Hangman's House

(John Ford, US 1928, 71 min., 35mm)

Director John Ford returns to another story about his ancestral Ireland. Conn O’Brien (June Collyer) has been in love with neighbor Dermot McDermot (Larry Kent) all her life, but to please her dying father, she marries the politically connected John D’Arcy (Earle Foxe). The marriage is unhappy and D’Arcy is soon stalked by the mysterious “Citizen” Hogan (Victor McLaglen), newly arrived from the French Foreign Legion. As D’Arcy’s actions become more suspect and secrets are revealed, the trio of O’Brien, McDermot, and Hogan must find a way to stop D’Arcy before it’s too late. John Wayne makes his first appearance in a John Ford film as an extra at the central horse race of the film.