It has often been said that Stagecoach (1939) was the first serious western with deeper themes than anything done before. While I will never argue about how great Stagecoach is (as I love it as much as many of you do), this movie predates it by 23 years.
The two major cowboy stars of the silent era were William S. Hart and Tom Mix. While I love both of them, they are very different images of the cowboy. William S. Hart had a darker side to him and his films often had a more serious edge. Tom Mix was in many ways a predecessor of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. He was goodness personified and his movies were pure action packed fun. Hell's Hinges is a dark and unforgiving western with little of the optimism that would be seen in Tom Mix film.
Like in many of his best movies, here William S. Hart plays a reformed criminal, this time one called Blaze Tracey. Blaze is one of the most dangerous criminals in the west. However he meets a woman appropriately named Faith (Clara Williams). She is the sister of a minister (Jack Stanley). Some of the residents are apposed to the bringing of Christianity to the west and try to rid the town of these evangelists. A reformed Blaze stands to help protect the church. Meanwhile the minister is having troubles of his own with his own struggles with alcoholism. This all leads to a dark and powerful ending that stays with you long after watching the movie.
This film is not only unusual for a western of the silent era but for a western of any era. There is little action in this movie and for a film that runs 64 minutes it takes more than ten minutes for our main character to first appear. This film instead serves as a character study for both Blaze and the minister. Neither of which are the simplistic characters they could have easily been. They are instead very deep and complex characters, making this movie's exploration of them even more effective.
Unlike many filmmakers of this time, William S. Hart strove for authenticity in his westerns. This authenticity often added such a unique power to his films absent from many other silent westerns.
William S. Hart did most of the directing for this movie. However he does not receive a screen credit for doing so. The credit for director instead went to his collaborator Charles Swickward. Shooting for this film took place from September to late October of 1915. The cast and crew of this movie had become regulars for William S. Hart westerns by this time. Both writer Gardner Sullivan and actress Clara Williams had worked on Hart's first feature film, The Bargain (1914).
This film is to be found on YouTube for anyone interested. That video can be seen below. However an even better version the Nation Film Preservation Foundation's website. To see that version click here.
Hell's Hinges may be the finest western of the silent era and that is saying a lot. This film is a uniquely powerful experience, It has an incredible look, especially in the incredible climax. This is a one of a kind movie and one that every fan of silent film and every fan of western movies needs to see. A masterpiece.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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