'Blue Blazes' Rawden (1918)

Rawden, a lumberjack in the North woods, fights with crooked dance hall owner 'Ladyfingers' Hilgard over the affections of Babette DuFresne. Hilgard is killed. When Hilgard's mother and ... See full summary »

Director:

William S. Hart

Writers:

J.G. Hawks (screenplay), J.G. Hawks (story)

Stars:

William S. Hart, Maude George, Robert McKim

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William S. Hart	...	Blue Blazes Rawden
Maude George	...	Babette DuFresne
Robert McKim	...	'Ladyfingers' Hilgard
Gertrude Claire	...	Mother Hilgard
Robert Gordon	...	Eric Hilgard
Jack Hoxie	...	Joe La Barge (as Hart Hoxie)

Storyline

Rawden, a lumberjack in the North woods, fights with crooked dance hall owner 'Ladyfingers' Hilgard over the affections of Babette DuFresne. Hilgard is killed. When Hilgard's mother and younger brother arrive in the remote logging town, Rawden attempts to ease their suffering by creating the fiction that Hilgard had been a well-loved man who died naturally. But when young Eric Hilgard learns the truth of his brother's death, he comes gunning for Rawden.

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title | 

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

1 February 1918 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blekitnooki Rawden

Filming Locations:

Felton, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artcraft Pictures Corporation, William S. Hart Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 1917 but not released until 1918.

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Connections

Remake of Keno Bates, Liar (1915)

User Reviews

Mother Love Among The Big Trees

Hilarious comic take on Hart's patented Good Bad Man role sees him as a rough tough lumberjack, "Blue Blazes" Rawden -- apparently Hart's cameraman, Joe August, wanted to photograph primary forest, so they set it up that way.

When Hart kills saloon-owner-regular-villain Robert McKim, he inherits not only the saloon and McKim's girlfriend, but a mother who comes over from England to see her long lost boy. Soon everyone is in a conspiracy to not let mother know what a scalawag her son was, but when she announces she wants to take Rawden back to England with her, the girlfriend tries to spill the beans.

Apparently they didn't know what to do with this, so they tacked on an ending and sent it out. The result is a movie that experts call one of Hart's darkest tragedy. I disagree. Next time, guys, try running it through the projector a little faster and using a lighter touch on the keyboard.