In 1994, Hell's Hinges was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant",[1][2] and is considered by some to be one of the finest silent Westerns.

The owner of the saloon, Silk Miller (played by Hollingsworth), and his accomplices sense trouble and encourage the local rowdies to disrupt the attempts to evangelize the community.

When Hell's Hinges was released, the reception of the film among New York critics was so positive that the producer bought space in newspapers around the country to reprint the reviews.

"[4] Kingsley found the film to be "marvelously well done" but took exception to the would-be folksy western dialect in the title cards: C. Gardner Sullivan appears to have written 'Hell's Hinges' for the purpose of allowing us to look our fill on fire and fights.

The publication Moving Picture World gave the film a mixed review:"... William S. Hart should try himself out in some other role, or, at least, in some more decided variation of story in which he quite regularly appears.

Brilliant in subtitle, strong in treatment with occasional notes of true pathos, the marks of creative ability and sure craftmanship are there, but more of the material is outworn--the genius of author and director barely save it--and the fire scenes, elaborate as they are, finally cause interest to flag from too much repetition...

"[7] In 1997, Film Comment published a review calling Hell's Hinges a "classic of its kind" and arguing that "to dismiss it casually as a western would be a mistake, for it more resembles The Atonement of Gosta Berling than it does Riders of the Purple Sage.

Hart, his assistant Cliff Smith, his writer Gardner Sullivan and cameraman Joe August were one of the sturdiest (and least appreciated) teams of craftsmen the cinema ever produced.

[9] In a capsule review for the occasion, The New Yorker's Richard Brody praised the film for its uncommon intensity: "The images are as direct and bare as the characters' emotions, and the harsh drama builds to a mad, apocalyptic climax of crime and revenge.