Selfish Yates

William S. Hart is Yates, proprietor of "My Place", who never does anything for anyone else and never tells anyone else what to do -- the perfect Libertarian gentleman. However, when Jane Novak and her sister pull up, he feels the stirrings of love and the strange desire to do things for her in this well turned out story of redemption.

The redemption of the good bad man was a story that Hart turned to often. Here it's in the form of a comedy drama, and it's very nicely balanced. As Hart wrestles with these unaccustomed feelings, he clumsily tries to do good, with disastrous results...and to his surprise, is forgiven. The denouement is melodramatic in script and acting, but it was just the sort of thing that Hart excelled at; note his stance as he holds off a couple of dozen men in a pose aped by Keaton and Lloyd in western spoofs.

As is usual with Hart's westerns, cameraman Joseph August offers some lovely compositions. It's not a film to introduce Hart to newcomers, but once you have learned the pleasures of his westerns, you'll find this a very enjoyable film.