Nonureva Really Surprised!

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

dougdoepke An overlooked gem from 1929. The premise has been remade a number of times, but I can't imagine any being better than this. I hope the three godfathers, actors Hatton, Bickford & Kohler, got big bonuses. They clearly deserve hazard pay for filming in the middle of nowhere. Looking like a parched pancake, it's a nowhere desert the three fugitives must limp across. Worse, there's no sign of relief in any direction. Yeah, they're tough guys, but this is a battle with nature in the raw, a desolate face that's both unyielding and waterless. And catch the rags the guys are wearing. The tatters get even holier as they trudge along. Wardrobe must have shopped on skid row, while I doubt that a grubbier threesome has appeared in Hollywood annals.Speaking of holy, there's a subtext of Christian symbolism to the story, without rubbing our nose in it. Note, for example, the brief cross-shaped cactus providing comfort to the martyred Barbed-Wire as his two buddies depart. Good subtle detail. Then again, the results suggest something of the Three Wise Men, western style. After all, when Mom dies, the three bank robbers are gradually redeemed by their care for the infant boy under what amounts to self-sacrificing circumstances. Their desert trek then becomes a moral proving ground the outlaws must cross in order for symbolic redemption to occur. At the same time, delivering the infant to the altar on Christmas day closes the Three Wise Men loop. By that time, each has shown a higher regard for the infant than himself. Nonetheless, I like the brief moments when the guys show their masculine libido. For example, Bob enjoys biting saloon girls in erotic fashion, while he and Bill jockey over who gets firsties with the girl in the covered wagon. Thankfully, filming was prior to the dead hand of Hollywood's censorship code. Anyway, it's legendary William Wyler's first talky and he hits a homerun, with both staging and performances. In fact, some of those desolate shots against the sky are downright iconic, proving again that artistry surpasses time. Also, the acting's first-rate. Seldom has a trio of tough guys interacted with such unforced naturalness, conveying a rare level of male bonding.. Too bad grubby Oscars aren't awarded for best shabby characters, because these three rank right up there with Sierra Madre's Bogart and Huston. So, don't pass this one up despite its obscurity. I'm really glad an old movie fan put me on to it, and I think you will be too.

Michael_Elliott Hell's Heroes (1930)*** 1/2 (out of 4) This early talkie from Universal is the first sound version of "Three Godfathers", which would eventually be remade in 1936 with Chester Morris and again in 1948 by John Ford with John Wayne in this lead. The story here is the same as three ruthless outlaws (Charles Bickford, Raymond Hatton, Fred Kohler) rob a bank and then head out into the desert before losing their horses during a major wind storm. Soon afterwards they stumble onto a baby and the men must decide to let it die or try to walk it back to the town they were just running from. I've ended up watching these sound versions in reverse order as I started off with the Ford one many years ago and then just recently saw the Morris version, which was the better of the two. This one here is clearly the leader of the trio because of how raw it is. This movie is pretty mean spirited from the start up until the end and I really love that Wyler didn't pull any punches. Being the pre-code era we get a few things not available in future versions and that includes one sequence where the men argue about who's going to "take" the mother first. We also get a fairly violent scene involving a suicide, which is shown in a long shot. A lot of people bash American westerns saying they aren't ugly enough but that's not true here. The dirt, grease and ugliness of the characters are all over them and their unshaven faces make them look exactly like what their characters would look like. The three leads turn in wonderful performances but to me it was Hatton who steals the show as the big goon who quickly turns into a softy after finding the baby. Bickford is equally impressive and the final vision of him is quiet haunting and will certainly stay with you for a long time. The film runs a fairly short 68-minutes but there's enough heart and soul in this thing for two movies. Another impressive thing is that this was an early talkie yet you really can't tell as everything is recorded very well and it actually sounded a lot better than the same studio's Dracula and FRANKENSTEIN, which would follow the next year.

johno-21 I've only seen this once but found it to be a remarkable and compelling early film from the dawn of the "talkies." It's title is misleading as a Christmas movie but this is a great film for Christmas with wonderful symbolism throughout the movie. Peter B. Kyne wrote the story about three desperate villainous outlaw bank robbers who are ironically confronted with the wife and newborn son of a man they had just killed and must now risk their own lives to try to save the child. Screenwriter Tom Reed adapts the novel in this William Wyler directed film. Wyler who had an illustrious 45 year career directing movies had been a silent film director and had just made the transition from silents to talkies the year before this film in 1929's Love Trap, his first full talkie feature. Wyler would go on to direct such classics as Jezebel, Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives, Ben Hur and Funny Girl among many, many more fine films so it's interesting to see a film by him here at the dawn of his greatness. This film had been done once before as a silent in 1916 titled Three Godfathers starring Harry Carey and would be done again in 1936 as Three Godfathers with Chester Morris and again as Three Godfathers in 1948 with John Wayne and Carey's son Harry Carey Jr. This is so stark and gritty and imaginative that it is my favorite of the two remakes that would follow. Charles Bickford stars along with Fred Kohler and Raymond Hatton. Bickford enjoyed a long career in films and television but Hattaon was a screen actor for almost 50 years in a career that began in early silents in 1909 and continued through a small role 1967's In Cold Blood. Considering this was 1930 and what was accomplished here in story, dialog, sound and photography I have to knock this up a notch and give it a 10.

Dave Tavres It's not the best, but not the worst movie ever made... interesting for the time. Best of all though, the beginning and end of the movie are shot in what is now a real ghost town - Bodie, CA.The story has been done over and over, but as I said, if you have ever been to Bodie, it's worth checking out this movie - just to see the town as it once was.