The year 1920 saw Newhall’s future leading citizen, actor-producer William S. Hart (1864-1946), hook up with director Lambert Hillyer (1889-1969) and focus on moral dilemmas with a pair of bad-guy-goes-straight pictures — “The Toll Gate” and this film, “Cradle of Courage,” which Hart co-directed.

Just off the boat in San Francisco, Hart returns from World War I with sergeant’s stripes and now must decide between righteousness and family. Will he continue on the straight and lawful path he found while fighting for his country, or will he honor his cop-hating mother and rejoin his brother’s gang?

Stick around after the movie for a special feature: Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper treks to Newhall and visits with the aging actor for a segment of her 1941 program,”Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood.” With his ever-present dogs in tow, Hart shows Hopper his gun collection — which was subsequently stolen.

“Cradle” and Hopper’s program appear here by permission of distributor Grapevine Video. Follow the link to browse available titles or write to:

Grapevine Video
4021 W. San Juan Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85019
602-973-3661

ABOUT E.J. STEPHENS
E.J. Stephens is a noted Hollywood historian, author, lecturer and tour guide. An Indiana native, E.J. has lived for 10 years in the Santa Clarita Valley with his wife Kimi and their two children, Mariah and Dylan.
By day, E.J. can be found in Burbank on the Warner Bros. Studios lot where he is a tour guide and an audience coordinator on Conan O’Brien’s late-night talk show. When not giving tours at the studio, E.J. and Kimi host tours of their own for their Newhall-based company, Newhallywood Tours.
E.J. has co-written four books on subjects ranging from the history of Warner Bros. and Paramount to Griffith Park and the Santa Clarita Valley (the latter with Kimi and Dr. Alan Pollack). The trio is currently working on another SCV history book titled “Then & Now: The Santa Clarita Valley,” scheduled to hit the shelves in early 2014.

ABOUT BILL WEST
Bill West is a movie nut who serves on the board of Friends of Hart Park, gives tours of the Hart Mansion and maintains the Friends’ website.
In his spare time, Bill writes software for Walt Disney Imagineering, where he has contributed to Star Tours, Toy Story Midway Mania, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and other attractions. Previously, he wrote software at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Bill enjoys lounge music and he plays the drums for pickup bands. He lives in Santa Clarita with his Realtor (his wife Liliana) and their son Josh. Pets include Maya the Mutt, Luigi the Canary, and a cat whose name he can’t pronounce but is Polish for “kitty.”