Policing the Plains
Policing the Plains is a 1927 Canadian historical docudrama silent film directed by Arthur D. Kean and based on the book of the same name by R.G. MacBeth. It depicted the first fifty years of the Royal North-West Mounted Police. Kean purchased the films rights to MacBeth's book two years after a separate company's unsuccessful attempt at adapting it. He originally planned for a six-reel film at a cost of $40,000, but it grew to eight-reels and $125,000 over the course of its filming over three years and five months. Kean filmed on location in western Canada and utilized the celebration of Macleod's 50th-anniversary. The film's release date was delayed from the 1924 British Empire Exhibition to the 1927 Canadian National Exhibition before being shown once at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The full film has since been lost since 1937, and one reel is believed to have been destroyed in a 1967 fire. Plot The film depicted episodes from the first fifty years of the RNWMP's existence, including: the Cypress Hills Massacre; the force's creation and March West; the force's relations with Indigenous peoples on the prairies; the founding of Fort Macleod; the pursuit of whisky traders and horse thieves;