The Silent Man of Timber Gulch (1916) The Moving Picture Weekly, May 27, 1916, page 26 "The Silent Man of Timber Gulch" Two-Reel Gold Seal Mountain Drama, written and produced by Robert Leonard. Little Ella, lost in the hillside, seeks shelter in the "haunted cabin." Robert Leonard as the silent man of Timber Gulch. Like a wounded animal seeking the shelter of the woods, the man had come to Timber Gulch.  Taking posession of an abandoned cabin, he had lived a lonely existence.  He was never known to say a word to the inhabitants, keeping his business to himself and his queer actions had become the subject of speculation of the natives.  At other times his nature would change and the sound of a gunshot would have a strange effect apon him.  He had been know to trace the sound of a shot and violently wrest the gun from the hands of a hunter. One day a stranger and a child arrives in the camp.  The boss of the camp meets the stranger and it turns out that he and the stranger are old friends.  They talk about old times and the boss asks his friend about the child.  The friend tells him that the child is his grandchild and that several years before a stranger had drifted into the home town, and after a rapid fire wooing had married his daughter.  He was liked by all who knew him, but after the marriage the husband got into bad habits.  At first the home life was happy, but the husband became addited more and more to drink.  It was an easy step from drink to gambling, and he went from bad to worse.  In the meantime a child was born to them, and she was the bright spot in her mother's life.  One night, while the husband is at the dance hall, one of the girls flirts with him and arouses the jealousy of her lover.  A fight ensues and the lover is killed by the husband.  The husband escapes, and that is the last that is heard of him.  Meanwhile the wife tires of waiting, and dies of a broken heart.  The baby girl is left in the old man's hands to raise as the best he can.  He finishes the sad story and the boss tries to comfort him.  They go out to find the little child, but she is missing. The child has wandered on into the woods and becomes lost.  All join in a frantic search for her, but can find little trace.  The child wanders about until exhausted, and then spies a cabin among the trees.  She stumbles inside and then falls on the bunk asleep.  The silent man has wandered outside, and returning, sees the bundle on his bunk.  He finds the child, and is struck by the remarkable resemblence to his dead wife.  He clasps her in his arms and opening the locket, finds the face of his wife inside.  The stranger and the boss, hearing voices, come in.  Recognition follows and the man is told of his wife's death, but finds consolation in the recovery of his memory and the presence of his little girl. with Robert Z. Leonard, Ella Hall and Mark Robbins.  Directed by Robert Z. Leonard.  Gold Seal/Universal. More Information on this film...                                      This work (The Silent Man of Timber Gulch (1916), by Universal), identified by Bruce Calvert, is free of known copyright restrictions. Books None. Last Modified April 26, 2009.