Bells of San Juan

Bells of San Juan is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Scott Dunlap and starring Buck Jones.^[2] It was based on the Jackson Gregory novel The Bells of San Juan.^[3] It was the first of five films where Claude Payton was cast alongside Jones.^[4]

Bells of San Juan
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Directed by	Scott R. Dunlap
Written by	Rex Taylor
Based on	The Bells of San Juan by Jackson Gregory
Produced by	William Fox
Starring	Buck Jones
Cinematography	Dev Jennings
Distributed by	Fox Film Corporation
Release date	October 15, 1922 (1922-10-15)
Running time	35 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Languages	Silent English intertitles

Plot

Roderick Norton is a sheriff on a crusade to find and apprehend the man who murdered his father. Unable to restore order in the mining town where he is appointed, he loses favor with the townspeople. The villain, revealed to be Jim Garson, and his gang make life miserable for Norton, culminating with the abduction of his girlfriend, frontier doctor Dorothy Page, by Garson's henchmen the Rickard brothers, in order to entrap the hero. Roderick is successful in rescuing Dorothy, but in the process he suffers a head injury which changes his personality, turning him into a thief whom his friends are unable to trust. He is brought back to his old self through the medical ministrations of Dorothy, and is able to obtain a confession regarding the murder of his father from the Rickards, allowing the capture and arrest of Garson.^[1][2][5]

Cast

• Charles "Buck" Jones as Roderick Norton
• Fritzi Brunette as Dorothy Page
• Claude Payton as Jim Garson
• Harry Todd Dr. Caleb Patton
• Hardy Kirkland as John Engel
• Katherine Key as Florrie Engel
• William Steele as Kid Rickland
• Otto Matieson as Antone
• Sid Jordan as Tom Cutter

Reception

Motion Picture News reviewed the film on October 28, 1922. It found the plot entirely predictable, and thought that it was one of Jones' weaker films.^[2]