The Sheriff’s Streak of Yellow
R: William S. Hart. B: Richard V. Spencer, Thomas H. Ince. K: Robert Doeran. D: William S. Hart, Jack Nelson, Gertrude Claire, Bob Russell. P: New York Motion Picture Co (Thomas H. Ince). USA 1915

By courtesy of Robert Fells who created new intertitles in English and added music (Mauro Bertoli: Rhapsody in Blue and other solo piano pieces)

“This film differs from other Hart westerns in that a potential romantic partner does not transform his ‘bad man’ figure through love. Instead, the story turns on the townspeople’s misrecognition of his character, focuses on the singular conflict between Hale and Todd, and the power of a mother figure. That conflict is complicated in the beginning by a relatively long scene of Todd’s care for his mother and then for her gravesite. Moreover, Hale’s startled recognition of Todd leads to the flashback of his indebtedness to the outlaw’s mother for rescuing him from certain death. In the end, Todd accepts his own debt to Hale and commits suicide. Two other moments stand out: early on, Hart shows off his skill in rolling a cigarette as well as striking a match on his thumbnail; at the end, in medium close-up, he registers anxiety about what the townspeople may do after finding him with the bodies in the bank.”
Richard Abel (Le Giornate del Cinema Muto)
Antti Alanen: Film Diary