Name: Laughing Bill Hyde
Released: 1918
Duration: 1 min 6 s
Cast: Will Rogers, Anna Lehr, John M. Sainpolis, Mabel Ballin, Clarence Oliver

Cast & Crew

Film Details

Release Date

Sep 30, 1918

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Rex Beach Pictures

Distribution Company

Goldwyn Distributing Corp.

Country

United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the short story "Laughing Bill Hyde" by Rex Ellingwood Beach in Laughing Bill Hyde and Other Stories (New York, 1917).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 6m

Sound

Silent

Color

Black and White

Film Length

5,790ft (6 reels)

Synopsis

Convict Bill Hyde and his friend, Danny Dorgan, break out of prison, but in running from the guards, Danny is mortally wounded. The local doctor, Evan Thomas, tries so hard to save Danny that later, when Bill and the doctor meet in Alaska, the two become friends. A dying man gives his mine to the doctor, but upon discovering that it is worthless, Bill sells it to a crook named John Wesley Slayforth for $50,000. Slayforth attempts to cheat Ponotah, a part Indian woman who owns another mine in which he has an interest, and Bill secures employment in the mine in order to investigate. When he learns that the superintendent is systematically stealing gold from the mine, Bill in turn robs him and buries the money near his cabin. Most of the gold he gives to Ponotah, who accepts his marriage proposal, while the $50,000 goes to the doctor, enabling him to return home and wed the girl of his heart.