“3 Bad Men” (1926)
- Film
- Ticket Required
Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
J. Farrell MacDonald and Tom Santschi in 3 Bad Men. Image courtesy of the Cleveland Silent Film Festival
About The Event
The Western and American film came of age together, joining forces in the work of Tom Mix, William S. Hart, and Gilbert M. “Broncho Billy” Anderson. No director defined the genre more fully than John Ford, whose Westerns include many from before the advent of sound. 3 Bad Men (1926) is among Ford’s best: The story follows three outlaws who inadvertently rescue a young woman (played by Olive Borden) and become her unlikely protectors after her father is killed. George O’Brien costars as a young settler drawn into their struggle against a corrupt sheriff. Ford established conventions of the Western even as he upended them, setting them against a fundamentally alien landscape. Cleveland’s star pianist Jackie Warren (whose early career included accompanying melodramas in Colorado) performs an original improvised score alongside the screening.
An introduction provided by noted John Ford expert Grafton Nunes begins at 6:30 p.m.
More information about the Cleveland Silent Film Festival can be found on the organization’s website (opens in a new tab).
The views expressed by performers during this event are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Ticket Prices
Festival Pass
Guests have the option to purchase tickets to individual screenings or to buy a festival pass, which allows purchasers to attend all screenings at the Cleveland Museum of Art at a discounted fee. In addition, the festival pass includes admission to the screening of East and West on September 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque and The General on September 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Grays Armory Museum. Festival pass holders must bring their festival pass to the Cinematheque box office to receive their ticket for the East and West screening. Festival pass holders must bring their festival pass to the Cleveland Grays Armory Museum to receive their ticket for The General screening.
A festival pass costs $120 for nonmembers and $100 for members.
Sponsors
The 2026–27 Performing Arts Series is sponsored by the Musart Society. This program is made possible in part by the Ernest L. and Louise M. Gartner Fund, the P. J. McMyler Musical Endowment Fund, and the Anton and Rose Zverina Music Fund.
The Cleveland Museum of Art is funded in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
Performing arts programs are supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts.
