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The Hanging Tree (1959) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   828 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 33% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Dorothy M. Johnson (novel)
Wendell Mayes (writer) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Hanging Tree on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 March 1959 (Finland) more
Genre:
Tagline:
From The Prize Novel -- A Picture Of Thundering Power!
Plot:
Character study of a Doctor who saves a local criminal from a mob who are trying to hang him, but then tries to control the life of the young man... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations more
User Comments:
"Give me a Kiss" more (23 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Gary Cooper ... Dr. Joseph 'Doc' Frail
Maria Schell ... Elizabeth Mahler

Karl Malden ... Frenchy Plante

George C. Scott ... Dr. George Grubb
Karl Swenson ... Tom Flaunce
Virginia Gregg ... Edna Flaunce
John Dierkes ... Society Red
King Donovan ... Wonder
Ben Piazza ... Rune, Frail's Bond Servant
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Additional Details

Runtime:
107 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Filming Locations:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Takes place in Montana, 1873. more
Movie Connections:
Edited into Meine Schwester Maria (2002) more
Soundtrack:
THE HANGING TREE more

FAQ

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28 out of 43 people found the following comment useful.
"Give me a Kiss", 18 November 2004
Author: Brian Pelton (laconf@whidbey.com) from Whidbey Island, Washington

The Hanging Tree (1959) is one of my favorite Westerns. Like the other great movies of the genre, it has more to do with human relationships than sagebrush, cattle, and shootouts. This isn't to say that there aren't plenty of action scenes in The Hanging Tree; We have a fistfight, a beating, a shooting, and a mining town set ablaze, but all of this is a backdrop to love, deceit, greed, jealousy, and intolerance.

Gary Cooper, ill during filming, brings his sinister character, Doc Joe Frail, to life with a leathery, wise, and weary portrayal. This is HIS movie.

Much of the movie was filmed in the hills above Yakima, Washington. The sets were located up a old logging road that the Washington State Patrol had barricaded in order to keep onlookers away. George C. Scott (in his debut movie) told how Gary Cooper, ill with lung cancer, would make the mile-long walk down that logging road, and back again, just to sign autographs for his fans. What a man!

There is one scene out of many that I particularly like. In it, a poor miner and his wife have brought their daughter in to see Doc Frail because she "is doin' poorly".

Doc looks at the girl, turns to her parents and tells them that the child is malnourished. And he, realizing that they are struggling, suggests that they take a cow that he he has tied-up outside and to "fatten this child up on some milk".

The mom and dad look very embarrassed; They don't have money for a cow. "We don't know how we can pay you for it, Doc", the father says, stepping forward.

This killer-turned-doctor, looks at the girl and says, "Give me a kiss".

After the girl obeys (and she's an adorable Beanie Baby-type) he smiles and says, "I've been paid".

--- and so have we.

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