Hell Roarin' Reform (1919)
60 mins | Western | 16 February 1919
Director:
Edward J. LeSaintWriters:
Charles Kenyon, Joseph A. RoachProduction Company:
Fox Film Corp.The start of principal photography at Fox Studios in Hollywood, CA, was reported by the 13 December 1918 Wid’s Daily. An item in the 21 December 1918 Billboard noted that the unnamed production featured veteran stage actor George Berrell, who worked with several prominent theatrical figures of the late nineteenth century. Also joining the cast was Bowd M. “Smoke” Turner, as stated in the 1920 Motion Picture News Studio Directory. On 9 January 1919, Wid’s Daily announced Hell Roarin’ Reform as the film’s title.
The 1 March 1919 Motion Picture News revealed that real glass was used for a scene in which lead actor Tom Mix rode his horse through a large window. Although director Edward J. LeSaint recommended using a “property window,” Mix insisted on authenticity, resulting in serious cuts to his neck and one of his arms. While filming another scene, Mix risked strangulation after being lassoed by his screen adversaries. Although he was supposed to be dragged across the ground by a team of horses, the sequence was easier to photograph with the actor being dragged behind an automobile outfitted with a camera platform.
Hell Roarin’ Reform was released on 16 February 1919. The 29 March 1919 Motion Picture News reported that Rochester, NY, theater manager Jack Farren invited all clergymen in his vicinity to see the film, not only as a promotional stunt, but also to mitigate any objections they may have had to the title. While a review in the 21 February 1919 Variety found little ...
The start of principal photography at Fox Studios in Hollywood, CA, was reported by the 13 December 1918 Wid’s Daily. An item in the 21 December 1918 Billboard noted that the unnamed production featured veteran stage actor George Berrell, who worked with several prominent theatrical figures of the late nineteenth century. Also joining the cast was Bowd M. “Smoke” Turner, as stated in the 1920 Motion Picture News Studio Directory. On 9 January 1919, Wid’s Daily announced Hell Roarin’ Reform as the film’s title.
The 1 March 1919 Motion Picture News revealed that real glass was used for a scene in which lead actor Tom Mix rode his horse through a large window. Although director Edward J. LeSaint recommended using a “property window,” Mix insisted on authenticity, resulting in serious cuts to his neck and one of his arms. While filming another scene, Mix risked strangulation after being lassoed by his screen adversaries. Although he was supposed to be dragged across the ground by a team of horses, the sequence was easier to photograph with the actor being dragged behind an automobile outfitted with a camera platform.
Hell Roarin’ Reform was released on 16 February 1919. The 29 March 1919 Motion Picture News reported that Rochester, NY, theater manager Jack Farren invited all clergymen in his vicinity to see the film, not only as a promotional stunt, but also to mitigate any objections they may have had to the title. While a review in the 21 February 1919 Variety found little in the feature to recommend it, Fox executives claimed in the 12 April 1919 Motion Picture News that it was “the best Western picture ever made.” The title appeared in the 3 January 1920 Exhibitors Herald as Hell Roaring Reform.
The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.
Tim, a good-hearted cowboy, collects money for the Belgian Babies' Milk Fund, but on his way to the post office, he is robbed by a gang of bandits. While trailing them, he rescues Doris Jenkins from a runaway stagecoach. Tim then meets a minister whom the gang had ejected from the town of Tarantula, where Doris lives. He assumes the role of preacher and swears to reform the town. Baxter, who is both the sheriff and the gang leader, orders his men to collapse the flimsy church during Tim's first attempt at sermonizing. The preacher gets revenge by riding upstairs to the balcony of a building, jumping to the roof of Baxter's saloon, and crashing to the floor. Tim is about to be hanged, but he escapes and rescues Doris, whom Baxter intends to marry. The gang leader is held at gunpoint while Tim and Doris marry, and is then forced to write a check for a new ...
Tim, a good-hearted cowboy, collects money for the Belgian Babies' Milk Fund, but on his way to the post office, he is robbed by a gang of bandits. While trailing them, he rescues Doris Jenkins from a runaway stagecoach. Tim then meets a minister whom the gang had ejected from the town of Tarantula, where Doris lives. He assumes the role of preacher and swears to reform the town. Baxter, who is both the sheriff and the gang leader, orders his men to collapse the flimsy church during Tim's first attempt at sermonizing. The preacher gets revenge by riding upstairs to the balcony of a building, jumping to the roof of Baxter's saloon, and crashing to the floor. Tim is about to be hanged, but he escapes and rescues Doris, whom Baxter intends to marry. The gang leader is held at gunpoint while Tim and Doris marry, and is then forced to write a check for a new church.
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