# William S. Hart filmography

William S. Hart (1864–1946) 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 integrity." During the late 1910s and early 1920s, he was one of the most consistently popular movie stars, frequently ranking high among male actors in popularity contests held by movie fan magazines.
Hart was born in New York and began his acting career in 1888. He had success as a Shakespearean actor on Broadway, and appeared in the original stage production of Ben-Hur (1899). He entered films in 1914, and after playing supporting roles in two short films, he achieved stardom the same year as the lead in the feature The Bargain. Hart was particularly interested in making realistic Western films. His films are noted for their authentic costumes and props, as well as Hart's acting ability, honed on Shakespearean theater stages in the United States and England. Beginning in 1915, Hart starred in his own series of two-reel Western short subjects for producer Thomas Ince, which were so popular that they were supplanted by a series of feature films. In 1915 and 1916, exhibitors voted him the biggest money making star in the United States. In 1917, Hart accepted a lucrative offer from Adolph Zukor to join Famous Players–Lasky, which merged into Paramount Pictures.
By the early 1920s, Hart's brand of gritty, rugged Westerns with drab costumes and moralistic themes gradually fell out of fashion. The public became attracted by a new kind of movie cowboy, epitomized by Tom Mix, who wore flashier costumes and was involved in more action scenes. Paramount dropped Hart, who then made one last bid for his kind of Western. He produced Tumbleweeds (1925) with his own money, arranging to release it independently through United Artists. After Tumbleweeds, Hart retired to his to home in Newhall, California.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, William S. Hart has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6363 Hollywood Blvd. In 1975, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As of October 2024, two of the films Hart starred in—The Bargain and Hell's Hinges—along with Show People, in which he has a cameo, have been added to the National Film Registry.

## Filmography

| Release date | Title | Role | Credited as | Credited as | Credited as | Notes | Ref. |
| Release date | Title | Role | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | Ref. |
| July 2, 1914 | His Hour of Manhood | Pete Larson | | | | Two reels; survival status unknown | |
| July 23, 1914 | Jim Cameron's Wife | Andy Stiles | | | | Two reels; survival status unknown | |
| December 3, 1914 | The Bargain | Jim Stokes | | | | Added to the National Film Registry in 2010 | |
| December 23, 1914 | The Passing of Two-Gun Hicks | Two-Gun Hicks | Yes | | | Two reels; survival status unknown | |
| December 25, 1914 | In the Sagebrush Country | Jim Brandon | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| January 6, 1915 | The Scourge of the Desert | Bill Evers | Yes | | | Two reels; survival status unknown | |
| February 19, 1915 | Mr. "Silent" Haskins | Lon Haskins | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| February 25, 1915 | The Grudge | Rio Ed | Yes | | | Two reels; survival status unknown | |
| February 26, 1915 | The Sheriff's Streak of Yellow | Sheriff Hale | Yes | | | Two reels; survival status unknown | |
| April 9, 1915 | The Roughneck | Dave Page | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| April 15, 1915 | On the Night Stage | "Silent Texas" Smith | | | | | |
| April 16, 1915 | The Taking of Luke McVane | Luke McVane | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| May 6, 1915 | The Man from Nowhere | Buck Varley - the Man from Nowhere | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| May 21, 1915 | Bad Buck of Santa Ynez | Bad Buck Peters | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| May 31, 1915 | The Darkening Trail | Yukon Ed | Yes | | | | |
| June 2, 1915 | The Conversion of Frosty Blake | Frosty Blake | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| July 7, 1915 | Tools of Providence | Steve Blake | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| July 14, 1915 | The Ruse | "Bat" Peters | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| July 21, 1915 | Cash Parrish's Pal | Cash Parrish | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| August 20, 1915 | Knight of the Trail | Jim Treen | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| August 25, 1915 | Pinto Ben | Boss Rider | Yes | Yes | | Two reels | |
| August 27, 1915 | Keno Bates, Liar | Keno Bates | Yes | | | Two reels | |
| November 21, 1915 | The Disciple | Jim Houston | Yes | | | | |
| January 2, 1916 | Between Men | Bob White | Yes | | | | |
| February 3, 1916 | Hell's Hinges | Blaze Tracy | Yes | | | Added to the National Film Registry in 1994 | |
| April 9, 1916 | The Aryan | Steve Denton | Yes | | | | |
| May 21, 1916 | The Primal Lure | Angus McConnell | Yes | | | Lost film | |
| June 25, 1916 | The Apostle of Vengeance | David Hudson | | | | Lost film | |
| July 23, 1916 | The Captive God | Chiapa | | | | | |
| September 3, 1916 | The Patriot | Bob Wiley | Yes | | | Lost film | |
| September 24, 1916 | The Dawn Maker | Joe Elk | Yes | | | Lost film | |
| October 15, 1916 | The Return of Draw Egan | Draw Egan aka William Blake | Yes | | | | |
| November 26, 1916 | The Devil's Double | "Bowie" Blake | Yes | | | Lost film | |
| January 7, 1917 | Truthful Tulliver | Truthful Tulliver | Yes | | | | |
| February 11, 1917 | The Gunfighter | Cliff Hudspeth | Yes | | | | |
| March 25, 1917 | The Desert Man | Jim Alton | Yes | | | | |
| April 22, 1917 | The Square Deal Man | Jack O'Diamonds | Yes | | | | |
| May 27, 1917 | Wolf Lowry | Tom "Wolf" Lowery | Yes | | | | |
| November 17, 1917 | The Cold Deck | Jefferson "On-the-Level" Leigh | Yes | | | | |
| October 1917 | All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan | Himself | | | | ½ reel | |
| November 26, 1917 | The Silent Man | "Silent" Budd Marr | Yes | | | | |
| December 30, 1917 | The Narrow Trail | Ice Harding | | Yes | Yes | | |
| January 14, 1918 | Wolves of the Rail | "Buck" Andrade | Yes | Yes | Yes | | |
| February 18, 1918 | Blue Blazes Rawden | Blue Blazes Rawden | Yes | | Yes | | |
| April 1, 1918 | The Tiger Man | Hawk Parsons | Yes | | Yes | | |
| May 20, 1918 | Selfish Yates | "Selfish" Yates | Yes | | Yes | | |
| July 8, 1918 | Shark Monroe | Shark Monroe | Yes | | Yes | | |
| August 19, 1918 | Riddle Gawne | Jefferson "Riddle" Gawne | Yes | | Yes | Two of five reels exist; co-stars Lon Chaney | |
| September 1918 | A Bullet for Berlin | Himself | Yes | Yes | Yes | ½ reel | |
| September 10, 1918 | The Border Wireless | Steve Ransom | Yes | | Yes | Lost film | |
| December 15, 1918 | Branding Broadway | Robert Sands | Yes | | Yes | | |
| February 2, 1919 | Breed of Men | Careless Carmody | | | Yes | | |
| March 16, 1919 | The Poppy Girl's Husband | Hairpin Harry Dutton | Yes | | Yes | Lost film | |
| April 20, 1919 | The Money Corral | Lem Beason | | Yes | Yes | | |
| July 15, 1919 | Square Deal Sanderson | Square Deal Sanderson | Yes | | Yes | Co-directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| July 21, 1919 | Wagon Tracks | Buckskin Hamilton | | | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| November 2, 1919 | John Petticoats | "Hardwood" John Haynes | | | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| April 28, 1920 | The Toll Gate | Black Deering | | Yes | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| June 27, 1920 | Sand! | Dan Kurrie | | | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| October 17, 1920 | The Cradle of Courage | "Square" Kelly | | | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| December 26, 1920 | The Testing Block | "Sierra" Bill | | Yes | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| December 20, 1921 | O'Malley of the Mounted | Sergeant O'Malley | | Yes | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer; remade in 1936 with George O'Brien | |
| March 27, 1921 | The Whistle | Robert Evans | | | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| October 16, 1921 | Three Word Brand | Ben Trego / Three Word Brand / Governor Marsden | | | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| December 18, 1921 | White Oak | Oak Miller - A Gambling Man | | Yes | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| March 11, 1922 | Travelin' On | J.B. | | Yes | Yes | Directed by Lambert Hillyer | |
| August 19, 1923 | Hollywood | Himself (cameo) | | | | Lost film; directed by James Cruze | |
| December 2, 1923 | Wild Bill Hickok | Wild Bill Hickok | | Yes | | Directed by Clifford Smith | |
| March 2, 1924 | Singer Jim McKee | "Singer" Jim McKee | | Yes | Yes | Directed by Clifford Smith | |
| December 27, 1925 | Tumbleweeds | Don Carver | | | Yes | Directed by King Baggot; reissued in 1939 with Hart in a new talking prologue | |
| November 11, 1928 | Show People | Himself (cameo) | | | | Directed by King Vidor; added to the National Film Registry in 2003 | |
* The Dawn Maker (1916)
* The Return of Draw Egan (1916)
* The Square Deal Man (1917)
* The Money Corral (1919)
* The Whistle (1921)
* White Oak (1921)