Silent Western Double Feature: Big Stakes (1922)/A Desperate Chance (1925) (DVD)

Jim Gregory catches the eye of sexy senorita Mercedes Aloyez. The spoiled girl is engaged to the overbearing Captain Montoya, and sees the handsome cowboy as her way out of an unhappy marriage. Jim is more interested in the homespun charm of pretty waitress Mary. Regardless of his true feelings, Jim is challenged to a duel by Montoya for the hand of the shapely Mercedes. While the two men prepare for battle, Mary is kidnapped by the Klu Klux Klan. With the woman he loves about to be burned at the stake, Jim must dispatch Montoya and race to her rescue.Big Stakes is one of the few surviving films of silent cowboy star J.B. Warner (1895-1924). After parts in several Universal Westerns and supporting Tom Mix in For Big Stakes (1922) he was given a starring role in this film, which was similarly titled to capitalize on his prior success. Warner headlined several pictures for independent studios over the next two years until he was suddenly struck by illness. He tragically died of tuberculo