Newspaper, "A Debtor to the Law" - Henry Starr

 
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Newspaper - A Debtor to the Law
Newspaper, "A Debtor to the Law" - Henry Starr
Newspaper - A Debtor to the Law
Newspaper - A Debtor to the Law

Newspaper, "A Debtor to the Law" - Henry Starr

Object number2009.007.01
Date1922
MediumPaper, Ink
Dimensions19 x 12 1/2 in. (48.3 x 31.8 cm)
Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection
DescriptionNewspaper advertisement for the movie "A Debtor to the Law." The autobiographical film starred bank robber Henry Starr as himself. Starr robbed the bank in Bentonville in 1893 and was killed robbing a bank in Harrison in 1921.

Henry Starr was an outlaw best known as a bank robber and horse thief born in 1874. He spent five years in prison for a botched bank robbery before going on to make a movie of that robbery, "A Debtor to the Law." Henry Starr robbed the bank in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 1893 and was killed while robbing a bank in Harrison, Arkansas, in 1921.

A newspaper advertisement for the 1919 autobiographical silent film about Henry Starr, "A Debtor to the Law." Starr played himself in the film. Almost five years after being shot and arrested while robbing a bank in Oklahoma, Starr returned to the town he had robbed to make a movie about it. Reportedly, Starr used some of the tellers he had robbed and the man that had shot him in the film. The newspaper ad features two main headlines, "Starr, Famous Outlaw, Proves 'Find' as Actor in Filming Life Story" and "Showman to Showman, You'll Surely Mop Up by Taking These Tips." The film and ad were distributed by Peacock Productions, Inc.
Status
Not on view