The Ropin’ Fool is a 20-minute silent comedy short starring American cultural icon Will Rogers. I had heard of the man because of his fame as a comedian and a political satirist, but was amazed to see – upon watching this short – that he was also a world-class roper. In fact, as I learned, his extraordinary lariat skills were what brought him to fame on vaudeville in the first place.
Ropin’ Fool is little more than an excuse to show off these skills, but what skills they are! This video just oozes with fun as he ropes everything from hats to cats, and especially horses, riders and, of course, the bad guy at the end. Add to that the incredible slo-mo photography which was extremely innovative for the time (and still looks amazing today) and you have something worthy of the time of any western fan. There’s even a monkey.
As my first contribution to “Making Sense of the West” I felt like a 20-minute silent short might be an odd choice. I might not be exactly hitting the ground running. But in many ways it exemplifies the fun that we find in westerns. Moreover, it brings to the forefront another of the tools of the old west. In the vast majority of westerns the revolver is the primary tool of the hero’s (and villain’s) trade, and being a fan of these movies and TV shows I have no beef with this. But it’s kind of refreshing to see The Ropin’ Fool, a film with no guns, and the all-but-forgotten lasso as our man’s instrument.
Do yourself a favor and treat yourself. You can watch it on Archive.org at the link below.
https://archive.org/details/theropinfool
Handy With A Gun...! 
Great post, I think going with an old silent Will Rogers short is a great way to break in. Indicates a better awareness of the depth of western cinema. Looking forward to more.
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