Tol'able David, filmed in Highland County, is a 1921 silent film based on the Joseph Hergesheimer short story. It was adapted to the screen by Edmund Goulding and directed by Henry King for Inspiration Pictures.

 

It was a major box office success, was voted a Photoplay Magazine 1921 "medal of honor",  and is seen by critics and viewers as one of the classics of silent film.

 

In 2007, Tol’Able David was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

 

Highland County residents were in the movie as extras.

​

Many of the locations  appear as they did in 1921.

 

Highland County’s sheriff, Eldridge Swecker, played the sheriff in the movie. This is a picture of him in costume.