Page 3 - hs1987child

Above: In The Silent Man (1917), Hart plays Right: Marr is tried for the kidnapping of
"Silent" Budd Marr, who has abducted Betty Bryce (far left). A last-minute inter-
wrote to Nicholas asking him to join him Betty Bryce (Vala Vale) to save her from a vention has proved Marr's innocence, but
in a venture on the Zumbro River in life of shame as a dance hall girl. In this his enemies attempt to incite the crowd to
Minnesota. Before the mill was com- scene, Marr has allowed her little brother to hang him. A friendly officer has just saved
the day by slipping a gun to Marr.
capture him in the hopes that the reward
pleted, Rose again became ill. This time money can be used to help the friends who
Bill went East with the rest of the family, have suffered because of the aid they have Below: In Three Word Brand (1921), Hart
while Nicholas headed for the North- given to him. portrays three different characters. In this
west to look for work. The family would scene from the beginning of the movie, Ben
never again call the frontier their home. Trego (Hart) is about to sacrifice his own
The Harts moved to New York City life to ensure the safety of his twin sons.
after Nicholas suffered a crippling acci- Hart also plays both of the sons as grown
dent while he was working on a farm in men later in the film.
upstate New York. This, the death of
Nicholas, Jr., and Mrs. Hart's continued
illnesses precluded the realization of
Nicholas's dream of a Western home-
stead. Bill helped support the family by
working as a messenger for two major
hotels. He spent his spare time at the
Manhattan Athletic Club, competing in
walking races with some of the best ath-
letes of the time, and attending perfor-
mances at New York's many theaters.
Family hardships, however, once again
prevented him from pursuing these in-
terests too intently. The city was not
much kinder to the family than the fron-
tier had been. By this time young Hart
had become fairly successful as a racer
and his connections with other athletes
got him a job as an errand boy for a tailor.
His father found work as an engineer,
relieving some of the burden for sup-
porting the family that had been placed
on Bill.
Now Hart's desire to become an actor
began to surface. Nicholas encouraged
him, even suggesting that the best way
for him to proceed was to travel to
Europe, to l'see the results of ages of
proficiency in all arts." Hart worked his
way to England on a steamer in 1880i
once in England he entered and won a
number of races and visited the theater.

22 / TERRA, Vol. 26, No. 2 · Nov. / Dec. 1987