The backstory for Rusty’s western movie is a mystery in the solving, as explained in the previous posts Act 1 & 2. The unfolding story is hidden in a collection of negatives from the 1920s and based on interviews with Rusty’s son Allan and visual evidence shown in the images. We have determined that the location is most likely southeastern Wyoming, probably somewhere between Laramie and the Wind River Reservation. Between 1925 and 1930 there was a “movie rush” in that part of the state due to the sudden popularity of western silent films like John Ford’s The Iron Horse (1924) and the local cowboy star Tim McCoy. So far the visual clues seem to suggest that Rusty’s western was a small company production trying to strike Hollywood gold out west. That’s where we pick up the movie mystery.

Among the negatives in Rusty’s collection were a series of shots that appear to capture a gunfight scene between two cowgirls…

The gunfight sequence is the best evidence that the costumed actors are making a film rather than just ambling around the prairie in boots and long skirts. The camera angle feels secondary to a more carefully placed movie camera and the time between frames seems to approximately match the film changing on a 4×5 speed graphic press camera. The blurred action is also consistant with the shutter speed on a large format press camera. But what about the movie, and the titbit of the plot that involves a shootout between lady gunfighters?

Meanwhile back at the ranch….

The photos of buildings and background don’t seem to offer many clues or information about the movie but some details, like telephone poles and steel plumbing vents confirm the 1920’s timeframe. Its time to go back to the characters and individual actors in the story…maybe they have more to tell before I start into the next batch of scans.

Before riding off into the sunset to work on the next post here are a couple out takes for the trusty 4×5. If you don’t remember to change the film slide between shots the camera will double expose images on the light sensitive negative creating a ghostly effect. Its like time and place being compressed. There were two double exposures in the collection….

And finally, after working with the gunfight sequence negatives, I noticed three familiar characters in another negative almost like they were making a getaway…