The Tornado 1917 Directed by John Ford

The Tornado mostly followed pulp Western formula -- bad guys hold up a town, take a girl hostage, and the hero rides to the rescue. But there were a couple of twists that made it seem more personal than the usual cowboy fare. Ford's Jack Dayton ... is known as "the No-Gun Man" because he faces the villains unarmed, anticipating the character played by James Stewart in George Marshall's 1939 Western comedy classic Destry Rides Again. Dayton is an immigrant who uses the reward money to bring over his mother (Jean Hathaway) from Ireland, a prototypically Fordian situation if there ever was one.

Country USA
Production Country USA
Language English
Gnere Western
Production Company Bison Motion Pictures
Release Date 3 March 1917
30 mins
Cast
John Ford Jack Dayton (as Jack Ford)
Jean Hathaway Jack's mother
Peter Gerald Pendleton - banker from Rock River (as Pete Gerald)
Elsie Thornton Bess - Jack's daughter
Duke Worne Lesparre - the lead of Cayote gang
John Duffy Slick - Jack's partner