Hang 'Em High

Hang 'Em High marks Clint Eastwood's return to the American cinema, taking his character from those Sergio Leone films back to the good old USA. And even giving the man with no name, a name.

In this case he's Jed Cooper who has bought some cattle from some rustlers unknowingly and is accused of rustling and murder by a self constituted posse headed by vengeful Ed Begley. The dozen in the posse hang him.

Up to now this sounds like The Oxbow Incident. But unlike what happened to Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn, and Francis Ford a very old and fraying rope was used. Eastwood's neck doesn't snap and the group don't wait until he chokes to death. He survives and becomes a man with a mission.

The nicest part for Eastwood is he gets to do his mission with the imprimatur of the law. The best performance in the film comes from Pat Hingle who's a no-nonsense hanging federal judge in the territory. He intends to see that laws are enforced and justice is swift.

Besides Hingle and Bailey, director Ted Post gives Eastwood a good cast of film and TV regulars in support. The tragic Inger Stevens is his leading lady here, a woman who's got a vengeance quest of her own going and who really does understand what makes Clint tick. This was one of her last films, she was a troubled and tragic woman in life. A very sad loss.

Clint's legion of fans will love this one.

Clint Eastwood's most underrated film, Hang 'Em High is a throughly enjoyable movie. It has the feel of a John Wayne western, as opposed to the spaghetti western formula in which Eastwood with Sergio Leone combined so magnificently with each other in the Dollars trilogy.

Eastwood gives a very worthy performance as Marshall Jed Cooper. The central dilemma of having to operate within the law in conflict with his own personal view of justice is executed very well by Eastwood. On the whole, Eastwood's performance is certainly a strong point of the film and a great performance in its own right.

The storyline itself is relatively well structured with interesting elements relating to the law and the justice system. However, a rather pointless, rushed and half baked romantic subplot by Inger Stevens (who is sadly woefully out of her acting league alongside Eastwood) adds nothing to the story and becomes rather annoying on repeat viewings.

However, special mention must go to both Pat Hingle and Ed Begley who both give some excellent performances, perhaps even superior to Eastwood himself.

Hang 'Em High is a great Eastwood western, provided you don't expect something magical like The Good, The Bad And The Ugly or Unforgiven. Entertaining and more complex than you would expect but sadly, greatly underestimated. Every Eastwood fan should at least give it a chance.

Overall I give it a solid and well deserved 8/10. Be sure to get a copy of this hidden gem.

I found this to be a pretty solid western, not one you hear a lot about but a fast- moving film which means it entertains. It doesn't dawdle on any one particular scene.

There is a good cast in this Clint Eastwood-starred movie. Pat Hingle did an outstanding job as the too gung-ho judge but isn't all bad and has an interesting explanation of the situation he was in near the end of the film.

Overall, this a gritty story with Eastwood in his customary revenge-minded role, although he mellows somewhat by the end of the film. I also appreciated all the good facial closeups in here. As with most westerns, the movie is nicely photographed.

This movie had a odd combination of being really raw in parts but yet thoughtful. I think it's a very underrated, under-appreciated western.

Ex-lawman turned cattle rancher Jed Cooper is taken newly purchased cattle back home when he is caught by a posse who accuse him of murder and lynch him. They ride off to leave him to die, however he is cut down by a group of marshals who add him to their prisoners and take him to the judge. Having had his story cleared Cooper is offered a job as a marshal and agrees to do it. However when his first task is to arrest the men who hung him can he take the stand away from revenge and on the side of the law.

I watched this cause I do like a good western every now and again. The actual plot is quite simple on the surface – man out for revenge, but it uses it quite well. It makes some interesting parallels between the hanging of men by the lynch parties and the hanging of men by a judge. It doesn't fully make it's point but it is good to have something to think about in a western. Outside of this the film has some good drama even if the end feels more like the conclusion of an episode in a TV series rather than the finale of a film.

Of course the reason for this may be Post's involvement as director. He used to direct Rawhide with Eastwood and was picked for this film to support Eastwood. This was his first American film after doing all those spaghetti westerns and I assume he wanted a familiar hand on the tiller. He does well here as he always did with his western characters, I read that he also directed some of it. The rest of the cast are made up of a few famous names (Bruce Dern, LQ Jones for example) but regardless everyone does well in their roles.

It's not a classic western but it rises above the average by having a good lead in the shape of Eastwood and some plot strands that go beyond the revenge storyline and encourage you to think of deeper issues.

Big Clint's first film outside of Serigo Leone's sensational Dollars trilogy is none other than...a Western. Hang 'Em High is a rather overlooked entry in Clint's long and impressive film wagon, even though it is a serious, no-nonsense and modest look at crime and punishment and a subtle dig at the injustice system, which was somewhat forgotten by his critics who emphasised that he was a symbol of violence, especially in the Dollars trilogy and the Dirty Harry series.

Clint plays an ex-lawman who picks up a new badge after he is almost killed by a group of men who hang him and leave him for dead. He then embarks on a mission to hunt them down one-by-one and hand them over to the law.

Ted Post's watchable Western drama is definetly a refreshing break from most other 'revenge' movies. Instead of cold-blooded vengence, the script decides to display Clint's character, though still as the cold, silent anti-hero, as a more peaceful person who would truly like to see men behind bars rather than shooting them down. The film also keeps it grip, rarely letting a boring moment crawl in even though this is more talk than action.

Its not a perfect, polished or particularly great film - the characterisation always stays pretty low and the romance between Clint and the charming Inger Stevens isn't fully developed, for instance. However, it has its highlights - a memorable opening sequence and an effective musical score - along with its notable touch for seeing justice rather than violence and killing. A good effort that's worth watching and not ignoring.