Tell, pursued by the tyrant's troops because he refuses to doff his hat to the latter's edict, escapes up a cliff by means of a windlass manned by his wife. Eventually caught by the soldiers, Tell is given a chance to win his pardon if he will shoot an apple from his son's head. He begs for, and obtains, two practice shots; the first cuts the rope of a suspended water bucket, drenching the tyrant - the second arrow gets caught in a spectator's beard and carries him over the house-tops. Tell, Jr., takes his position, but the tyrant refuses to permit him to substitute a pumpkin for the apple. As Tell is about to shoot, a Swiss Apple Hawk (a very rare bird) swoops down and steals the target. Another apple is set in place, and Tell scores a bulls-eye. The tyrant wishes to try a shot at Tell, so Willy, Jr., bends his arrow, so that it boomerangs and pierces the seat of the tyrant's pants.
—Universal Weekly, August 9, 1924