In the late 1910s and early 1920s Edgar Jones had a film studio in Augusta, Maine, where he made "north woods" adventure films about Canadian mounties and Maine lumbermen. These were mostly one- and two-reel films which Jones also produced and directed.
Earlier in the teens, Jones had been a Western star for Lubin studio in Philadelphia, where he was often teamed with Clara Williams or Louise Huff (whom he eventually married). At some point in the late teens or early 20s, Jones partnered with Maine writer Holman Day, who eventually took over the Augusta studio. Their collaboration culminated in the first feature film shot in Maine, the now lost RIDER OF THE KING LOG (1921).
Jones was able to attract well-known actors of the day to Maine to film in the woods and on the Kennebec River. Here we have Jones as Lt. Blunt, a Canadian mountie out to capture a gang of moonshiners, Ben Hendricks, Jr. As Jean Lamont and Carlton Brickert as Buck Dubuque (the IMDb credits are wrong). A very young Evelyn Brent plays the heroine torn between her love for her brother (Brickert) and for Blunt (Jones).
Straightforward 2-reeler starts out at the intersection of Water and Bridge Streets where Jones is escorting a captured criminal across the Calumet Bridge (although story takes place in Canada). Plot involves murder, mistaken identity, and an escape across the river to Maine.
Best scene is the extended fight between Jones and Brickert. Worth seeking out.
