By the Sun's Rays

By the Sun's Rays
By the Sun's Rays
	Screenshot
Directed by	Charles Giblyn
Produced by	Nestor Film Co.
Starring	Murdock MacQuarrie; Lon Chaney
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	July 22, 1914;
Running time	11 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	Silent; English intertitles

By the Sun's Rays is a 1914 American short silent Western film directed by Charles Giblyn and featuring Lon Chaney and Murdock MacQuarrie.^[1] It is one of the earliest surviving films of Lon Chaney, with several prints existing in private film collections and a video release in 1995.^[2] A still from the film exists showing Lon Chaney in the role of the villainous "Frank Lawlor".^[3]

Plot

The short film.

A gang of bandits keeps robbing the gold shipments from a Colorado mining company each time one is sent out. A detective named John Murdock is asked to assist mine superintendent John Davis in finding the culprits. The office clerk, Frank Lawler (Chaney), is in love with Davis' daughter Dora but his advances are rejected by the girl who loves Murdock instead. After another shipment arrives, Murdock assembles a posse. He discovers that Lawler has been sneaking out of the office and using a mirror to signal the bandits to alert them to the arrival of the gold shipments.

With the town's men off in the woods, Lawler attempts to molest Dora in the mining office and she tries to hold him off until help arrives. After the bandits are arrested, the posse returns to the office, and Murdock catches Lawler in the act of assaulting Dora. Murdock produces the mirror from Lawler's desk drawer, and accuses him of complicity with the robberies. Lawler attempts to escape but he is shot dead in the street by one of the deputies. Murdock winds up getting the girl.

Cast

Murdock MacQuarrie as Detective John Murdock
Lon Chaney as Frank Lawler, the clerk
Seymour Hastings as John Davis
Agnes Vernon as Dora Davis
Richard (Dick) Rosson as a bandit
Eddie Lyons

Reception

Moving Picture World called it "A western number of about average interest".^[4] Motion Picture News stated: "An old plot but the novel manner in which it is worked makes it interesting....The picture will appeal more to lovers of westerns than others".^[5]

References

^ "Silent Era: By the Sun's Rays". silentera. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
^ Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 22. ISBN 1-879511-26-6.
^ Mirsalis, Jon C. "By the Sun's Rays". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
^ Mirsalis, Jon C. "By the Sun's Rays". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
^ Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 21. ISBN 1-879511-26-6.

External links

By the Sun's Rays at IMDb
The short film By the Sun's Rays is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.

[silentera-1] "Silent Era: By the Sun's Rays". silentera. Retrieved June 19, 2008.

[2] Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 22. ISBN 1-879511-26-6.

[3] Mirsalis, Jon C. "By the Sun's Rays". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved October 6, 2020.

[4] Mirsalis, Jon C. "By the Sun's Rays". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved October 6, 2020.

[5] Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 21. ISBN 1-879511-26-6.

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