Not a Drum Was Heard is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by William A. Wellman.[1][2] The title is taken from the first line of Charles Wolfe's poem "The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna":

Not a Drum Was Heard
Directed byWilliam Wellman
Written byDoty Hobart
Story byBen Ames Williams
Produced byWilliam Fox
StarringBuck Jones
CinematographyJoseph H. August
Edited byHarry Marker
Distributed byFox Film Corporation
Release date
  • January 27, 1924 (1924-01-27)
Running time
50 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corse{sic} to the rampart we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried.

Plot

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As described in a film magazine review,[3] Jack Mills and Bud Loupel; they ride the ranch together, rescue each other from certain death, and fall in love with Jean Ross. She selects Bud to be the lucky one. Married life starts in a bungalow acquired on the installment plan from the town banker Rand, who also had courted Jean. Bud obtains employment at the bank as a teller. He falls into a trap set by Rand and steals funds. Jack hears of it, stages a holdup to cover the money, and tries to assume all blame. However, Bud has been mortally wounded and, in the mix-up, exonerates his friend before he dies.

Cast

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Preservation

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With no prints of Not a Drum Was Heard in any film archives,[4] it is a lost film.

References

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  1. ^ Frank T. Thompson (February 1, 1983). William A. Wellman. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1594-0. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  2. ^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Not a Drum Was Heard
  3. ^ Brumell, Marguerite A. (February 9, 1924). "Box Office Reviews: Not a Drum Was Heard". Exhibitors Trade Review. 15 (12). New York: Exhibitors Review Publishing Corporation: 27. Retrieved August 12, 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Not a Drum was Heard
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