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Tracked by Bloodhounds; or, A Lynching at Cripple Creek
Also known as [Trapped by Bloodhounds; or, A Lynching at Cripple Creek]
(1904) United States of America
B&W : Short film
Directed by Harry H. Buckwalter
Cast: (unknown)
The Selig Polyscope Company production; distributed by [?] The Selig Polyscope Company and/or Kleine Optical Company? / Produced by William N. Selig. / Released April 1904. / [?] 35mm spherical format? / Selig’s first dramatic film production.
Drama.
Synopsis: [From Selig promotional materials] This is one of the most sensational pictures ever made. Our photographer was in Cripple Creek ready for business when the exciting events occurred. The negative was made in the great gold camp. Dozens of prominent miners and citizens who have since been involved in deportation troubles can easily be recognized in the picture. This subject is one of the sensational money-makers. The advertising Cripple Creek has had during the past few months will make people extremely anxious to see a picture actually made in the Cripple Creek district. Scene I. Coming Up to the House. The scene opens showing a miner’s cabin on Bennett avenue, Cripple Creek. A tramp approaches and knocks at the door. Scene II. Interior of the Cabin. The tramp enters, asks for food, which is given him. Not satisfied with it, he asks for money and is refused. He strikes the woman and chokes her until she falls dead on the floor. He then searches the cabin for money, and while doing so he hears sounds of approaching footsteps and hides behind the door. The little daughter enters, and, seeing the body of her mother lying on the floor, falls upon her, crying and calling her. The tramp, seeing what he has done, is horror stricken and makes his escape through the door. Meantime, the husband of the woman returns and finds his wife murdered. His little daughter can give no clew to the murderer, with the exception of the tramp’s hat, which is found lying on the floor. The husband vows vengeance. Scene III. Bloodhounds Taking Scent. The husband summons help and neighbors appear from all directions. One brings up a couple of immense, savage bloodhounds (the ones used later to track the perpetrators of the dynamite explosion which killed fifteen miners). The bloodhounds are given scent from the tramp’s hat, and they start on the trail, tugging strenuously at the leash. Scene IV. Starting on the Trail. For a hundred yards, coming toward the camera, the bloodhounds, followed by a posse of citizens, are seen coming, while in the distance Cripple Creek can plainly be seen. Scene V. They’re After Me. Under a tree the tramp is sitting, pondering over the crime he has committed. Suddenly he jumps up with a start and listens. He hears the bloodhounds and makes for the woods. Soon the bloodhounds and posse appear and the chase is on. Scene VI. On the Trail Through the Forest. This shows the tramp running through the forest. He is plainly seen coming through the trees, jumping over obstacles. He stumbles and falls. He is up again in an instant and rushes on. The bloodhounds appear in close pursuit, and the forest seems alive with his pursuers ready to shoot at the first good sight of him. Scene VII. In Sight of the Posse. This thrilling scene shows the tramp coming down a long, winding road, crossing a small stream on a fallen tree. In hot pursuit, the bloodhounds and the posse follow, and it seems as if the end of the chase is near. As the pursuers get sight of him, and fearing that he will escape, they open a general firing on him. He, however, eludes them again and makes his escape. Scene VIII. The Fight on the Mountain Side. The tramp, thinking that he had once more eluded his pursuers, is seen appearing at the top of a bluff, carefully surveying his surroundings. Careful as he is, he does not see one of his pursuers stealthily creeping upon him, and suddenly pounce on him, and then one of the most desperate fights ever taken on a moving picture ensues. They fall to the ground and finally, in their desperate efforts to get the best of each other, they roll over the edge and down the mountainside, where the tramp once more frees himself just as his pursuers appear and give chase again. Scene IX. The Leap for Life. The trail is continued and the bloodhounds again begin to close in on the tramp. He comes upon a bridge crossing a deep ravine, and as he is about half way over he sees the bloodhounds closing in on both sides of the bridge. Escape seems impossible, and one pursuer, more daring than the others, rushes forward to capture him. The tramp in desperation pulls his revolver and shoots him. As he turns he sees no way of escape. There is but one chance for him. He turns quickly and leaps over the bridge just as his pursuers were about to capture him. Scene X. The Capture. The tramp, in leaping over the bridge, lands in the water below. Here he has a chance to turn one way or the other one of his pursuers leaps into the water and grapples with him. The long chase is beginning to tell on the tramp, but he makes a last desperate effort, and one of the most exciting fights here takes place in the water. The bank is lined with his pursuers watching the battle. He is finally overcome and brought to the shore, where the posse drag him out of the water and place the rope around his neck. Scene XI. The Lynching. The captured tramp is rushed up the side of the hill and to the tree. He is hastily arranged for hanging. The rope is thrown over the limb of a tree, where it is caught on the other side by willing hands and strung up with a howling mob of bloodthirsty miners and cowboys surrounding him. Before life is extinct bullets from their revolvers pierce the body. Scene XII. Life-size portrait of the bloodhounds and their keeper, making a grand finish to this highly sensational film. NOTE: This film is rock-steady when projected, and photographically perfect in every detail. The scenery is grand, making the film one of more than usual interest.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 7 September 2023.
References: Musser-Emerge p. 5; Robinson-Palace p. 125 : Website-IMDb.
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