Stubs - Hell's Heroes

Hell’s Heroes (1929) Starring Charles Bickford, Raymond Hatton, Fred Kohler Directed by William Wyler Screenplay by Tom Reed and C. Gardner Sullivan. Based on the novel The Three Godfathers by Peter B. Kyne (New York, 1913). Produced by Carl Laemmle. Run Time: 78 min USA. Black and White Western, Christmas

You might not think of a film with the theme of redemption at Christmas to be called Hell’s Heroes, but the first sound film based on Peter B. Kyne’s novel The Three Godfathers is called just that. While this might be the first sound film, it is not the first or the last to be based on the novel. Even before there was a novel, there was a short story "Broncho Billy and the Baby," by Kyne published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1910. This served as the basis of an Essanay short film of the same name in 1915.

The novel, first published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1912, was bought by Bluebird Photoplay and made into the film The Three Godfathers (1916) co-starring Harry Carey. The story was remade as Marked Men (1919), directed by John Ford and again co-starring Harry Carey.

Hell’s Heroes was shot on location in the Mojave Desert, in and around the town of Bodie, California, and  utilized much of the town's main street and included both exterior and interior footage of the Bodie Bank, which burned in 1932, and Methodist Church. The film opened in New York on the week of December 27, 1929 and went into wide release on January 5, 1930. The film print for Hell's Heroes was fully restored by The Film Foundation; an organization founded in 1990 by director Martin Scorsese.

 "Barbwire" Tom Gibbons (Raymond Hatton), "Wild Bill" Kearney (Fred Kohler)
and José (Jo de la Cruz) ride into New Jerusalem.

In the desert, come three riders, "Barbwire" Tom Gibbons (Raymond Hatton), "Wild Bill" Kearney (Fred Kohler) and José (Jo de la Cruz). They are riding to a town called New Jerusalem. On the outskirts of the town is a sign warning that the town is a bad place for bad men, punctuating the message with a noose.

Bob Sangster (Charles Bickford) and the catina where Carmelita (Maria Alba) dances and sings.

Meanwhile, Bob Sangster (Charles Bickford) goes into a bar and watches Carmelita (Maria Alba) dance for coins. Watching the dance is the town sheriff (Walter James), who is eyeing the dancer. However, when she sees Bob, Carmelita is overjoyed to see him. From the way he talks to her, it is obvious that the two are lovers, much to the chagrin of the sheriff. Bob encourages her to sing the song she had sung to him last night and again this morning, so she climbs up on the piano to do so.

While Carmelita sings, Bob starts flirting with another dancer.

However, as soon as she does, Bob grabs another dance hall girl and buys her a drink. This makes Carmelita jealous and the two women get into a fight over Bob, much to his delight. When he eyes the clock and sees that it is nearly 3 PM, Bob leaves the sheriff to handle the fight. The sheriff asks where Bob’s going and he tells him to rob the bank, which claims to have deposits of $30,000.

While the sheriff doesn’t believe him, Bob goes outside to meet Barbwire, Wild Bill and José, who have just arrived. Without much talk, they go into the bank. The bank is just about to close and the four bandits are alone with just the cashier, Frank Edwards (Edward Hearn) and an assistant. Bob demands the gold, which the assistant retrieves from the safe. However, Frank, who has a gun in a drawer, grabs for it, but is shot dead when Tom and Bill both return fire.

The men escape, but are not out of the town before a posse takes chase. When Parson Jones (Buck Conners) at the church is told of the robbery, he takes out a gun and shoots, killing Jose and wounding Tom in the left arm. José had the loot and Bob rides back and retrieves one of the sacks of gold from the street.

The three men make their escape aided by a fierce sandstorm. However, when they come out from their makeshift hiding place, they discover that their horses are long gone. They scheme to fill up their canteens at well-known watering hole and make it to the railroad to escape with the loot they have. As they’re walking, Tom quotes the Bible about three wise men riding out of Jerusalem. Bill reminds him that they’re walking, not riding, and they aren’t so wise. Tom, who is starting to feel the effects of the lead from the bullet in his blood, is looking forward to cleaning his wound.

On the way, they pass a watering hole that warns that there is arsenic in the water and that the water shouldn’t be used for any purpose. This shows how scarce drinking water is where they are.

Bob finds a delirious woman, Mrs. Thomas (Fritzi Ridgeway), alone in a covered wagon.

When they get close to the right watering hole, they hear a human voice calling out. Bob goes to investigate and finds a delirious woman, Mrs. Thomas (Fritzi Ridgeway), lying alone in the back of a stationary covered wagon, the horses gone. The other two go to the watering hole and find that it is dry. Apparently, someone had used dynamite and cracked the granite underneath. Bill laments, “That'll be dry till I get religion.”

Bob’s first thoughts about finding the woman is not wholesome. When the other two join him at the wagon, he warns them that he found her, presumably to rape her. However, they discover that she is pregnant and about to give birth. Since Bill has experience with birthing animals, he is assigned to help her.

It is determined that the horses went loco from licking the alkaline and that whoever was with the woman went off a couple of days before to find them, but did not return.

On her deathbed, Mrs. Thomas gets the men to promise to take her son home.

On her deathbed, the woman makes the three “good” men promise to take the baby to her husband, Frank Edwards, who works in the bank in New Jerusalem. Guilt ridden, Bill and Tom are determined to take the baby back, even though it will mean their death for doing so. But Bob is less concerned about the baby and only agrees to go back with them, but not go into town.

The three "good" men make the promise and then carry it out.

They find some supplies meant for the baby, including some canned milk, olive oil and diapers. Bob insists on having one of the three cans of milk for himself while the other two plan to use their share on the baby. They also find a book about baby care and Bill gives the baby a bath using the olive oil, so as not to use their scarce water supply.

Tom lies dead under the cross-shaped cactus as Bob and Bill continue on.

As they trek through the desert, Tom gets weaker and weaker, finally collapsing while carrying the baby. Knowing that his number is up, he encourages the other two to go on without him. When they are away from him, he shoots and kills himself.

That night, when Bill and Bob make camp, they are about out of supplies. Bill uses the last of the can of milk Bob gave up on the baby. And with water even more scarce, Bill decides its better for him to wander off alone into the desert, “to see a feller.” It’s his “Xmas” gift to Bob, he writes in the note.

Bob gives his last drops of water to the baby.

Bob is now alone and determined to take the baby to New Jerusalem. He even gives the baby the last drops of water from his canteen.

In a long tracking shot, we see Bob’s footsteps in the sand. It is shown that after a while, Bob dragged his rifle through the sand before dropping it, and that he left anything that became too heavy to carry. In a last desperate move, Bob even drops the gold coins he stole into the sand.

Desperate but determined, Bob drinks for the poisonous well, knowing the arsenic in the water will kill him.

He even decides to leave the baby, but thinks better of it, just as a Gila monster crawls out after him. He is about to give up completely when they reach the arsenic waterhole. But he decides he can get his fill of the poisoned water and have about an hour to get the baby to help.

It's Christmas Day and the townsfolk are listening to Parson Jones' (Buck Conners) sermon.

 

Meanwhile, it is Christmas day and the residents of New Jerusalem are in church listening to Parson Jones’ sermon.

Still carrying the baby, Bob staggers into town and into the church.

Bob staggers into town and into the church, collapsing dead on the floor as parishioners come to the baby’s aid.

The film got good reviews, judging on the review in The New York Times, on December 28, 1929. The uncredited reviewer wrote, “Despite its title, which means little to the story, 'Hell's Heroes' happens to be an interesting and realistic bit of characterization about three men who suffer retribution in the desert and undergo privation in their wish to atone for a crime.” It also apparently did well at the box office, including in France and Germany.

This was William Wyler’s first sound production, and Universal's first sound production to be filmed entirely on location. That said, it seems to work very well. Watching this film, you almost feel like the production happened during the time it’s set. There is such a realistic feel you get while watching it. The film does a really good job of showing the futility of the men’s plight. And you do start to feel their desperation as water, their most precious commodity, starts to run out. The assignment they’ve agreed to take will not end well for them no matter what they choose to do. Even if they can make it back, they will be hung. But they made a promise on the mother’s deathbed that they are determined to keep, even if the baby’s future is unsettled.

I’ve only seen Charles Bickford performing later in his career. This was, I believe, only his third film and he does a great job in the lead role. He would become a star in his next film, playing opposite Greta Garbo in Anna Christie (1930), but never developed into being a leading man. Part of that may be his own doing. Bickford turned down several roles and he was also apparently quick tempered, and even got into a fist fight with a director; talk about artistic differences. Bickford would end up playing a lot of supporting roles and would be nominated three times for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Song of Bernadette (1943), The Farmer's Daughter (1947), and Johnny Belinda (1948).

Raymond Hatton, who played Tom, had begun his career in silent films and was once paired with Wallace Beery in a series of comedies. His performance here is strong. His character is the one with at least some religious upbringing and familiarity with scripture and perhaps the one who is strongly behind the mission.

Fred Kohler was best known for playing villains in Westerns, both silent and sound, in fact reprising some of his silent roles in sound remakes. He plays a strong but caring character in Hell’s Heroes. Like the other two leads, he gives a strong and memorable performance as “Wild Bill.”

While this seems like a real good telling of the Three Godfathers story, it was far from the last version made. In 1936, MGM remade the film as Three Godfathers, directed by Richard Boleslawski and starring Chester Morris, Lewis Stone, Walter Brennan. MGM would also make 3 Godfathers (1948) with John Ford directing again, with John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, and Harry Carey Jr. A TV Movie was made by ABC-TV in 1974, called The Godchild, directed by John Badham directing and starring Jack Palance, Jack Warden, and Keith Carradine.

This was my first exposure to the story and I found this movie tight, well-made, and involving. The spirit of Christmas plays a part in how three hardened criminals take on what is basically a suicide mission for the sake of an orphaned baby. The comparison with the three wise men and the baby Jesus is hinted at but is never overt. However, it is hard not to feel good about the potential of your fellow man after watching Hell’s Heroes.