FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

barbb1953 The Netflix version of "Tumbleweeds" is the Paul Killiam version redone in the 1970s, and it has Hart's farewell to the screen. Sure, it's over the top today, but the man was a Shakespearean actor long before he started doing Westerns, and his other stage roles included that of Messala in, I believe, the original stage production of "Ben-Hur." He then, at age 48, didn't sit on his laurels but instead went into the physically demanding field of making Westerns, apparently because the current Westerns of the time didn't portray accurately the real Wild West he had grown up in; and he did some fine work there before finally retiring.After all that, if the man wanted to pull out all the stops in his final farewell, more power to him! Some of "Tumbleweeds" is a little hokey (the singing and some of the plot developments, for example), and Hart's acting seems a little wooden today (although it does convey an inner strength that helps his character get through physical trials, like that long hard ride in the land rush), but the authenticity grabs your attention in spite of that. Right at the start, for instance, it seems as though they are showing film of a 19th Century cattle drive. The interiors are very realistic, too, as are the vehicles, costumes,and mannerisms (I love the way Barbara Bedford reacts when Richard Niell puts his hand on her shoulder -- quite in character with those times and quite a contrast to the mores of 1920s America, let alone modern times).The land rush scene is very famous and has been copied a lot, but it still is terrific to watch, particularly the way Hart works the story line into it.I really enjoyed Lucien Littlefield's performance, too (Kentucky Rose, Hart's sidekick). It takes a lot of skill and hard work to look that "stupid" and yet carry the plot along so well: it is so easy to overact and turn it into a farce. Littlefield walks the line but always stays on the right side of it and is very funny and yet also touching (the secondary romantic plot). This was the first role I noticed him in (though he was in "Sons of the Desert," too -- I don't remember him in that). He worked a lot. The Wikipedia entry for him notes that his years of activity were 1914-1960 (the year of his death). Not too many other actors had such a long career.Kentucky Rose would be considered very politically incorrect today, as would (NOTE: there be spoilers ahead!) the shooting of a snake, but there are some very positive things in "Tumbleweeds," too: rescuing two wolf pups and describing the debt the cowboys owe them because they poisoned their parents; apologizing (sort of) to the snake after killing it; showing African-Americans present in the land rush crowd; and presenting Indians (presumably Cherokee) in a positive way, as Hart's friends (though that sign language discussion seems a little long-winded and overwrought, given what they're actually saying).Speaking of sign language, this is the first silent film I've seen that doesn't leave much dialogue to the audience's imagination. Everything is spelled out carefully in the titles, and I think that shows it was aimed at a very specific demographic and not necessarily the same one, say, that Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., was reaching for with his costume dramas at the same time.The filming is also very straightforward and a little rough. Having just watched "Hangman's House" (1928), I couldn't help contrasting the land rush scene here with the horse race in Ford's film, which is very "arty" in comparison. In both films, horses rush at the camera, but the image and its effect on the viewer are very different. One approach is not better than other, of course; each technique fits the film in which it occurs, but it's interesting to note that even in the 1920s, there were different audiences to be catered to.It's also interesting to note that this "rough" film stars a Shakespearean actor while Ford's "arty" film stars a former bare-knuckles boxer (Victor McLaglen) and is also famous today as being the first movie in which a former USC football player, John Wayne, can be clearly seen on camera.Hollywood, especially in the early years, is full of delightful little surprises like that.

funkyfry The legendary William S. Hart's last film is a large scale homage to the passing days of the Old West, with star Hart portraying a grizzled veteran cowboy who sees the death of his lifestyle in the Oklahoma land rush and the last great cattle drives. It is often visually moving, but not very psychologically astute (nor perhaps does it attempt to be).Hart's character Don Carver falls for a young woman named Molly (Barbara Bedford) who has come west to try to make a land claim along with her older (J. Gordon Russell) and younger (Jack Murphy) brothers. Unbeknownst to her, the elder brother is making plans with a villainous criminal (Richard Neill) to take the best spot of land and leave Molly out in the cold. They frame Carver as a "sooner", so that he can't help Molly. But Carver escapes from his prison and rides at breakneck speed across the plains to try to win the land for his lady love.The scenes towards the end with the land rush are quite impressive in scale, and the fast riding Hart really impresses with his own stunt prowess. It's the very definition of a "set-peice" scene, basically a film version of one of the Wild West shows that used to be so popular at Expos and so forth (Buffallo Bill's show being the most famous). However I felt a bit let down by the actual fighting... the two bad guys didn't really fight Hart, they just ran away like cowards. I suppose that was the point, but it makes for a less exciting western when we don't get to see a good shoot-out.Hart's presence is excellent, but his actual performance is at times laughable. Never moreso than at the very conclusion of the film, when he wipes his brow and gives the camera a look of anguish that would have embarrassed even some of his Shakespearean brethren (Hart was a classically trained actor, and it shows). He's excellent in the early scenes when his presence is more stoic, but whenever the film asks him to show emotion he betrays it with showy affectations.I'm glad I saw it, if only as a history lesson in western film. The movie is not as goofy as a lot of the westerns from that time, but also not quite as self-serious as Ford's silents. It's a film that knows its place as a spectacle entertainment, and also manages to convey the sadness and majesty of the last days of the West.

wes-connors In the 1939 re-release's introduction, William S. Hart explains, "The story of 'Tumbleweeds' marks one of the greatest epochs of our American history. It tells of the opening of the Cherokee Strip in the year 1889. Twelve hundred square miles of Cherokee Indian lands, on one front, over two hundred miles long, were thrown open by our government to those seeking good earth upon which they might make their homes."Mr. Hart (as Don Carver) and comic sidekick Lucien Littlefield (as Kentucky Rose) are two of the cattle ranchers who are put out when as the Oklahoman Cherokee Strip is "thrown open" by the government. For Hart, the silver lining comes in the form of a several decades younger sweetheart, homesteader Barbara Bedford (as Molly Lassiter); however, her nasty half-brother J. Gordon Russell (as Noll Lassiter) threatens to spoil the fun. Little brother Jack Murphy (as Bart Lassiter) and his pup have the highest profile relationship that actually works. Still, the film has Hart, and its exciting "land rush!" sequence.The re-release (which, apart from Hart's cool Shakespearian appearance, is the inferior version, by the way) features the legendary star's farewell: "My friends, I loved the art of making motion pictures. It is as the breath of life to me…no longer a cloud of dust, but a beautiful golden haze through which appears a long phantom herd of trailing cattle. At their head, a Pinto pony…with an empty saddle…the boys up ahead are calling -- they're waiting for you and me to help drive this last great round-up into eternity… "Adios, amigos. God bless you all, each and every one." ******* Tumbleweeds (12/20/25) King Baggot ~ William S. Hart, Lucien Littlefield, Barbara Bedford

FilmartDD Seen in a 16mm print from the 1939 release (not necessarily the 1975 restoration listed by imdb), the sheer sincerity of the film-makers appealed highly. Intelligent art-gallery audience loved it - shown on 40th anni of Hart's death. Sound was coarse (expected) but loud and consistent in quality with image