LIGHTNING BRYCE (1919). 15 Chapters. Sepiatone.

LIGHTNING BRYCE is a 1919-1920 American Western film serial directed by Paul Hurst and starring Ann Little and Jack Hoxie (in his first starring role). In all, 15 episodes were produced; all episodes survive today and are in the public domain.

PLOT:
Two prospectors, one the father of Skye "Lightning" Bryce and the other the father of Kate Arnold, find a large gold deposit belonging to an Indian tribe. They head for home but each sends a note to their respective off-springs advising them of their good fortune. One of the fathers conceives a plan of taking a dagger and wrapping a piece of string around the blade, after which he prints on the string with a lead pencil, the exact location of their find. If something happens to them, the string goes to the son and the knife to the daughter. That night an Indian approaches their camp and blows some mysterious wolf powder which causes a man to see wolves in place of human beings. Lightning's father see his partner as a wolf and stabs him to death; later he is brought into town in a dying condition but before dying, hands the knife and the string over to the sheriff with instructions to deliver to Lightning and Kate. The sheriff also informs Kate that Lightning's father killed her father, and she immediately turns against Lightning. "Powder" Solvang also knows the story behind the knife and the string, and is determined to gain possession of both, even to the extent of making Kate his prisoner in an opium den in Chinatown.

CAST:
Ann Little as Kate Arnold
Jack Hoxie as Sky "Lightning" Bryce
Paul Hurst as Powder Solvang
Jill Woodward as the Mystery Woman
Steve Clemente as Zambleau
Scout as Lightning's horse
Uncredited
Yakima Canutt as the Deputy (episode 15)
George Champion as a henchman
Ben Corbett as a henchman
Edna Holland as Daisy Bliss
George Hunter as a henchman
Noble Johnson as Dopey Sam's henchman / Arnold's butler
Slim Lucas as a henchman
Augustina López as Mother Lopez
Walter Patterson as a henchman

CHAPTERS:
"The Scarlet Moon" - October 15, 1919
"Wolf Nights" - October 22, 1919
"Perilous Trails" - October 29, 1919
"The Noose" - November 5, 1919
"The Dragon's Den" - November 12, 1919
"Robes of Destruction" - November 19, 1919
"Bared Fangs" - November 26, 1919
"The Yawning Abyss" - December 3, 1919
"The Voice of Conscience" - December 10, 1919
"Poison Waters" - December 17, 1919
"Walls of Flame" - December 24, 1919
"A Voice from the Dead" - December 31, 1919
"Battling Barriers" - January 7, 1920
"Smothering Tides" - January 14, 1920
"The End of the Trail" - January 21, 1920

RECEPTION:
A reviewer for Motion Picture News noted the outdoor shots, writing, "a wide variety of scenery is used as a background, much of it being really beautiful.", and continued, "Suspense is nicely maintained at the close of each episode and there are plenty of stunts pulled which are noteworthy. In these Hoxie is not alone, being ably assisted by Miss Little." A critic for Exhibitors Herald wrote, "This serial has received more favorable comments than any serial that has been run for some time. Children will like it."