The Ruse

Before he devoted himself exclusively to feature films William S. Hart made a number of fast-paced Western shorts such as The Ruse -- although technically speaking I suppose this film can't be called a Western, exactly. To be sure, the opening sequence is set in a rough-and-tumble saloon full of drunken cowboys, and Hart's character "Bat" Peters gets involved in a good old fashioned Western style dust-up, but most of the story takes place in Chicago, where Bat travels to conclude a business deal involving some land he owns. There are no shots of Chicago landmarks, not even stock shots, so where these urban scenes were actually filmed is anyone's guess.

Bat takes a room in a boarding house and quickly falls for the landlady's daughter (you have to work fast in a two-reel short!) who also happens to work as secretary for the obviously crooked "mine promoter" who wants to buy Bat's land. Soon the promoter has kidnapped the girl, and sent his thugs after our hero, but Bat is a former gunfighter and not to be trifled with.

It's unusual to see Bill Hart in this kind of setting, battling gangsters instead of gunslingers, but despite some good moments I wouldn't rank The Ruse among Hart's more memorable works. Whether our hero is Bill Hart, Sherlock Holmes, or James Bond, we like to see him pitted against a villain who is a worthy opponent, but the crooked mine promoter of this film isn't up to the job. This is an opponent who makes such stupid, inexplicable blunders that he practically defeats himself. As ever, Bill manages to save the day, but considering the villain's behavior it isn't much of a challenge. Still, for fans of William S. Hart and silent Western/Action stories, The Ruse is generally enjoyable and offbeat fare.

Ruse, The (1915)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Two-reeler has William S. Hart playing 'Bat' Peters, a reformed gunfighter who finds gold and heads off to Chicago to sell it to a mine promoter (John Davidson). While in town Bat falls for a girl who eventually gets kidnapped by the evil promoter so Bat must go save her. This was my first sampling of Hart so I'm really not sure what type of opinion to have on him so early on. I will say he is certainly a very striking figure with that square face and dead-serious eyes and I will add that I enjoyed watching him in this part. He certainly was able to make you keep your eyes on him and he isn't that bad when it comes time to draw his pistol. The screenplay is pretty straight-forward without too many surprises as we all know the mine promoter is going to turn out to be crooked and we know that Bat's new girl is going to be in trouble. Everything is told in a pretty basic fashion without too many "technical" merits but I will give the film credit for moving at a nice pace even though everything, story wise at least, is routine.

Ex-gunslinger turned mining prospector William S. Hart (as "Bat" Peters) receives word that Chicago businessman Jack Davidson (as John Folsom) is interested in his mine. Mr. Hart travels to the windy city to clinch the deal; however, Mr. Davidson turns out to be crooked. Moreover, Davidson's innocent stenographer Clara Williams (as May Dawson) takes an instant romantic interest in Hart, which puts her life in danger…

Hart portrays an refreshing variation of his already perfected persona; herein, he is a reformed western outlaw, fighting corruption in the big city. For good measure, he must save a damsel in distress. Ms. Williams, working with Hart, is outstanding. Williams was, unquestionably, Hart's best leading lady; in this film, you can see why. Watch Williams subtly "check him out", as she brings Hart into Davidson's office; then, observe her sighing over Hart at her typewriter. And, she makes a modern woman's play for the man she desires.

Hart and company put effort into making "The Ruse" an exciting picture, and it shows. Although Williams' early scenes are unparalleled, the others in the cast perform well. Davidson, early in his career, makes a good impression. And, Gertrude Claire (as Mother Grady) plays a great hag. However, the plot construction is weak, especially when contrasted with the film's strengths.

******* The Ruse (7/14/15) William S. Hart ~ William S. Hart, Clara Williams, Jack Davidson

"The Ruse" is an offbeat two-reel vehicle for silent era Western star William S. Hart. It begins typically enough as a Western, with Hart as a "reformed gun fighter" (so no good badman and his regeneration plot). Hart, however, goes to Chicago to sell his ore field, where the buyers are bent on swindling him. Hart falls in love with the secretary for the main villain. She discovers the villains' scheme, so they hold her captive. The short film has switched from the Western to the genre of underworld crime and gangsters. The abduction of the woman or child is one of the most generic plot twists of the latter genre, seen in such other available early crime flicks--to give but a few examples--as "Regeneration" (1915), "Traffic in Souls" (1913), or the even older "The Black Hand" (1906).

As fellow commenter wmorrow59 remarked, the villains in this film are, unfortunately, incompetent. To steal Hart's money, they lure him into a poker game, where they get caught cheating. To make matters worse, the game is held in the same building where the secretary is imprisoned. It's convenient to conclude the fast-paced two-reeler with an exciting climactic fight, but disappoints by reducing the criminals to being inexplicably stupid. Otherwise, it's a passably entertaining short, from early in Hart's oeuvre.