6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A cowboy must save his girlfriend from captivity and then cross the desert on foot with a single waterhole on the way.
Starring: Harry Carey, Duke R. Lee, Neva Gerber, Vester Pegg, Joe HarrisWestern | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Music: LPCM 2.0
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This version of this film is available as part of
Straight Shooting.
Harry Carey's film career was long enough that when he was working in the proto noir thriller Among the Living in 1941, part of Paramount's publicity push for the film was
to
cover what at least some of the accounts at the time listed as a 50th Anniversary in Show Business celebration for the venerable actor, where he
was feted and
given (wait for it) a commemorative watch.
That probably questionable number would tend to indicate Carey had been toiling in the movie industry since 1891, but since Carey was born in
1878
and would have
been only 13, not to mention the fact that there really wasn't a movie industry in the United States in any meaningful way in 1891 might
suggest a certain PR hyperbole was at play, but even so, Carey's film career does stretch back to the earliest years of the silent era, with,
according to the IMDb, his
first film appearance coming in 1910. Interestingly in that regard, other "snipes" on the backs of press photos distributed by Paramount in 1941
offer a potentially somewhat more accurate description of the
event as a celebration of Carey's
33rd year in movies, but that designation would take his career back to circa 1908, which may or may not suggest that
there's some unknown or at least unremembered Carey film languishing in some hidden nook and/or cranny somewhere. For those only acquainted
with Carey due to his later in life performances, where he could essay either generally avuncular types (as in his Academy Award nominated
performance in Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington) or more sinister types, as in the aforementioned Among the Living, may be downright surprised to think of Carey
as a Western star, of all things, but he was in fact one of his era's leading lights in that then still nascent genre. Eureka!
Entertainment's Masters of Cinema
imprint has aggregated two relatively early Harry Carey western films, both helmed by the legendary John Ford, into an agreeable package that
offers
generally secure technical merits and some very appealing supplements.
Hell Bent is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment's Masters of Cinema imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.35:1. Eureka! sent only check discs for the purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any verbiage included in an insert booklet, but the press sheet accompanying the discs states this release is a UK debut on Blu-ray, fully restored in 4K. I'm assuming this was culled from the same master as the U.S. release from 2020 distributed by Kino Lorber. As with Straight Shooting, those with some experience viewing older silents will probably be better prepared for the undeniable damage that's on display in this transfer, with any number of nicks, scratches and other blemishes pretty easily discernable in several of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. This may be just incrementally rougher looking at times than Straight Shooting, but really not by much. Contrast is generally excellent, and detail levels also commendable within the context of the age of the element. Also as with Straight Shooting, I'm wondering if the opening titles and intertitles may have been recreated (despite some apparent wobble in the opening credits), since the backgrounds are jet black, lettering is completely clear and there's absolutely no sign of any age related wear and tear.
Hell Bent features an original score by Zachary Marsh delivered via an LPCM 2.0 track. This is a somewhat unusual score which struck me as arguably a little too jazz inflected and almost ragtime like at times to blend completely seamlessly with the imagery, but in terms of its actual sound, there are no complaints whatsoever. A small ensemble which features piano (and perhaps tack piano) along with other instruments like banjo is quite colorful and nicely bright and clear sounding throughout.
It's really interesting to see a film this early in the Western genre offering what amounts to an anti-hero, even if Cheyenne Harry comes to his senses pretty darn quickly once he meets Bess. This film doesn't quite have the narrative thrust of Straight Shooting, but the location photography is really remarkable. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements appealing. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Masters of Cinema
1917
Indicator Series | Standard Edition
1969
Masters of Cinema
1954
Il grande duello
1972
1940
Indicator Series
1957
Masters of Cinema
1926
Masters of Cinema
1961
Il mercenario / A Professional Gun | The Italian Collection #40
1968
1934
Gunlaw / I giorni dell'ira
1967
Ehi amico...c'è Sabata. Hai chiuso! / Eureka Classics
1969
Arrow Academy
1958
Ammazzali tutti e torna solo / Cult Classics
1968
Una pistola per Ringo / Ballad of Death Valley
1965
Se incontri Sartana prega per la tua morte / Gunfighters Die Harder
1968
The Reward's Yours... The Man's Mine / La taglia è tua... l'uomo l'ammazzo io
1969
Un dollaro a testa / The Italian Collection #41
1966
Lo voglio morto
1968
Gli specialisti / Drop Them or I'll Shoot | Eureka Classics
1969