Hang 'Em High (1968)

When an innocent man barely survives a lynching, he returns as a lawman determined to bring the vigilantes to justice.

Director:

Ted Post

Writers:

Leonard Freeman, Mel Goldberg

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Inger Stevens, Pat Hingle

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Marshal Jed Cooper
Inger Stevens	...	Rachel Warren
Ed Begley	...	Captain Wilson
Pat Hingle	...	Judge Fenton
Ben Johnson	...	Marshal Dave Bliss
Charles McGraw	...	Sheriff Ray Calhoun
Ruth White	...	Madame 'Peaches' Sophie
Bruce Dern	...	Miller
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Matt Stone (blacksmith)
Arlene Golonka	...	Jennifer
James Westerfield	...	Prisoner
Dennis Hopper	...	The Prophet
L.Q. Jones	...	Loomis
Michael O'Sullivan	...	Francis Elroy Duffy
Joseph Sirola	...	Reno

Storyline

A band of vigilantes catch Jed Cooper and, incorrectly believing him guilty of cattle rustling and murder, hang him and leave him for dead. But he doesn't die. He returns to his former profession of lawman to hunt down his lynchers and bring them to justice.

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Plot Keywords:

imperative in title | judge | marshal | vigilante | murder | 

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Taglines:

Eastwood is Judge, Jury and Executioner!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

M

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hängt ihn höher

Filming Locations:

Dona Ana, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leonard Freeman Production, Malpaso Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Judge Adam Fenton was based in part on Judge Isaac Parker whose federal court in Fort Smith, Arkansas had jurisdiction over the Oklahoma and Indian Territories.

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Goofs

During the picnic scene in which Rachel tells Jed of her husband's murder and her rape, her hair is alternately wind-blown/neat between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[to a calf]
Jed Cooper: I'm gonna have to carry ya, huh?

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Connections

Referenced in The Walking Dead: Guts (2010)

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Soundtracks

Shall We Gather at the River?
(uncredited)
By Robert Lowry
Sung by crowd before mass hanging

User Reviews

Excellent Eastwood Western. By far the most underrated of his films.

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.