Year: 1916
Director: William S. Hart
Country: US
Language: N/A
Director William S. Hart made his first western in 1914. Working first for Thomas Ince and later with his own production company. His formula was a hit with audiences and would go on to define the plots of future westerns for generations; an old west outlaw is reformed by religion and a good woman. The sheer quantity of films Hart produced in the 1910's was staggering. He would produce one film every two months. Hell's Hinges being one of his best.
You know the plot already. A tough guy find reformation and redemption in a tough Old West town.
Preserved by the Museum of Modern Art and selected to the National Film Registry in 1994, Hell's Hinges is a remarkable masterpiece of silent cinema. While Westerns during this period would often sacrifice accuracy for pure adventure, Hart made his pictures with the utmost sincerity and strived for realism. With a budget almost double the usual amount for a Hart western, this picture would be a great effort to outclass all the others that came before it.
Hell's Hinges is a bit heavy-handed in religious symbolism and florid titles. It's not exactly a subtle picture either. The woman he's swooning after is called "faith". Get it? He needs faith! For the most part the film is well-written, everything melds together into one astonishing climax of fire and fury. Hell's Hinges does require an attention span and a suspension of disbelief (as well as putting one's own religious views to the side), but overall it's quite an enjoyable flick.
Due to this being a great film that defined the Western genre for decades to come (there might not be a John Wayne without the influence of Hell's Hinges) it's not too much of a stretch to claim that this is one of the greatest films of the silent era.
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