The White Sheep

1924 film

December 14, 1924 (1924-12-14)

Running time

60 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageSilent (English intertitles)

The White Sheep is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by Hal Roach and starring Glenn Tryon, Blanche Mehaffey, and Jack Gavin.^[1]^[2]

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine,^[3] “Fighting” Nelse Tyler (Gavin), with his two roughneck sons Milt (Kortman) and Mose (Willis), rule the town of Tyler with an iron hand and are always ready to fight each other or outsiders. There is another son, Tobias (Tryon), whom his father considers a “white sheep” who was a sentimental chap and not a fighter, much to the disgust of the others. Patience Matthews (Mehaffey) and her father, Judge Matthews (Lynton), come to the town and all the Tylers try to court her, but Tobias is the favorite. Tom Calvert (Clayton), a loan sharp, seeks to down Nelse Tyler and failing, cooks up a story that Nelse has murdered Newt Randall (Gilbert). Nelse is tried and, to save him, Tobias drags the court house across the state line, but the ruse fails as the frightened horses drag it back. Nelse is convicted and about to be hung when Tobias learns Newt is still alive. He goes after him, subdues him, and brings him back in time to save his father. Nelse declares Tobias is a real fighting Tyler and leaves him with Patience while he prepares to lick Tom and Newt.

Cast

Glenn Tryon as Tobias Tyler
Blanche Mehaffey as Patience Matthews
Jack Gavin as Nelse Tyler
Bob Kortman as Milt Tyler
Leo Willis as Mose Tyler
Chris Lynton as Judge Matthews
J.J. Clayton as Tom Calvert
Dick Gilbert as Newt Randall
Richard Daniels as Al Morton

Preservation

A copy of The White Sheep is held by a private collector and it has been released on dvd.^[4]

References

^ Munden p. 895
^ Progressive Silent Film List: The White Sheep at silentera.com
^ Sewell, Charles S. (December 6, 1924). "The White Sheep; Hal Roach's New Pathe Picture Is Unusual Combination of Burlesque Comedy and Action Melodrama". The Moving Picture World. 71 (6). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Co.: 546. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
^ Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: The White Sheep

Bibliography

Munden, Kenneth White. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1. University of California Press, 1997.