Hell's Hinges (1916)

[Mr.Cho-Cho]

I thought I would just bring up William S Hart as his films don't seem to be mentioned here previously.

I think if you're a fan of Westerns and Spaghettis then you can appreciate Hart. I think Hell's Hinges is the best place to start with him, his films were generally quite gritty and realistic compared to the later films of the silent era and 30s, although he does sometimes give way to sentimentality a bit too easily. On paper Hell's Hinges seems a bit silly as Hart is the town bad boy, and he is converted by the new arrival of religion to town (helped by the reverend's sister); but it is actually executed quite well and the special effects at the end are really cool, especially as they're over 100 years old.

As I say, they're worth giving a try, I think his best ones are Hell's Hinges, The Narrow Trail, Tumbleweeds (his final film), The Return of Draw Egan and Sand. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of good quality restorations of his films out there, but their still watchable in their existing forms.