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Silent  Movie  Cowboy  Star
William  S.  Hart
[1864-1946]

short profile movies of William S. Hart books by William S. Hart stageplays, other media works about William S. Hart posters gallery family & friends links

William S. Hart credits [1907-28] at Internet Movie Database
William S. Hart entry at Wikipedia

books by William S. Hart at Amazon
browse books about William S. Hart at Amazon

William S. Hart received
footprints in the forecourt at Grauman's Chinese Theatre {28 Nov 1927}
  a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame {at 6363 Hollywood Blvd.} on 8 February 1960
and a Golden Boot Memoriam Award in 1988

Movies of William S. Hart

William S. Hart credits [1907-25] at Internet Movie Database
search William S. Hart on DVD at Amazon

"The Complete Films of William S. Hart: A Pictorial Record" [1980] by Diane Kaiser Koszarski Dover Publns pb [8/80] out of print/used

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"Ben-Hur" silent short [Kalem Dec 1907]

The full Ben-Hur saga in fifteen minutes; the chariot race was filmed at Manhattan Beach, New York using local fire department horse teams; Hart performed as Messala on Broadway, 1899-1900, and repeated that role here, his first film; prints exist, but VHS is PAL format only. Directed by Harry T. Morey, Sidney Olcott & Frank Rose; written by Gene Gauntier from the Lew Wallace novel; starring Herman Rottger {as Ben-Hur} and William S. Hart {as Messala} Region 1 DVD not available • bare credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia see also "Ben-Hur" Novel & Movies Page at Spirit of America Bookstore

"The Bargain" silent feature
[Paramount/NYMPC Dec 1914]

Bandit Jim Stokes robs the stage and is wounded fleeing; recuperating at a ranch, he falls in love with and marries the rancher's daughter. Now wishing to go straight, he tries to return the stolen money but is recog- nized and captured. The Sheriff then loses the recovered money at a crooked roulette table, and he and Stokes strike a bargain. Produced & co-written by Thomas Ince; co-written by William H. Clifford; directed by Reginald Barker; starring William S. Hart, J. Frank Burke, Clara Williams, J. Barney Sherry, Joseph J. Dowling & Fritz the Horse Sinister Cinema b&w DVD [11/2008] for $8.37 full credits from IMDb

"The Ruse" silent short
[Broncho/NYMPC/Mutual July 1915]

A reformed outlaw now a successful prospector agrees to sell his mining property to a businessman in Chicago, but the man is a crook; the sweet secretary helps the cowboy, which puts her life in danger. Produced & co-written by Thomas Ince; co-directed by & starring William S. Hart; co-directed by William Clifford; with Clara Williams, John Davidson, Fanny Midgley & Gertrude Claire; video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb

"A Knight of The Trail" silent short
[Kay-Bee/NYMPC/Mutual Aug 1915]

A young woman discovers that her cowboy fiancι was a bank robber and thief in the past, and breaks off their engagement. In anger, she agrees to marry a no-account who is scheming to take her money and leave her at the altar.Produced & co-written by Thomas Ince; co-written by Richard V. Spencer; directed by & starring William S. Hart, with Leona Hutton & Frank Borzage; video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb

http://www.archive.org/details/KNIGHTOFTHETRAIL1915WilliamS.Hart

"Keno Bates, Liar" silent short
[Kay-Bee/Mutual Aug 1915]

Saloon owner Bates is robbed at gunpoint by the man he just cleaned out in a card game. Bates tracks down the robber and kills him, then finds a locket and note, telling of a pretty sister soon to arrive on the stagecoach. When the girl arrives, Bates befriends her and tells her that her brother died in a mine accident; romance follows, and a jealous saloon girl threatens to tell the girl the truth – calling Bates a liar! Produced & co-written by Thomas Ince; co-written by J.G. Hawks; directed by & starring William S. Hart, with Margaret Thompson, Herschel Mayall, Louise Glaum & Gordon Mullen; video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb

"Hell's Hinges" silent feature
[Kay-Bee/NYMPC/Triangle Oct 1916]

'Startlingly savage' silent Western feature; about half the film is color-tinted. The saloon owner running the town of Hell's Hinges hires gunman Blaze Tracy to run the new minister out of town; but Blaze sees something in the preacher's lovely sister that turns him around, and soon the bad guys have Blaze to deal with. Produced by Thomas Ince; directed by Charles Swickard; starring William S. Hart, Clara Williams, Jack Standing, Alfred Hollingsworth, Robert McKim, J. Frank Burke & Louise Glaum; listed on the National Film Registry (1994); full credits from IMDb available on DVD only as part of "Treasures From American Film Archives - Encore Edition" [2005] Image Ent. b&w/color DVD box set [5/2005] 4 disks for $69.95

http://www.archive.org/details/HELLSHINGES1916WilliamS.Hart

"The Return of Draw Egan" silent feature
[Kay-Bee/NYMPC/Triangle Oct 1916] /tt0007260/
http://www.archive.org/details/TheReturnofDrawEgan

"The Gun Fighter" silent feature
[Kay-Bee/NYMPC Feb 1917]

Produced by Thomas Ince; directed by & starring William S. Hart; also starring Margery Wilson, Roy Laidlaw, Joseph J. Dowling, Milton Ross, J.P. Lockney & George Stone video/DVD not available • credits at IMDb 11"x17" color poster available in 3 sizes at AllPosters.com

"The Square Deal Man"
[Kay-Bee/NYMPC/Triangle May 1917]

Gambler Jack decides to play one last game and then go straight. During the game, he is accused of cheating; the lights go out, shots are fired, and one of the players is found dead on the floor. Jack is accused of the killing; he didn't do it, so he must find the real killer and the reason that he was framed. Produced by Thomas Ince; directed by & starring William S. Hart; written by J.G. Hawks; with Mary McIvor, Joseph J. Dowling, Mary Jane Irving, J. Frank Burke, Darrell Foss, Kisaburo Kurihara, Milton Ross & Charles O. Rush Sinister Cinema b&w DVD [11/2008] for $11.95 full credits from IMDb

"Wolf Lowry" [Kay-Bee/Triangle May 1917]

Produced by Thomas Ince; directed by & starring William S. Hart; written by Charles T. Dazey & Lambert Hillyer; with Aaron Edwards, William Fairbanks & Margery Wilson; video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb

"The Cold Deck" [Kay-Bee/NYMPC/Triangle Sept 1917]

Produced by Thomas Ince; directed by & starring William S. Hart; written by J.G. Hawks; also starring Mildred Harris, Edwin Wallock, Sylvia Breamer, Charles O. Rush, Alma Rubens & Joe Knight video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb 27"x41" limited edition poster available at AllPosters.com for $329.99 {sic!}

"The Silent Man" [Ince/Hart Nov 1917 feature]

A gambler in the desert town of Bakeoven robs a prospector of his gold dust and his mine deed, so the prospector turns outlaw to get them back. Co-produced by Thomas H. Ince; co-produced & directed by & starring William S. Hart; with Vola Vale & Robert McKim Sinister Cinema b&w DVD [5/2008] for $8.37 Unknown Video b&w VHS [3/98] out of prodn/scarce full credits from IMDb

"The Narrow Trail"
[Hart/Artcraft/Paramount Dec 1917]

Outlaw Ice Harding can no longer hold up stagecoaches because his wonderful new pinto horse is too recognizable. So he heads to town and meets a vice lord from San Francisco and his lovely 'niece', in reality a dance hall girl. Ice is attracted to the girl, but at first she ignores him. Her boss tries to swindle Ice, but she refuses; the pair return to San Francisco and Ice follows them. Realizing that they both have a past, they leave the city together for the simpler town life, just in time for Ice and his horse to enter a race with a $1,000 prize. Produced by Thomas Ince; co-produced, co-written & co-directed by & starring William S. Hart; co-written by Harvey F. Thew; with Sylvia Breamer, Milton Ross, Bob Kortman & Fritz the Horse; video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb

"Wolves of The Rail"
[Hart/Artcraft/Famous Players-Lasky Jan 1918]

Buck and his gang of bandits have terrorized the West, but when his dying mother asks him to go straight, he does. Then he meets a railroad detective with orders to capture Buck dead or alive. When the detective realizes who Buck is, they fight and Buck locks him in a remote cabin and takes his identity. Buck then captures most of his old gang, but two bandits release the detective and meet the railroad president. But Buck's capture of the bandits and saving a trainload of soldiers convinces the railroad boss that Buck is free to move on (with his new girlfriend). Co-produced by Thomas Ince; co-produced & directed by & starring William S. Hart; with Vola Vale, C. Norman Hammond, William Elmer, Melbourne MacDowell & Kisaburo Kurihara video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb

"Blue Blazes Rawden"
[Hart/Artcraft/Paramount Feb 1918]

A lumberjack in the North woods competes for the affections of a dance hall girl aganst her crooked boss. The crook gets killed, and when the man's mother and brother arrive in town, the lumberjack spreads the story that the crook died a natural death. When the brother learns the truth, he comes gunning for the lumberjack. Co-produced by Thomas Ince; co-produced & directed by & starring William S. Hart; written by J.G. Hawks; also starring Maude George, Robert McKim, Gertrude Claire, Robert Gordon & Jack Hoxie Sinister Cinema b&w DVD [5/2008] for $8.37 full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $14.99 27"x40" poster from Amazon for $19.99

"Riddle Gawne" [Hart/Paramount Aug 1918]
Co-produced by Thomas Ince; co-produced & co-directed by & starring William S. Hart; co-directed by Lambert Hillyer;
also starring Katherine MacDonald, Lon Chaney, Gretchen Lederer & Gertrude Short; full credits at IMDb
the only surviving reel is available as part of the DVD of "Suzanna" [1922] starring Mabel Normand

"Square Deal Sanderson" silent feature
[Hart/Artcraft/Famous Players-Lasky June 1919]

Co-produced by Thomas Ince; co-produced & co-directed by & starring William S. Hart; co-directed by Lambert Hillyer; script adapted by Lambert Hillyer from the novel by Charles Alden Seltze; also starring Ann Little, Frank Whitson, Lloyd Bacon, Edwin Wallock, Tom O'Brien & Andrew Robson video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster available for $19.99 at AllPosters.com

"Sand!" silent feature
[Hart/Famous Players-Lasky June 1920]

Filmed around Victorville, California with great railroad footage; a wrongly-fired railroad station agent goes after a gang of train robbers to prove his innocence and get back his girl. Written & directed by Lambert Hillyer, based on a short story by Russell A. Boggs; produced by & starring William S. Hart; also starring Mary Thurman, G. Raymond Nye, Patricia Palmer, Bill Patton, S.J. Bingham • full credits at IMDb Alpha Home Ent. 50-minute b&w silent DVD [7/2011] for $7.69 Grapevine Video 74-minute b&w silent DVD [7/2012] for $16.18 Music Video Distrbn. 88-minute b&w silent DVD [10/2009] for $19.95

"Wagon Tracks"
[Hart/Artcraft/Paramount July 1919 feature]

The leader of a wagon train to the West believes that the man who murdered his brother is among the people in his care. Co-produced by Thomas Ince; co-produced by & starring William S. Hart; directed by Lambert Hillyer; also starring Jane Novak, Robert McKim, Lloyd Bacon & Leo Pierson • full credits from IMDb Unknown Video b&w DVD [11/2004] for $19.95 DVD also includes 'Broncho Billy' Anderson in "Naked Hands" [1918 two-reel short]

"The Toll Gate" silent feature
[Hart/Artcraft/Paramount April 1920]

Color-tinted silent feature film; a former military officer turned outlaw decides to go straight after one last job; he is captured and learns that one of his men turned him in; he escapes and goes after the betrayer • Produced & co-written by & starring William S. Hart; co-written & directed by Lambert Hillyer; also starring Anna Q. Nilsson, Joseph Singleton, Jack Richardson, Richard Headrick & Fritz the Horse • full credits from IMDb Image Ent. color/b&w DVD [4/99] for $22.49 the DVD includes Mack Sennett's slapstick parody of Hart, "His Bitter Pill" [1916 short] Kino Video b&w VHS [6/2000] out of prodn/scarce

"O'Malley of The Mounted" silent Western movie
[Paramount Pictures/Artcraft Feb 1921]

Sergeant O'Malley of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police insinuates himself into a gang of outlaws in order to detect and capture a wanted murderer; he finds the killer, but falls in love with the man's sister; meanwhile, one of the outlaws uncovers O'Malley's true identity • Filmed in Chatsworth, near Los Angeles, California; adapted & directed by Lambert Hillyer, based on original story by William S. Hart; produced by & starring William S. Hart; also starring Eva Novak, Leo Willis, Alfred Allen, Bert Sprotte, Antrim Short VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia

"Wild Bill Hickok" [Famous Players-Lasky / Paramount Nov 1923 silent]

70-minute b&w silent feature produced, co-written by & starring William S. Hart {as 'Wild Bill' Hickok}; directed by Clifford Smith; also starring Ethel Grey Terry, Kathleen O'Connor, Jim Farley, Jack Gardner {as 'Bat' Masterson} & Carl Gerard video/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb

"Tumbleweeds" silent feature
[Hart/United Artists Dec 1925; 1939 sound re-release]

Color-tinted silent feature film (Hart's last as star); the Cherokee Strip (Oklahoma) Land Rush of 1889 creates tension between the pioneer cattlemen facing the end of the 'wide-open' frontier and the pending swarm of land-hungry, city-bred homesteaders. Cowboy Dan Carver helps move the Box K ranch's cattle off the Strip prior to the Land Rush. He meets a girl and decides to try to file for land on the Box K ranch for her; but when he returns to the Strip to check for stray cattle, he is arrested as a Sooner and is disqualified from participating in the Land Rush. Produced by & starring William S. Hart; directed by King Baggot; also starring Barbara Bedford, Lucien Littlefield, J. Gordon Russell, Richard Neill, Jack Murphy, James Gordon, George F. Marion, Gertrude Claire & Lillian Leighton full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia Alpha Home Ent. 78-minute DVD [8/2009] for $7.69 Synergy Ent. 78-minute DVD [10/2008] for $9.99 Image Ent. 78-minute color/b&w DVD [6/2002] out of prodn/used Republic Pictures 89-minute b&w VHS [6/95] for $5.99 1939 reissue also available on the "Great Train Robbery" [1903] Anniversary DVD: V.C.I. 100th Anniversary b&w DVD [12/2003] for $12.58

http://www.archive.org/details/TUMBLEWEEDS1925WilliamS.HartBarbaraBedford

Books by William S. Hart

browse books by William S. Hart at Amazon.com

"My Life - East and West" autobiography [Houghton Mifflin, 1929] by William {S.} Hart, edited by Martin Ridge Adler Press 8½x5½ pb [3/2007] for $31.95 R.R. Donnelley hardcover [12/94] out of print/used Lakeside Press hardcover [1994] out of print/used Lakeside Press hardcover [1994] out of print/scarce

	"Pinto Ben and Other Stories" [1919] by William S. Hart & Mary Hart, illustrated by R.L. Lambdin Kessinger Publng 9x6 pb [10/2007] for $15.56 Kessinger Publng 9x6 hardcover [6/2008] for $26.56
	"The Golden West Boys: Injun and Whitey To The Rescue" [1922 novel] by William S. Hart, illustrated by Harold Cue Echo Library 9x6 pb [3/2007] for $9.90 Dodo Press 9x6 pb [6/2007] for $16.99 IndyPublish 9x6 pb [4/2007] for $19.99 BiblioLife 9¼x6 hardcover [8/2008] for $22.99 IndyPublish 9x6 hardcover [4/2007] for $25.99 Kessinger Publng 9x6 hardcover [9/2007] for $34.92

"A Lighter Of Flames" [1923]
by William S. Hart, illustrated in color by James Montgomery Flagg
Thomas Y. Crowell/Grosset & Dunlap hardcover [1923] out of print/used

"The Order of Chanta Sutas" [1925] by William S. Hart
{unknown publisher} hardcover [1925] out of print/rare

"Hoof-Beats" [1933] by William S. Hart
Dial Press hardcover [1933] out of print/rare

	"The Law On Horseback and Other Stories" [1935] by William S. Hart Kessinger Publng 9x5¾ pb [3/2007] for $21.24 Kessinger Publng 9x6 hardcover [6/2008] for $32.64
	"... and All Points West!" [1940] by William S. Hart & Mary E. Hart, illustrated by James Montgomery Flagg Ayer Co. hardcover [6/90] for $18.00 Lacotah Press hardcover [1940] out of print/scarce Lacotah Press hardcover [1940] out of print/scarce

Stageplays,  Other Media
Broadway credits for William S. Hart [1899-1912] at Internet Broadway Database

William S. Hart originated the character of Messala for Klaw & Erlanger's stageplay version of Lew Wallace's 1880 "Ben-Hur" bestseller novel.
Hart was cast again in the return enagagement of 1900, for a total of 233 performances. Hart also acted in several short-lived stageplays and
musicals – including "The Squaw Man" and "Trail of The Lonesome Pine" – before going to Hollywood and seeking motion picture work.

Works  About  William S. Hart

There is no docu/biofilm about Wm. S. Hart: How'd that happen? {2008}

"His Bitter Pill" silent short [1916] /tt0006801/ Mack Sennett's slapstick parody of Hart,

	"Masterson: A Novel" [1999] by Richard Wheeler Former Western lawman now New York reporter 'Bat' Masterson discovers that his reputation is skewed by dime novel hype, and so he returns West to clear things up. But the job is tougher than he thought, and after talking with old pal Wyatt Earp and cowboy movie star William S. Hart in Hollywood, Masterson becomes resigned to his legend with all its inaccuracies. BackInPrint pb [4/2006] for $15.95 Forge mass pb [6/2000] out of print/many used Forge 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/99] out of print/many used author's official website
	"William S. Hart: Projecting The American West" [2003] by Ronald L. Davis The first biography of Hart since the 1929 autobiography. Univ OK Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [8/2003] for $29.95
	"The First Male Stars: Men of The Silent Era" [2007] by David W. Menefee BearManor Media 9x6 pb [10/2007] for $29.95 covered actors include: John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Richard Barthelmess, John Bunny, Francis X. Bushman, Lon Chaney, Jackie Coogan, William S. Hart, Tom Mix, Antonio Moreno, Jack Pickford, Wallace Reid, Rudolph Valentino & Crane Wilbur

Poster Gallery

in addition to the movie posters above

Wm. S. Hart portrait, 1918 at age 54 (retail source not found)

color painting 11"x17" poster for $14.99 from Amazon 27"x40" poster for $19.99 from Amazon

b&w drawing 18"x24" giclee print for $49.99 from AllPosters.com 18"x24" giclee print for $49.99 from Amazon

late-in-life publicity photo poster in 3 sizes from AllPosters.com

Family & Friends

L i n k s

William S. Hart credits [1907-25] at Internet Movie Database
Wm. S. Hart credits [1895-1912] at Internet Broadway Database
William S. Hart entry at Wikipedia
William S. Hart Ranch & Museum in Newhall, California
Friends of Hart Park, Newhall

William S. Hart Park in West Hollywood, California
William S. Hart's house in West Hollywood, California
statue in Billings, Montana modeled after William S. Hart and his horse Fritz
The Actor's Studio, West {located at Hart's home in West Hollywood since 1968}

William S. Hart's horse Fritz [1907-38] credits at IMDb
EHL's Wm. S. Hart filmography

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