''Blue Blazes' Rawden'' is a 1918 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed 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 inte ...

and written by J.G. Hawks. The film stars William S. Hart,

Maude George Maude George (August 15, 1888 – October 10, 1963) was an American actress of the silent era. Biography Born in Riverside, California, in 1888, Maude George is remembered primarily as a regular of director Eric von Stroheim's stock compan ...

, Robert McKim,

Gertrude Claire Gertrude Claire (July 16, 1852 – April 28, 1928) was an actress of the American stage and Hollywood silent motion pictures. Biography Claire was born in Chicago, Illinois, and began appearing onstage at the age of 16. She played minor roles ...

, Robert Gordon, and

Jack Hoxie John Hartford Hoxie (January 11, 1885 – March 28, 1965) was an American rodeo performer and motion-picture actor whose career was most prominent in the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1930s. Hoxie is best recalled for his roles in ...

. The film was released on February 1, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. The film has been preserved and it is available in various viewing formats.

Plot

Cast

as Blue Blazes Rawden *

as Babette DuFresne * Robert McKim as 'Ladyfingers' Hilgard *

as Mother Hilgard * Robert Gordon as Eric Hilgard *

as Joe La Barge

Background

Hart published a letter in the ''

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founded ...

'' (March 30, 1918), titled ''A straight-from-the shoulder letter'', advising exhibitors that he was not connected with a company called "W.H. Productions Co.". Hart claimed that the company was changing titles of his films and showing previously made features of him without his permission. The letter states that "the old titles under which they were previously exhibited have been changed and new titles substituted...they are old pictures with new labels". Hart went on to say that, "if your patrons...are misled by new titles into a belief that these pictures are my latest productions, it will not only injure my reputation but also seriously affect the reputation of your theatre". ''Blue Blazes Rawden'' is listed at the bottom of the letter, along with his other films that bear the "Artcraft" trademark.

Reviews and reception

A reviewer in '' Photoplay'' (1918) said that "Hart gives the best exhibition of his acting ability that I have ever yet seen". They also noted that the story "has no actual ending", but rather "is something of a slice of life...its interest lies in the struggle that goes on in the heart of the naturally ferocious, brutal Rawden, turned gentle by sheer determination". A review in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' (1918) praised Hart saying, " ewas a good actor long before he thought of going into pictures... he now reveals one more artistic accomplishment - that of an intelligent, careful, painstaking director. The detail in the preparation of the feature goes a long way toward enhancing its value". ''The Motion Picture Magazine'' (1918), said that "one celluloidic thing is as inevitable as fates and taxes-that William S. Hart starts each new picture career as a bad man and ends it by being completely reformed... like the excess tax, it is an excess reformation".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Blazes Rawden 1918 films 1910s English-language films Silent American drama films 1918 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by William S. Hart American black-and-white films American silent feature films Surviving American silent films 1910s American films