, but condones racism and exploitation. The scale of this film surpassed all of the other silent westerns and put Ford in the history books. Double-dealing, vengeance and romance are all covered with a poetic sense of history as we see the country united by a trans-continental railroad, realized by a great man and brought about through the sweat of the working man. A classic, black and white, silent tribute to Manifest Destiny…whether we like it or not, ie technically ground breaking but racist tripe.