The Headless Horseman (1922 film)

The village of Sleepy Hollow, New York is getting ready to greet the new schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, who is coming from New York. Crane has already heard of the village's legendary ghost, a headless horseman who is said to be searching for the head that he lost in battle. The schoolteacher has barely arrived when he begins to pursue the beautiful young heiress Katrina Van Tassel, angering Abraham Van Brunt (aka "Brom Bones"), who was courting her. Crane's harsh, small-minded approach to teaching also turns some of the villagers against him. Soon, there are many who would like to see him leave the village altogether. Brom Bones trashes the schoolhouse and tries to make it look like witches allied with Ichabod Crane caused the destruction. == Cast ==

• Will Rogers as Ichabod Crane • Lois Meredith as Katrina Van Tassel • Ben Hendricks Jr. as Abraham Van Brunt ("Brom Bones") • Charles E. Graham as Hans Van Ripper • Mary Foy as Dame Martling • Bernard A. Reinold as Baltus Van Tassel • Downing Clarke as Dominie Heckwelder • Jerry Devine as Adrian Van Ripper • James Sheridan as Jethro Martling • Kay MacCausland as Elsa Vanderdonck • Nancy Chase as Gretchen == Production ==

The stern schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, who at one point beats a student, was played by Rogers, a popular actor playing against his typical roles{{cite book |last=Hallenbeck |first=Bruce G. The Headless Horseman was the first black-and-white feature film photographed entirely on panchromatic stock, which, while two to three times more expensive, did not have the tendency to turn blue eyes and skies white and lipstick as black like the commonly used orthochromatic film did. One effective special effect was the use of a double exposure to give the headless horseman a phantom-like appearance. == Preservation ==

Copies of The Headless Horseman exist in several collections and it has been released on DVD. Alpha Video released the movie in a double-feature with Italian film The Mechanical Man (1921). == References ==