Overall, it may have had the biggest success of any film made before 1905. The film's popularity was helped by its timely subject matter (as train robberies were still a familiar news item) as well as its striking depictions of action and violence. Unusually for the time, the film was even described in detail in the "New York Times"; the anonymous reviewer criticized most of the players, but praised the horse riding and stunts, concluding: "All this is the result of poor acting, but the results are certainly astounding."