Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws

Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws (1915)

Sadly the majority of the footage from this six-reeler is now lost and all that remains is around 13-minutes. What footage there is can be found on the Treasures Vol. 5: The West collection. The history of this film is actually quite interesting as Marshall William Tilghman grew tired of watching Westerns glamorize bandits, crooks and outlaws. This was especially true for bandit-turned-filmmaker Al Jennings who made several pictures making himself look good. Tilghman decided to get into the movie business to show that these people aren't to be looked up to. Considering the majority of the film is lost, there's no way one could fully judge what's left but there's no doubt that the remaining footage is worth viewing. There are a handful of scenes including one where Tilghman goes into a den of crooks and there's also several shoot-outs that are still available. For the most part this footage appears to have been well-shot and there's plenty of nice action. One just wishes the rest of the film would turn up to see Tilghman's version of some of these events.

Unfortunately, a good amount of this film has been lost to the ravages of time, but a local museum sells it. My only complaint is that the have added "The Ballad of Marshal Bill' over the soundtrack, instead of keeping the film in its pure sense. But you get to see some of the West's greatest lawmen re-enacting their feats, and it is such a treat.

This is an answer to "Beatign Back," Al Jennings' film about how he was 'driven to a life of crime'. Jennings' only claim to fame was that he was the most inept outlaw in Oklahoma's history, if not that of the West. We had some magnificent lawmen here in Oklahoma, and it's a pleasure to seem them on the screen.

In some cities, this outdrew "The Birth of A Nation," as Tilghman toured with the film, and he was still popular around the nation.

The background for this film is amazingly strange. In the early 20th century, ex-outlaws were made heroes in books, article and films. One film in particular irritated Marshal Bill Tillman--one that made Al and Frank Jennings look like heroes. Now considering that Tillman himself had arrested the Jennings brothers after a shootout, he wanted to set the record straight. So, along with two other Oklahoman lawman, they formed the Eagle Film Company just to produce "Oklahoma Outlaws" and to portray the villains accurately. They were NOT motivated by a desire to right wrongs or steal from the rich to give to the poor--these villains were just bad and needed to be stopped! Crazy as it sounds, however, the Tillman narrative never stuck and films continued glamorizing the myths of the 'good outlaw'--all through the sound era. So, although Tillman is REALLY appreciated by historians who want to get the stories right, the public evidently DON'T want to know the truth, as it's apparently pretty dull!

Sadly, the version I saw was NOT the original six-reel version but just a six minute fragment showing just a few of the many vignettes that used to be in the film. That's because like so many old nitrate prints, it's simply disintegrated--and what we have in this version is one of the more complete pieces. Hopefully one day they'll find another print and will be able to show it in its entirety. Until then, this well made and rather realistic piece is all we have. Worth seeing but just a tease of what we once had. And, impossible to rate in its current condition.