The Man from Nowhere

In Snake River, Buck Farley breaks up a fight staged by crooked Chicago Saloon owner Johnson, who set-up alcoholic Jake Frazer as the town's sheriff as a joke. Johnson pretends to have saved Buck's life (when in reality he was planning on shooting him), which indentures Buck to Johnson, and Buck becoming his deputy. Buck also starts to have feelings for Jake's daughter, Emma, who has also rebuffed the advances of Johnson. Johnson uses a ruse to get Buck searching for some allegedly stolen horses in the desert, but Buck forces Johnson to accompany him (after he realizes that Johnson is not on the up and up, and also has designs on Emma)...

Directed by William S. Hart, The Man from Nowhere leans on a strong ensemble — William S. Hart, Margaret Thompson, J.P. Lockney — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about western titles of 1915.