Hell's Hinges

There is a strong Christian content to the movie that most future westerns would not bring up (at least not like this). The main character, Blaze Tracy, goes from being the toughest, meanest guy in town to a defender of the Christian faith, although in a very individual way, i.e. no church affiliation. The plot centers greatly around faith and lack of faith. The events can be spiritually interpreted in a number of cases. This movie is no simple western.

Hart plays a borderline bad guy reformed by a preacher's sister. The idea does sound corny but the darn thing works.

A young minister (Jack Standing) and his sister (Clara Williams) arrive in a wide-open town which is nicknamed "Hell's Hinges." The town villain (Alfred Hollingsworth), who, of course, runs the saloon, decides he is going to run the minister out of town. Hart wants nothing to do with religion, so he is on board with the plan ... until he meets Williams.

Eventually, Hollingsworth engages the town "ho" (Louise Glaum) to get the minister drunk, which gives the townspeople license to burn down the church. In one of the better climaxes of any western, Hart angrily but methodically gets revenge. In one very powerful scene, he stands calmly outside the saloon as it is burning behind him. A complete town (35 buildings, in this case) was built at Inceville, the studio owned by producer Thomas Ince. It was burned to the ground during the climax. Some newspapers reported that several extras were injured during the fire.

The film has some historical significance as it features the first screen appearance of John Gilbert, who can be spotted in a few scenes. Supposedly Hart was so impressed with Gilbert that he signed him for another western.

Hell's Hinges (1916)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Historic Western has William S. Hart playing "Blaze" Tracy, a notorious gunfighter who is evil pure through until he meets a young woman (Clara Williams) arriving in town with her Reverend brother (Jack Standing). Blaze is immediately attracted to the woman and soon he begins to have thoughts about changing his ways but the bad folks in town are trying to turn the Reverend into one of them. This is a pretty strong little movie even if it barely runs an hour and spends way too much of that time on top of a soap box. I was really impressed with what this film had to offer and I think it's fair to say that it deserves every bit of its reputation and status of being one of the first classics from the genre. The film is about good versus evil and religious versus non-religious and there's no question what side the film is on. I think the film spends too much time preaching to us but this is a small problem and one that isn't overly distracting. With that said, the film contains some very memorable shots including the first look at the town known as Hell's Hinges. I love the high shot overlooking the town where we get a good look at all the evils going on within this short take. The scene will take your breathe away as it's such a terrific shot and it lets you know everything you need to know about this place. We also get another terrific shot towards the end of the movie when the church is attacked and we get to see it's aftermath. Hart is terrific in his role and he does very good job at showing off the evils of his character but the actor also makes us believe his changing. I think the change happens too fast but there's no question Hart owns this role and really makes it a memorable character. Williams and Standing are also very good as is Alfred Hollingsworth in his role. Jean Hersholt is somewhere in the film but unspotted by myself as is John Gilbert in his first screen appearance. Apparently Hart directed the majority of the film even though he doesn't get credit for it and I must say that the entire film is quite an impressive achievement even if it doesn't run as long as some of the films were starting to do at the time. The movie contains some memorable characters, some terrific shots and a rather rousing ending and all of this makes it a must see.

The grim, somber tone of this Western does not at all keep it from being a watchable and interesting feature. William S. Hart's screen presence is put to very good use, and the tension is built up steadily. The atmosphere is effective, and along with the story, it is interesting in its contrast with the usual expectations of the genre.

Hart is well-cast as the stoical gunslinger who becomes fascinated by the purity of a preacher's sister. The character's transformation might be a little too abrupt, and it might have been an even better movie if 'Blaze' had changed more reluctantly, but Hart himself is quite effective in the role. Jack Standing also does a good job as the weak-willed preacher whose folly leads to so much havoc.

The story is quite moralistic in its way, but it is nevertheless pretty interesting. The conflicts and tensions are of a much different nature than westerns usually feature, and the tone is unrelentingly serious and foreboding. Things are built up carefully into a harrowing finale that is filmed with a lot of detail.

Features like this show why Hart rose to such popularity. His persona seems to have been a good one for the times, and his strengths as an actor show up well in silent cinema.

Hell's Hinges is an early silent William S. Hart Western that sees Hart co-direct himself with Charles Swickard. He stars as Blaze Tracy, a gun-slinger who falls for a pastor's sister (Clara Williams) when she and her inadequate brother arrive in Hell's Hinges to preach the gospel. Once he catches her eye, this town will never be the same again.

"Shoot first and do your disputin afterwards"

Although a touch too heavy on the religious moral retribution angle, where the good-badman has his epiphany and the town of Hell's Hinges becomes a battle of the church against, well, this devil's den of iniquity, Hell's Hinges flies by. Acted superbly by Hart, a one time stage performer who was a hugely popular silent star of the time, film is full of action, often violent and closes down with a memorable bang. Jack Standing is suitably shifty as the hopeless parson (by parental pressure) easily led astray, and Williams provides some much needed emotional thrust when the film veers to being over preachy. 7/10