Crusader (DVD)

THE CRUSADER was one of the earliest efforts from Majestic Pictures, for many years the most ambitious of the independent production firms. H.B. Warner plays the title character, incorruptible district attorney Phillip Brandon. Hoping to silence Brandon, a gang of crooks uncover some unsavory information about his wife Tess's (Evelyn Brent) past. The villains further lure Brandon's daughter Marcia (Marceline Day) into a compromising situation, in which Joe Carson (Walter Byron) clearly intends to deflower the girl against her will. When all of this intrigue results in murder, it is Tess's former sweetheart, amiable bootlegger Jimmie Dale (Lew Cody), who comes to the rescue of the good guys. Modern audiences will likely be astounded by the liberal use of profanity in THE CRUSADER, notably the moment in which unscrupulous reporter Eddie Crane (Ned Sparks) shouts "Hot damn! What a story!"