Directed by Joseph De Grasse and Sidney Franklin
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Image Entertainment)
Another good Mary Pickford vehicle, this time she is a "mountain girl" living in the Appalachians. "Lowlanders" bribe a man to marry her mother, a widow, in an attempt to gain control of her coal-rich land. Neighbors discover the plot and don white sheets and masks, "ghost riders", for a midnight ride to his cabin. Shots are exchanged and Mary, one of the riders, is accused of murder. At her trial, she is framed by the lawyers, until the jury stands up and takes blame for the murder. She gets adopted by a rich colonel and moves away, only to return years later for one last showdown with her mother's new husband. Pickford, 27-years-old at the time of filming, plays a 12-year-old girl, which is a little disconcerting, but her "little girl" persona was well established in prior roles. The intertitles are particularly well-written, conveying Appalachian vernacular with ease.
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