Review of Hell's Hinges

This William S. Hart film is an exciting film to watch--particularly at the end. However, it's almost like two separate films grafted not too seamlessly together. Part of the film is a morality play about God and redemption. In this regard, the film is awfully "heavy-handed" and melodramatic. It probably played pretty well back in 1916, but today it just looks very, very, very preachy. The other part is about Hart taking revenge on an evil little town by burning it down and killing a lot of scumbags in the process--and is very reminiscent of Clint Eastwood's HIGH PLANES DRIFTER. As you can guess, the two goals of the film can't exactly work together. It's a lot like combining TERMINATOR with THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD!!! As a result, the strong religious message will turn off many and the violence and almost demonic reaction of Hart when he takes retribution will most likely turn off Evangelical Christians. A very odd and muddled film indeed. But, I must also say that despite the stupidness of the plot, the final portion of the film when the city is burned to the ground is amazing and breathtaking to watch. The film earns a seven just for this and the film is well worth seeing because of this.