Red Signals

After five robbery-connected train wrecks in two months, "Western Limited Railroad" company superintendent Earle Williams (as Frank Bennet) is sent to investigate. From the beginning, we know the criminals are operating from the inside, with criminal conductor J.P. McGowan (as McGuire) performing double duty as the film's director. A rail-riding hobo provides us with our story's hero. He is wanderlust Wallace MacDonald (as Lee Bennet), also revealed as the brother of Mr. Williams.

While romancing pretty Eva Novak (as Mary Callahan), Mr. MacDonald cleans up to go undercover for brother Williams. Mr. McGowan gets some good location footage here, but the actual car and train crashes are unoriginal. Williams was the biggest name associated with this film, and audiences undoubtedly were to connect him with "The Juggernaut" (1915), a wildly popular film featuring a monster train wreck. Williams died unexpectedly of pneumonia in April, while this film was in circulation.

**** Red Signals (3/1/27) J.P. McGowan ~ Wallace MacDonald, J.P. McGowan, Earle Williams, Eva Novak

From a rail fan's perspective, Red Signals rates a 10 simply because it contains scene after scene relating to railroading in the early 20th century and particularly in the Southern California area. There are several scenes at the old Santa Fe Arcade Station (brick building with Moorish turrets) that not only provide rate glimpses of railroading during the period but also of the day-to-day live styles of everyday people. Given the movie was pre-Depression, there is no attempt (as most often occurred during Depression-era movies when they attempted to brighten up people's lives by focusing on the lives of the very rich), but one gets to see life from a more realistic historical perspective. The acting is generally over-the-top, and the sub-titled asides are pretty hilarious and you get the impression that the writers were jibbing at their own characters. Definitely worth seeing.