Hell Bent
About Hell Bent
Bess Thurston takes work in a dance hall because her brother Jack cannot support her. Cheyenne Harry, who loves her, turns away, then wins back his trust in her when he pulls her clear of Beau Ross. Jack helps Ross in a robbery, and Harry lets the pair go. Ross takes Bess into the desert. Harry follows, and both men are wounded in a duel. Bess rides the only horse out. A sandstorm kills Ross. Harry survives and comes back to Bess.
Cast & crew
More about Hell Bent
Jack Ford directed Harry Carey in a Universal Special. Eugene B. Lewis wrote the scenario from the story "The Three Bad Men," by Carey and Ford, which was also the working title. Ben F. Reynolds photographed it. Universal copyrighted it on June 6, 1918, as LP12517, and released it on July 6, 1918. It runs six reels, about 5,540 feet.
Themes
Making
Ford was still billed as Jack Ford. Carey's Cheyenne Harry rides into Rawhide, befriends Cimmaron Bill, and carries Bess home in the rain. The desert walk is the last movement: one horse, two wounded men, and a sandstorm.
Look
Ben F. Reynolds shot the Rawhide streets and the desert duel.
Preservation
A print is in the Czech Film Archive. Other copies carry German or Czech titles. Universal made a 4K restoration in 2019 from the Czech 35mm print, recreated the English titles, and Kino Lorber issued it on Blu-ray and DVD on August 25, 2020. The disc score is by Zachary Marsh.
Notes
- Harry Carey plays Cheyenne Harry Henderson. Duke R. Lee is Cimmaron Bill, Neva Gerber is Bess Thurston, Vester Pegg is her brother Jack, and Joseph Harris is Beau Ross.
- The Chicago Board of Censors cut the stage holdup in reel 1, safe-cracking and the coach holdup in reel 4, and shots of a man tied to a horse and of bandits firing from a cabin in reel 5.
- A viewing copy opens on a novelist and Frederic Remington's painting "The Misdeal," which comes to life as Harry's card-game shooting.
- Variety later called it Ford's fourteenth film and his ninth feature.
- The 2020 Kino Lorber disc runs 53 minutes and includes a commentary by Joseph McBride and a video essay by Tag Gallagher.
Scenes
- The novelist steps into Remington's "The Misdeal," and the card game in the painting starts moving.
- Harry carries Bess home through the rain while Cimmaron Bill walks the empty saloon.
- After the duel, Bess rides out alone and a sandstorm buries Beau Ross. Cimmaron Bill later finds Harry still alive under the sand.
Influenced by
- The Three Bad Men, a story by Harry Carey and Jack Ford
Also available
- Kino Lorber Blu-ray and DVD (August 25, 2020)
