MOVIE · 1903

The Great Train Robbery

ActionAdventureCrimeDramaWestern12 min

A gang of bandits assaults a station clerk, robs a departing train and its passengers, and then tries to outrun the posse on its trail in this 1903 silent Western. Gilbert M. “Broncho Billy” Anderson and Justus D. Barnes are part of the ensemble moving through the hold-up, getaway, and pursuit, with the story carried through action, gesture, and frontier tableaux rather than dialogue. From the station to the train to the chase after the thieves, the film tracks the robbery step by step as railroad workers, passengers, outlaws, and townsmen are pulled into the aftermath.