Three Bad Men/Hangman's House

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Straight out of John Ford's silent film stash is this classic double feature. Based on a Herman Whitaker novel, Three Bad Men (George O'Brien, Lou Tellegen. 1926/95 min.) tells the tale of three outlaws who step in and protect a young girl whose settler father gets killed. Then in Hangman's House (Victor McLaglen, June Collyer, Larry Kent. 1928/72 min.), a judge on his deathbed arranges a marriage between his daughter and a wealthy man, not knowing that man has a dark secret. Silent. B&w/NR.

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Black and White
• Features:
  • Hangman's House: Newly created score composed by Tim Curran
  • 3 Bad Men: Newly created score composed by Dana Kaproff

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       George O'Brien - Dan O'Malley
       June Collyer - Connaught O'Brien
       Larry Kent - Derrnott McDermott
       Earl Foxe - John Darcy
       Hobart Bosworth - James O'Brien, Lord Chief Justice
       Belle Stoddard - Anne McDermott
       Joseph Burke - Neddy Joe
       Eric Mayne - Legionnaire Colonel
       Alec B. Francis - Rev. Calvin Benson

• Director:

  John Ford

• Producer:

  John Ford

• Screenwriter:

  John Ford, John Stone, Philip Klein, Marion Orth, Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne

• Book Author:

  Donn Byrne

• Cinematographer:

  George Schneiderman

• Editor:

  Margaret Clancey

• Intertitle Writer:

  Malcolm Stuart Boylan

• Presented by:

  William Fox

REVIEWS:

• Hangman's House, with its eerie title and the dark, foggy atmospherics of its opening scenes, at first appears to be a horror film. In reality, however, it is a very simple romance via John Ford, as Connaught loves Dermot but is forced to marry Darcy, who is a silent movie cad in the classic sense: a drinker, gambler, informer, horse murderer, and overall swine. Running barely over an hour, Hangman's House is flimsy on story and even flimsier on character. Ford's love of Ireland, even in such a weightless tale, is evident throughout, and for those familiar with his later, more accomplished Irish films, Hangman's House serves as an intriguing preview into the themes that he would further explore in the years to come. There is also, of course, Ford's ability to turn a simple scene into a cinematic tour de force. The death of Judge O'Brien, for example, is staged as he first watches the faces of those he has condemned come alive in his fireplace. Then a blurriness slowly overtakes the screen, and once it reaches O'Brien, he falls into his chair and drops his handkerchief. Other notable sequences include the St. Stephen's Day horse race (complete with a glimpse of John Wayne as an overenthusiastic spectator who tears down a fence in his excitement), Hogan's break from prison, and the climactic battle. Victor McLaglen dominates his scenes, exuding a charisma that makes it easy to understand why the other characters look to him for leadership. June Collyer and Larry Kent are fine as the young lovers, but Earl Foxe's villain lacks any semblance of ambiguity. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, Rovi
• One of John Ford's greatest silent epics, Three Bad Men chronicles the rush for land and gold in the Dakotas in the 1870s. Throughout his career, Ford displayed a preference for setting his dramas against historical backdrops, and Three Bad Men yet again shows his unmatchable skill in balancing an intimate story with a grand tale. Ford also uses these films to put his own spin on history. In this case it is a vision of the West in which the motivation of the pioneers is fully noble, and misdeeds are usually committed by isolated individuals. And while some of the greed is shown, Ford repeatedly stresses that the true "gold" of the rush was in the richness of the land. A continuing theme throughout Three Bad Men is redemption. At first, Bull, Mike, and Spank are shown as unsympathetic villains, wanted for various crimes, and at one point Bull comes close to cold-bloodedly killing Lee. But through selflessly dedicating themselves to Lee's welfare they find a nobler purpose, and ultimately sacrifice their lives to save her's and Dan's. As with any Ford film, there are also plenty of exciting action sequences. In this case they include the attack on the Carltons' wagon, the burning of the church, and the climactic battle with Hunter and his men. The land rush sequence is particularly impressive, filled with horses and wagons racing across the plains, as families desperately run after their dreams. In the lead roles, George O'Brien and Olive Borden look more like movie stars than Western pioneers, but still give honest performances. Bull Stanley is the film's most complex character, even if the transition from outlaw to protector is not entirely smooth, and Tom Santschi plays Bull with a depth of character that exceeds the others in the film. If Three Bad Men falls just short of Ford's later masterpieces, it is still an important, maturing step in his vital body of work. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, Rovi