Ruth of the Range is a fifteen episode American adventure film serial starring Ruth Roland, in which a young woman attempts to rescue her father from a gang that has kidnapped him in order to find out his secret for making "Fuelite," a substitute for coal. The film was the final feature created by scenarist Gilson Willets for Pathe Productions, and is now thought to be a lost film.
Episodes
The Last Shot
The Seething Pit
The Danger Trail
The Terror Train
The Temple Dungeon
The Pitfall
The Fatal Count
The Dynamite Plot
The Lava Crusher
Circumstantial Evidence
The Desert of Death
The Vital Test
The Molten Menace
Cancelled Orders
Promises Fulfilled
Cast
Ruth Roland ... Ruth Remington
Bruce Gordon ... Bruce Burton
Lorimer Johnston ... Peter Van Dyke
Ernest C. Warde ... Robert Remington
Pat Harmon ... Jim Stain
Andrée Peyre ... Judith
Harry De Vere ... J. Hamilton Camp
V. Omar Whitehead ... Captain X
Production
The series had three directors: the credited director was Ernest C. Warde, son of famed actor Frederick Warde, and was reportedly fired for filming too many close-ups of Roland; his replacement, W. S. Van Dyke, soon quit for another job; and Frank Leon Smith was hired to complete the serial. Gillets died during filming but before he had completed the script, leaving Smith to create his own story from existing footage. Roland left the feature before filming was complete, so Smith filmed her final scenes using her stuntman, Bob Rose, wearing a wig.