A 1905 silent Western, directed by Edwin S. Porter for Thomas Edison’s production company.
When the daughter of a switchman (Margaret Illington) casually wanders into the woods, she runs into a gang of bandits plotting to cause a train wreckage. They bind her to a tree to keep her out of the way, but she is rescued by her loyal dog. The Switchman’s Daughter manages to prevent the distaster by warning the people on the train of of the danger. She is applauded for her heroism, but is then knocked unconscious and captured by the bandits again, who leave her on the railroad tracks to get run over, and steal a handcar to make their getaway. However, our leading lady is rescued by one of the engineers, who engages in a shoot-out with the bandits as a chase ensues between his train engine and their handcar.
While not as well-remembered today as The Great Train Robbery (1903), this was still Edison’s studio’s most popular film of 1905, with 157 prints being sold.
Tropes:
- Antagonist Title: The eponymous ”Train Wreckers” are a gang of bandits willing to commit both theft and murder.
- Battering Ram: The Train Wreckers use a wooden beam as one to break down the door to the shed where the handcar is stored.
- Big Damn Heroes: Three examples:
- The Switchman’s Daughter is rescued by her dog, after the Train Wreckers capture her.
- Then, the Switchman’s Daughter uses some of her clothes as an improvised warning flag to get the attention of the people on the train, preventing the attempted wrecking.
- Finally, the Switchman’s Daughter is rescued by the Engineer, who picks her up onto the train before it runs her over.
- Car Chase: The climax is essentially this... but on a railway.
- Chained to a Railway: While this was already a sacred tradition of stage melodrama, this is possibly the oldest surviving film to feature this trope. Though the would-be victim technically isn’t actually chained, just placed on the rails while knocked out.
- Damsel in Distress: Zig-Zagged. The Switchman’s Daughter gets kidnapped twice, but she also gets to heroically prevent a disaster.
- Dark Is Evil: Most of the Train Wreckers are wearing clothes in darker hues.
- The Dividual: The Train Wreckers always operate as a single unit, and have no individual personality traits.
- Dragon Their Feet: There is nothing distinguishing “The Last Train Wrecker” (played by Broncho Billy Anderson) from his fellow bandits other than being the final one standing once the others have either been shot dead or left the scene. He even becomes a potential Hero Killer as he wounds the Engineer, before one of the latter’s allies takes the bandit down.
- Fake Shemp: For the rescue scene, the Switchman’s Daughter is replaced by a puppet for one shot.
- Genki Girl: Prior to her abduction, the Switchman’s Daughter is shown to be in a great mood, happily waving at people.
- Handcar Pursuit: The Train Wreckers steal a handcar to make their getaway. The heroes then chase (and shoot) them down with their train engine.
- Heroes Love Dogs: The Switchman’s Daughter being shown owning and petting a dog immediately establishes her as a Nice Girl from the film’s very first shot.
- Heroic Bystander: Our heroes? An ordinary switchman’s daughter with the conviction to do the right thing, her trusty dog, and an engineer who happens to be quite handy with a gun.
- Heroic Dog: The Switchman’s Daughter’s dog comes to the rescue after her kidnapping, biting apart the ropes she’s bound by. Later he runs back home to her father and her lover, informing them of the upcoming danger.
- Know When to Fold Them: Some of the bandits are shown running off into the woods once it becomes clear that they have no chance of winning the shoot-out.
- Light Is Good: The Switchman’s daughter and the Train Engineers are all wearing white.
- No Name Given: None of the characters are named. Their roles are simply inferred from what we see on screen. Possibly Averted with the Train Wreckers themselves though, if you take the title to not be merely descriptive but the actual name of their gang.
- Railroad Tracks of Doom: The Train Wreckers try to kill the Switchman’s Daughter by having her run over by a train engine. They get a taste of their own medicine later, when that very engine sets out to hunt them down.
- She Knows Too Much: When the Train Wreckers catchiga the Switchman’s Daughter listening in on their meeting, they have her Bound and Gagged to keep her from interfering with their scheme. It doesn’t work.
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Spared by the Cut: Possibly Inverted. It’s been said that the film originally had an additional shot (now lost) which made it clear that the Engineer survived. Without that, it’s easy to get the impression that he managed to save the life of his lover and get revenge on her attempted murderers, but got himself killed in the process. -
Spiritual Successor: To The Great Train Robbery (1903), another Western featuring gunmen attacking a train. Both films were made by the same director and studio two years apart, and both featured Broncho Billy Anderson playing a bandit. - Stop Trick: Used (imperfectly) during the chase scene to create the illusion of a shoot-out between the two vehicles.
- Tap on the Head: How one of the Train Wreckers knocks the Switchman’s Daughter out during her second capture.
- Train Job: Presumably, the bandits were planning to rob the train after wrecking it.
