William S. Hart wander into town with a poke of gold and a mining site all ready to go. But Charles French and Louise Glaum get him drunk and rolled; when he wakes, he discovers his mother has died and he has missed his funeral. He decides it's all Miss Glaum's fault, and decides to take revenge on her and every woman alive. Two years later, he is at his mine with his Mexican desperadoes .... and Miss Glaum, whom he has degraded utterly. A desperate wagon train stops nearby. They beg for enough water for their foundering horses and women. But Hart will not help outsiders, particularly women. It is then that pretty, virtuous Bessie Love goes to see him and tell him his duty as a White man.
It's in no wise an unusual role for Hart. In many of his movies from 1916 through 1919, he plays a variation on the "Good Bad Man", an utter stinker who is redeemed by a woman. Usually it's a matter of her being christianly virtuous. Here, it is offered as a matter of race.
Although the word "Aryan" as later co-opted by various groups who used it to justify any evil that served their purpose, it did not start that way. It arose as a term to cover what is now called the Indo-European language group. It was originally a Sanskrit word meaning "noble" or "respectable" because various 18th Century philologists noted parallels between Sanskrit, Latin, and Ancient Greek.... and also regular parallels between Germanic and Slavic languages. The 19th century saw various hypotheses about where the ur-language arose, and what it meant for the blood lines of the people who spoke them. (current appraisal: just about nothing) It is the last sense this title carries, without the deserved opprobrium its current usage merits.
Finally, a note about this being a restoration. It is a compilation of various elements from a number of sources. They are all of them, in poor condition, and the length of the copy I saw (47 minutes) seems rushed and missing a lot. I also think that the viewing condition could be improved through modern techniques. It is, as it currently stands, in only the first step of a restoration. As a fan of Hart's movies, I hope someone attempts it. Although I don't expect it soon, if at all.
