Hang 'Em High

"Hang 'Em High" is a fictionalized account of Hangin' Judge Parker's court at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Judge Parker had jurisdiction over a large chunk of Indian Territory (Oklahoma today). The house of ill repute in the film is a fictionalized version of Miss Laura's Social Club which still stands in Fort Smith and has the dubious distinction of being the only whore house on the National Register of Historic Places. In the movie, Fort Smith becomes Fort Grant but a few of the place names used are actual names of towns nearby, such as Alma, Arkansas, and Poteau, Oklahoma. The river in "Hang 'Em High" is too small (even before the locks and dams) to be the Arkansas River but could stand in for the Poteau River; the confluence of the two rivers occurs at Belle Point in Fort Smith. Most of the movie was shot in California and New Mexico (certainly not eastern Oklahoma) but the scenes of the gallows and the judge's court and office look very much like Judge Parker's Court in Fort Smith that is also on the National Register of Historic Places. If not actually filmed there, then the producer and director did an excellent job recreating it as a set. Even the dungeon jail is correct.

This was Clint Eastwood's first American western following his triumph in Sergio Leone's spaghetti western trilogy. Eastwood wanted Leone to direct this one but he was already committed to another project. From what I read neither Eastwood nor director Ted Post worked well with the producer/writer Leonard Freeman.

"Hang 'Em High" starts out with a bang, a lynching that backfires. To show the audience that Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) is a good guy, Cooper rescues a calf from drowning. This ploy was later used in "Tombstone" when Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), on his first appearance on screen, aids a horse that is being mistreated. Wyatt gives the perpetrator a taste of his own medicine reprimanding him, "Hurts, don't it?" Veteran actor Ben Johnson, who was from Oklahoma, happens on the scene while Cooper is still dangling, cuts him free, then throws him into the "tumbleweed wagon" full of thieves and cut throats bound for Fort Grant and justice. After lingering in the dungeon jail awhile, the judge clears Cooper and makes him a federal Marshall, warning him to bring the nine men in who attempted to hang him, but bring them in alive. The rest of the film deals with Cooper rounding up the nine plus a few other killers along the way. There is also emphasis on the different interpretation of justice by Cooper, a former lawman, and the judge. This leads to several dramatic confrontations. There is a parallel story of a search for justice by Rachel Warren (Inger Stevens)who falls for Cooper and visa versa. They have a thirst for vengeance in common.

Much of the movie is fiction, but parts are based on history. The circus atmosphere that accompanied the public hangings in Fort Smith during Judge Parker's rule is shown basically as it has been reported. There were vendors present, hawking all types of goods and goodies. Children wandered around with or without their parents. The fathers would sometimes place their children on their shoulders so the tads could get a better view of the executions. And there were multiple hangings recorded, similar to the one in the film.

The viewer may enjoy seeing a lot of familiar faces in the cast. Veteran actor Bob Steele plays Old Man Jenkins, a member of the lynching party. Bruce Dern is as ornery as they come. He is not only a member of the lynching party but a cold-blooded killer as well. Alan Hale, Jr. (The Skipper to his Little Buddy), one of the lynching party, is a blacksmith who seems apathetic to the incident. Dennis Hopper has what could be labeled a billed cameo role. The viewer barely sees his face at all. L.Q. Jones is a member of the lynching party turning in his usual fine performance. Charles McGraw plays the sheriff of Red Creek (possibly Garrison Creek, which today is Roland, Oklahoma) who has a back problem--or is it a spine problem? James MacArthur makes a solemn preacher extracting final confessions from the condemned.

Pat Hingle portrays the hanging judge in fairly realistic terms. The real hanging judge never watched the condemned swing. Judge Adam Fenton not only watches but nods to the hangmen when to pull the lever. The masterful Ed Begley is the vicious leader of the lynching party who is determined to make amends for his botched hanging of Cooper by hanging him even higher next time. The lovely and sexy Inger Stevens turns in a winning performance as a supplement to Cooper's vengeance. And Clint Eastwood, well, he's Clint Eastwood. Need I say more?

'Hang 'Em High' was Clint Eastwood's first American Western after working on Sergio Leone's groundbreaking Dollars "trilogy". Some people describe it as an American attempt at a spaghetti western, but I really don't see it. Yes, it features a revenge theme, common to many spaghetti westerns, and it has a few moments of brutality and moral ambiguity, but really it's firmly in the tradition of the Hollywood Western. Leone was supposedly asked to direct but chose to make his masterpiece 'Once Upon A Time In The West' instead. Ted Post who directed 'Rawhide', the TV series which made Eastwood a star of the small screen, directed instead (Post and Eastwood would later be reunited with 'Magnum Force'). 'Hang 'Em High' is nowhere near as good as Leone's movies but it's still better than many would lead you to believe. Eastwood gives a good performance and the movie is jam packed with character actors and familiar faces. It starts off brilliantly with Eastwood being accused of stealing cattle by a posse (led by veteran Ed Begley, and including Bruce Dern and Peckinpah regular L.Q. Jones), and then hanged! Luckily Eastwood is saved by a wandering Marshall (Ben Johnson) and taken to prison. The local judge (Pat Hingle) frees Eastwood and offers him a job as a lawman, which he takes, using it as an opportunity to track down the hanging party who nearly killed him. Eastwood is good, but Pat Hingle is even better, giving a terrific performance of quite a complex character. Dern plays one of his patented scumbag roles, and Inger Stevens plays a local woman with a past who becomes Eastwood's love interest. I already mentioned legendary Western actors L.Q. Jones and Ben Johnson. Unfortunately Johnson doesn't get much screen time, but he does have a memorable scene with Dennis Hopper, who play a crazed character known as The Prophet. If you'd like to see more of these two actors together check out the rarely seen counter-culture Western 'Kid Blue' made in the early 1970s. I could go on and on about the supporting cast but I won't. Suffice it to say that film buffs will get lots of kicks watching this movie. 'Hang 'Em High' may not be close to Eastwood's best work, but it's still worth watching, for Pat Hingle if nothing else.

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.

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 emphasized 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 definitely a refreshing break from most other 'revenge' movies. Instead of cold-blooded vengeance, 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 characterization 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.