The Toll Gate

Anyone that thinks that Westerns didn't get tough and gritty until the 50s needs to see this excellent silent film starring William S. Hart (who also wrote the screenplay I believe). Hart plays an outlaw that goes gunning for revenge against the man who betrayed him, all the while trying to dodge local authorities. He comes across a single mother and her young son and wrestles with his conscience...something he thought he suppressed a long time ago. The plot is a direct precursor to the similarly-themed 'Shane' and 'Will Penny' and Hart is the forefather of the silent hard-ass (Clint Eastwood owes a lot to him). Beyond its historical value, this film is recommended just for being so damn good.

The idea that westerns were all sweetness and light until the 50s and 60s falls apart when you examine the work of William S. Hart in the 1910s and early 1920s. He aimed for a general realism in his films and often played antiheroes who weren't above thievery, murder, and even rape before they discovered redemption in the second or third act. Of course, these films are also old-fashioned in their sense of old-fashioned religiosity and (usually but not always) passive heroines, but their grittier nature does make them ripe for critical re-evaluation, at least in my opinion.

The Toll Gate (1920) is a fine film, an ideal entryway into Hart's oeuvre. While there's nothing earthshaking from a technical point of view, its morally conflicted protagonist, a bandit leader constantly struggling to abandon the vagabond's life only to be pulled back by economic necessity or the allure of vengeance upon the man who betrayed him to the law, makes the story fascinating. Hart can be wooden at times, but for the most part, he is a restrained but powerful actor. Equaling him is the leading lady Anna Q. Nilsson, who, though stuck in a rather passive role, puts a great deal of subtlety into her character.

Worthwhile viewing and deserves rediscovery.

For the first half of this film I thought I was going to be more impressed than I was with TUMBLEWEEDS, the only previous Hart western I'd seen. The early scenes, showing his gang planning their last holdup, Black Deering's (Hart's) reservations about going through with it, and his betrayal by his most trusted lieutenant, were brilliantly done; the isolation that Hart feels as he is more or less forced back into crime, his desire for revenge on Jordan, the traitor become upstanding citizen in town -- all well-directed and even moving. Unfortunately, when Deering briefly takes up with a widow out on the edge of the border a simplistic Christian moralizing tone sets in: one passage from the Bible seems to set him off on a course of repentance and honesty. It's not completely unforeseen, as there are hints that Deering isn't quite as bad as he's portrayed by his ex-comrade and the law, but still the self-sacrifice and stoic acceptance of his fate in the last couple of reels seem a bit forced and unrealistic to me.

I watched the Kino VHS, probably at least 10 years old, with a bonus of the Mack Sennett "His Bitter Pill" at the end. There are definitely some problems with the print it was struck from...the fire scenes are nearly invisible and there is a lot of ghosting and edge distortion in the second half of the film, but it's certainly watchable. Recommended for Hart fans and silent film buffs, but forgettable on the whole.

Although not his best (see "Hell's Hinges", "The Narrow Trail" or "Wagon Tracks"), this is a fine example of a William S. Hart Western. He plays his patented role of the good bad-man, whose regeneration is progressed by the love of a pure woman. Here, it seems more of a personal battle of conscience, and there's the revenge plot.

The plot of "The Toll Gate" is not as tight as in other Hart vehicles, and, this one is excessively melodramatic. There's also some mild racism; moral goodness is equated to being white (as in Caucasian). On the other hand, there's nighttime photography and some nice use of tinting. The wear of age aggrandizes the odd, striking look of some of these scenes, such as with the glowing, red tinted silhouettes, or the blue sky from color deterioration in the final reel. The print, however, is in bad shape during the dénouement.

Hart's face was very expressive, and nowhere is that more visible than here. The refinements in film-making by 1920 help that and reflect the superior gloss and look of films at this time. Still, Hart's Westerns seemed outdated by then--not as entertaining and well constructed as just a few years ago.

Techniques have improved, technology has advanced, and societal values and storytelling sensibilities have changed, but a good movie is a good movie no matter how old it may be. Silent westerns are no less worthy than their talkie brethren, and in some cases may arguably stand taller: the narrative tends to be a tad more streamlined, cutting out excess so that not one foot of precious film stock is wasted; for lack of safety protocols that would be developed in time, stunts may hit harder; any fracas of music and noise never enters the equation to distract from the substance of a feature. Something like 'The toll gate' may in turn come off as simplified and straightforward, but the fact is just that all unnecessary trimmings that we're accustomed to in the sound era have been excised. And that's fine by me, because for my money this 1920 flick comes across as stark and pure, and it's highly enjoyable exactly as it is.

One can't tread very far among silent westerns without encountering William S. Hart, and this marks one of several of his collaborations with filmmaker Lambert Hillyer. There's a rough, stony stoicism in the man's acting that belies superb nuance and range, recalling select other actors over the years like Gregory Peck or George C. Scott. That's to say nothing of the stunt work that Hart commonly performed himself, frequently alongside trusted "Wonder Horse" Fritz - a credit to the man, the animal, and the trainers. At the same time, Hillyer's direction tends ever toward charged action and emotion, or at least emphatic, grabbing scenes and drama, and the outcome is a feast for the eyes from one moment to the next. It's hard not to get swept up in the beautiful, rugged landscapes that serve as filming locations, or the action sequences, or even just the sight of several majestic equines riding side by side or the admirable, heartfelt acting of a swell cast. That Hart produced and starred, and co-wrote the screenplay here alongside director Hillyer, I think says so much about how committed the duo were to the integrity of their craft, and how much they loved making movies. As a viewer it's impossible not to feel that passion shine through.

By all means, Hart stands out most in these seventy-three minutes, but even in a smaller supporting part Anna Q. Nilsson gives an earnest, meaningful performance that leaves an impact; if their co-stars make less of a mark it's only because their roles are of a lesser stature. And in all other regards 'The toll gate' is splendidly well made, including the sets, costume design, and hair and makeup that we expect of westerns. Joseph H. August's cinematography is rock solid in helping to build each shot and scene, and I appreciate the careful use of tinting that literally and proverbially colors the developed film. Meanwhile, the story that Hillyer and Hart wrote really is terrific, compelling and absorbing - betrayal, revenge, heroism, villainy, and an outlaw with a troubled past and an honest heart. Some westerns in all the past one hundred years have been unable to conjure a saga as rich and engrossing as this, or to subsequently shape a full-length picture with as much care, skill, and intelligence. All told there may be fewer stunts and scenes of action here than we get in some other like fare, but those we do get are well worth it, and the storytelling is so excellent and carefully plotted that it's more than enough by itself to keep us invested.

I'd stop short of saying the title is an outright must-see, and it's not perfect. There are a couple instances where poor lighting, deterioration of the surviving print, and/or a mild lag in the narrative combine for a scene that comes off a tad confused, or at least lackluster. There's also a single ill-considered line (related by the intertitles) to come in the back end of the runtime that's quizzical on the face of it and comes off as pointlessly, casually racist - a sense that is confirmed with another line or two to follow in turn. I don't know what else may have been true of Hillyer, Hart, or others involved, but I do know that these inclusions were unnecessary, and senseless, and are not a good look. And even if we set these factors aside, this movie may not be the one to change the mind of anyone who has a hard time engaging with older cinema, least of all as there are fluctuations in the image quality in the last reel or two, reflecting the struggles to preserve a work of so many years ago. Add in some old-fashioned heavy-handedness as the intertitles try to achieve some profundity, and not everything about 'The toll gate' has aged well.

Yet for whatever criticisms one may level, and for any of those ways in which the whole may falter, by and large this remains a great, upstanding genre piece. The troubles it faces in various ways are surely less severe than those of some of its kin. I'm not washing over the feature's weaknesses, but rather, its strengths handily outweigh and outshine the indelicacies and marginal inelegance. The writing, direction, and acting are all fantastic, and the contributions of the crew behind the scenes not truly any less so. I can understand how it won't appeal to all comers, yet as far as I'm concerned if one has any interest in the silent era or in westerns at large then this is a marvelous early example that mostly holds up and is well worth exploring. Don't necessarily go out of your way for 'The toll gate,' but if you do have the chance to watch, at only seventy-three minutes it's a classic that deserves recognition.