''Wild Bill Hickok'' is a 1923 American
silent Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
film directed by Clifford Smith and starring William S. Hart,
Ethel Grey Terry
Ethel Grey Terry (October 2, 1882 – January 6, 1931) was an American actress of the silent era. She is best remembered for her role in '' The Penalty'' with Lon Chaney.
Early years
Ethel Grey Terry was born in Oakland, California, the d ...
, Kathleen O'Connor,
James Farley
James Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888 – June 9, 1976) was an American politician and Knight of Malta who simultaneously served as chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Postmaste ...
, Jack Gardner,
Carl Gerard
Carl Gerard (born Carl Gerhard Petersen; 28 September 1885 – 6 January 1966), sometimes credited as Carl Gerrard, was a Danish-American actor known for playing supporting roles.
Biography
Gerard spent much of his career in Los Angeles and ...
, and
William Dyer. It was written by
William S. Hart
William Surrey Hart (December 6, 1864 – June 23, 1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and integ ...
and J.G. Hawks. The film was released on November 18, 1923, by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. It was the first film to depict
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...
, although in a very brief role, and the only film made before he died in 1929 that included his character, until ''
Law and Order
In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...
'' was released in 1932.
Plot
After the America Civil War ends, key military and government leaders meet in Washington D.C. Gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement ...
(William Hart) goes to Dodge City
Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...
where he hangs up his gun belt and takes over a card table. Local lawmen are unable to rid the town of lawless cowboys. Hickok's arch-enemy and gang leader Jack McQueen (Jim Farley) accuses Hickok of losing his nerve. Hickok visits General Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
and retrieves his sword, taking up his role as a fighter for what is right.
He returns to Dodge City and enlists the help of friends Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...
, Calamity Jane
Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Late ...
, Bat Masterson
Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...
, Doc Holliday
John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist. A close friend and associate of lawman Wyatt Earp, Holliday is best known for his role in the event ...
, Charlie Bassett, Luke Short
Luke Lamar Short (January22, 1854September8, 1893) was an American Old West gunfighter, cowboy, U.S. Army scout, dispatch rider, gambler, boxing promoter, and saloon owner. He survived numerous gunfights, the most famous of which were agains ...
and Bill Tilghman
William Matthew Tilghman Jr. (July 4, 1854 – November 1, 1924) was a career lawman, gunfighter, and politician in Kansas and Oklahoma during the late 19th century. Tilghman was a Dodge City city marshal in the early 1880s and played a role in ...
to chase the bad guys out of town. Hickcok falls for the wife of George Hamilton (Carl Gerard). Pursued for his crimes, McQueen leaves town and gets away; follows him and kills him. Hickok departs Dodge City in sorrow since the woman he loved was already married.
Characters
William S. Hart
William Surrey Hart (December 6, 1864 – June 23, 1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and integ ...
, who played Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement ...
, and Wyatt Earp were best friends. Earp wanted Hart's help to make a movie that would improve what the public thought about him and his brothers. Based on what the press wrote about his actions at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in ...
and his job as a referee of the Fitzsimmons vs. Sharkey
The Fitzsimmons vs Sharkey Heavyweight Championship boxing match between Bob Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey was awarded by referee Wyatt Earp to Sharkey after Fitzsimmons knocked Sharkey to the mat. Earp ruled that Fitzsimmons had hit Sharkey below ...
boxing match, Earp had a dubious reputation. Earp wrote Hart in July 1925: "I am sure that if the story were exploited on the screen by you, it would do much towards setting me right before the public which has always been fed up with lies about me."
Bert Lindley playing Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...
appeared very briefly in a crowd scene. This was the first movie that depicted Wyatt Earp, and the only one that included his character before he died in 1929. Hollywood didn't make another film that referenced his character until ''Law and Order
In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...
'' in 1932.
Cast
Marketing
The film premiered in New York city on November 18, two weeks before its public release on December 3, 1923.
Despite his very small role, Earp was prominently featured in the promotional copy as "Deputy Sheriff to Bat Masterson of Dodge City, known as one of the three greatest gun-men that ever lived, along with Bat Masterson and 'Wild Bill' Hickok... Back in the days when the West was young and wild, 'Wild Bill' fought and loved and adventured with such famous frontiersmen as Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp." In reality, Earp was a virtually unknown assistant marshal in Dodge City when Wild Bill Hickok was murdered in 1876.
Earp served as a technical adviser
In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director on the convincing portrayal of a subject. The advisor's expertise adds realism both to the acting and to the setting of a movie.
Nipo T. Strongheart
Nipo T. Stronghear ...
on the film. Because the role of Earp's character in the movie is so small, Bert Lindley is not listed on some descriptions of the movie and this portrayal of Earp is often overlooked. Alan Barra, author of ''Inventing Wyatt Earp: His Life and Many Legends'', overlooked this movie in his biography.[
Hart thought a great deal of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, and after Masterson's death in 1921, dedicated his next film, ''Wild Bill Hickok'' to Masterson.][
]
Reception
The film was not well received. One reviewer described it as "rather dull and tedious." The film's poor box office draw helped end Hart's already fading star.[
]
Preservation
A print of ''Wild Bill Hickok'' is maintained in the Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
and Cinematheque Royale de Belgique
CINEMATEK (Dutch: Koninklijk Belgisch Filmarchief; French: Cinémathèque royale de Belgique; English: Royal Belgian Film Archive) is a film archive in Brussels, Belgium.
The archive was established in 1938 under the name Royal Belgian Film Arch ...
film archives.Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''Wild Bill Hickok''
/ref>
References
External links
*
*
* {{AFI film, id=13321, title=Wild Bill Hickok
at silenthollywood.com
1923 films
1923 Western (genre) films
1920s biographical films
American biographical films
1920s English-language films
Paramount Pictures films
American black-and-white films
Films set in California
Cultural depictions of Wild Bill Hickok
Cultural depictions of Calamity Jane
Cultural depictions of Bat Masterson
Cultural depictions of Wyatt Earp
Silent American Western (genre) films
Films directed by Clifford Smith
1920s American films