The Toll Gate

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.

Toll Gate, The (1920)

*** (out of 4)

Outlaw Black Deering (William S. Hart) wants to retire after his gang's latest robbery but they convince him to go after one more score. His partner ends up selling him out for the reward money and Deering swears vengeance no matter how long it takes. He manages to escape from the posse and ends up on a small farm where he saves the life of a young boy and becomes apart of his mother's life. Soon Deering wants to start life fresh with them but his past is close behind. If you've seen any of Hart's Westerns made before THE TOLL GATE then you're going to be thinking that this is a remake of about three dozen of them. In all seriousness, if you've seen one Hart picture then you basically get the same story one film to the next but it says a lot about the persona of Hart that he managed to make each film so fresh and exciting even when it offers up nothing new. At 70-minutes the film never gets boring as we're treated to some nice drama as well as a couple very good action scenes. The opening scenes of the men trying to rob the train were pretty exciting and the ending with Hart trying to track down the man who set him up also offers some nice tension. The majority of the film features the same old story of Hart being a very bad man who falls for a woman who then makes him want to change his ways. At least in this film his character goes through a transformation where the viewer can at least understand and see why he would want to change his ways. There are several cute scenes between the little boy and Hart that really make the film stand out. The boy never got to know his real father so he looks forward to having a new dad in his life and this here makes for some very good moments. Hart fits the role with ease as by this time he could do this type of role in his sleep. He's benefited from a very strong supporting cast including Anna Q. Nilsson as the mother and Richard Headrick as the kid. Tom Jordan does a very good job playing the snake who turns Hart in. The film also benefits from some authentic scenery that really helps build up an atmosphere of being in the Old West. While the story is something we've seen before, the film is a good example of how you can bring fresh life to an old tale and with Hart's performance you walk away satisfied.

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.

In a western cave, white William S. Hart (as Black Deering), leader of the outlaw Raiders, feels the law crashing in on his gang's crime spree. Fellow bandit Joseph Singleton (as Tom Jordan) thinks Mr. Hart is chicken, and goads his rival and the gang into one more heist. Of course, as Hart feared, things go all wrong. Later, on the lam from both Jordan and the law, Hart hides out with lonely white Anna Q. Nilsson (as Mary Brown). Ms. Nilsson is living alone with son Richard Headrick (as "The Little Feller"), since the disappearance of her husband…

"The Toll Gate" delivers the expected Hart western elements; however, they do not coalesce. It's a little unpleasant to start off with Hart disarmed by his gang's "mutiny", but nice to see him tough it out. Watch for a pivotal scene wherein Hart opens Nilsson's Bible: in it, he reads the verse "By their fruits ye shall know them" and locates a photograph which reveals something important about the film. The "by their fruits" theme is completely illogical if you think about the photograph. Also, Hart's cabin revelation is rather foolishly timed; obviously, it should have been made some minutes later (relating it more to Singleton's threat).

****** The Toll Gate (4/15/20) Lambert Hillyer ~ William S. Hart, Anna Q. Nilsson, Joseph Singleton

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.