$50,000 Reward

"$50,000 Reward" is an entertaining if fairly typical 1920s silent western. In it, Our Hero in the White Hat (Ken Maynard) avails himself of The Damsel in Distress (Esther Ralston) to help save the dam construction project that would otherwise bankrupt her Poor Old Father (Burt Lindley). Horse chases, shootouts, fisticuffs, and et cetera.....and of course, Our Hero and the Damsel fall in love at the end.

What makes this film interesting is that in later prints, there is a lengthy disclaimer at the begining telling how the film was shot at the construction site of The St. Francis Dam which a few years later failed, releasing a devastating flood that killed over 500 people. And while it's true that there was a St. Francis Dam near Los Angeles that collapsed and killed hundreds, it is actually the St. Francis Dams nearly identical sister, the Mulholland Dam, that is seen in the film!

The Mulholland Dam, which still stands today, is located in the Hollywood Hills, conveniently only a few miles from all the major studios. Only recently, experts on the St. Francis Dam disaster have studied the film and determined that the topography around the dam under construction in "$50,000" is that of the Hollywood Hills, and not San Francisquito Canyon - the site of the St. Francis Dam, some 35 miles away.

It's an interesting piece of obscure cinema trivia, and know you're stuck with it in your brain cells. But you never know - it might come up on Jeopardy!

Enjoy.