The Virginian is a 1923 American silent Western film based upon the 1902 Owen Wister novel The Virginian and adapted from the popular 1904 theatrical play which Wister had collaborated on with playwright Kirke La Shelle.[1] The film stars Kenneth Harlan as the Virginian and Russell Simpson as Trampas and was directed by Tom Forman. With the advent of talkies, the film was soon overshadowed by the 1929 motion picture The Virginian with Gary Cooper and Walter Huston.[2]