It may not have made it onto the “big screen” at the time it was made, but a silent movie filmed in the Cody area in 1925 soon gets its chance at Big Horn Cinema.

Showtimes for the free screenings of “The Rider of the Painted Horse” are at 4 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18.

The project is being spearheaded by Robyn Cutter, Archivist at the Park County Historical Archives. Cutter worked with the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s McCracken Research Library, which has a copy of the one-hour film in its archives, and Big Horn Cinema to arrange the screening.

The movie was produced by New York’s Carl H. Theobald and filmed by well-known local photographer F.J. Hiscock. It starred a local cast of around 200 people, with Will Richard, the uncle of Bob Richard, starring as the villain. Other locals of note in the cast included Josh Deane, Clarence Williams, George Inman and Verne Stahl. Theobald’s wife, Jane Tudor, played the damsel.

The location for filming was the Hargreaves Ranch on Cottonwood Creek, 4 miles northwest of Cody. The Borner family, who lived there at the time, also had roles in the film. 

Although “The Rider of the Painted Horse” premiered at the Cody Theater, it never made it onto the big screen nationally. Despite the enthusiasm of the local cast, the lack of a well-known actor hindered its appeal for national distribution, and the movie industry was moving to the “talkie” at the time it was made.

The Park County Historical Archives, Big Horn Cinema and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West are pleased to make the showing of the film possible.

For more information, contact Robyn Cutter at Robyn.Cutter@parkcounty-wy.gov or 307-527-8530.