Dir. John Ford
71 Minutes
USA
1928
Starring: Victor McLaglen, June Collyer, Larry Kent, Earle Foxe, Hobart Bosworth
***1/2/*****
In Algiers, a group of Irish soldiers convene around a table, drinks in hand. One of them, the highly respected 'Citizen' Hogan (Victor McLaglen), is handed a paper which he jovially grabs before his face falls suddenly and he grows solemn. Asking for immediate request to leave and go to Ireland, where he is warned about the price on his head, he raises his his hand and proclaims "I have to kill to man!" So begins Hangman's House, a strange mixture of Gothic thriller, psychological horror, horse racing drama, and statement of Irish pride that fully emphasizes Ford's admiration for Murnau, who had just come to Fox the year before with Sunrise (working that year on the sadly lost 4 Devils).
During an initial viewing a year and a half ago, the film felt striking in its visuals and expression, though its story seemed overly convoluted considering the simplicity of its pieces. Though by drifting away from its narrative (essentially a love triangle with two interfering parties: Hogan's fugitive ex-patriot, and the father (Earle Foxe) of Connaught (June Collyer), who wants her to marry Lord Justice O'Brien (Hobart Bosworth) for the title and prestige that would come to the family instead of the good-natured but poor Dermot McDermot (Larry Kent)), and lingering on some extraordinary visual sequences gives one quite a bit to latch onto, Ford seemingly putting in all he can into the fully silent form before beginning to experiment with sound effects, scores, and, just the new year, all-talking. Some of the pieces do not quite mesh well together, and even at a slim seventy minutes the film occasionally feels a little stuffed, though when things focus on the Gothic and horror elements the film truly shines. Earle Foxe's "Hangman" character, so haunted by the severed heads of those he has ordered to death, is such a fascinating figure played with such terrific intensity that his passing, preceded by a terrific moment where visions of the heads dance around a blazing fire, is an unfortunate moment where things transition to more "pressing" business. Things still feel a bit dense before its eventual conclusion, though the film ends on a surprisingly dark and somber note, and the amount of mystery and withheld information around the McLaglen character (who weaves between the characters in this film like a Grim Reaper) continue to his very last, and oddly haunting, close-up. Ford would hit a little bit of a wall with a series of early sound films that clearly have him getting accustomed to new technology at the expense of confident and polished works, but Hangman's House is a deceptively simple work that has a strong visual energy and a tone and style that makes it easy to wonder what Ford would do fully immeshed in the horror genre.
Rewatched on August 9th, 2020
Part of an ongoing John Ford Project with notes from selected films.