Lightnin' Wins

The accent is on action in this silent 2-reeler starring Gary Cooper. Actually, Coop doesn't have much acting to do, but most of his time here is spent in two fistfights. They appear strenuous and exhausting and take up a lot of screen time, so much so that, as the reviewer above observed, a stunt double must have been used for some of the action.

Briefly, Coop and his girl friend are out for a walk on the waterfront somewhere and his dog, Lightnin', comes upon some illegal activity under the dock. The dog alerts Cooper, who becomes involved and gets knocked out. His girl friend is captured by the crooks and taken to a hideaway. Lightnin' follows the group to the hideout, runs back and urges Coop, who is now conscious, to follow him. This dog must have run about five miles in record time, and is still fresh enough to run and get two motorcycle cops to follow him.

As stated, the fight scenes are long and a great deal of energy is expended. I thought the short was absorbing, and made all the more so by the stamina of all involved, including Lightnin'.