Good Day for a Hanging (1959)

After claiming his daughter's childhood-sweetheart killed the marshal, one man finds himself in conflict with his daughter, his fiancée and many of the townsfolk.

Director:

Nathan Juran

Writers:

Daniel B. Ullman (screenplay), Maurice Zimm (screenplay)

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Margaret Hayes, Robert Vaughn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fred MacMurray	...	Marshal Ben Cutler
Margaret Hayes	...	Ruth Granger (as Maggie Hayes)
Robert Vaughn	...	Eddie Campbell
Joan Blackman	...	Laurie Cutler
James Drury	...	Paul Ridgely
Wendell Holmes	...	Tallant Joslin
Edmon Ryan	...	William P. Selby, Attorney
Stacy Harris	...	Coley
Kathryn Card	...	Molly Cain
Emile Meyer	...	Marshal Hiram Cain
Bing Russell	...	George Fletcher
Russell Thorson	...	Harry Landers
Denver Pyle	...	Deputy Ed Moore
Phil Chambers	...	Deputy William Avery
Howard McNear	...	Olson

Storyline

It's been more than twenty years since Ben Cutler (Fred MacMurray) wore a badge, but when the town's bank gets robbed, he joins the posse. After the chase, where he saw Marshal Cain (Emile Meyer) get killed, he can't say "no" when the town asks him to take over the Marshal's duties. However, that same town starts to turn against him when he takes his new duties seriously by arresting and testifying against the killer... a boy, Eddie 'The Kid' Campbell (Robert Vaughn), who grew up in this town and comes from a broken home, garnering the sympathy of the townsfolk, who'd rather believe one of the other escaped bank robbers shot the sheriff. This is compounded by his daughter, who still has a crush on Eddie, even though after his mother died two years ago, he left town with not a word to her since. She, too, is convinced that Eddie is still that good little boy everyone remembers, and can't believe he's been changed, by his new life of riding with outlaws.

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Plot Keywords:

little boy | punched in the face | man hits a woman | escape attempt | gun shot out of hand | 

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Taglines:

HANGING'S TOO GOOD FOR A RAT LIKE THIS! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Dois Passos da Forca

Filming Locations:

USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morningside Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (ColumbiaColor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Robert Vaughn in his memoirs, Fred McMurray was the frugal type. He always brought his sandwich for lunch on the set and was also the stingy kind for many details.

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Goofs

When Ben is talking to Molly Cain on the widow's front porch, her mailbox can be seen on the fence in front of her house. The movie is set in 1870, but the postal service didn't start delivering to rural mailboxes until 1903, and that style of mailbox wasn't invented until 1915.

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Quotes

Ruth Granger: Eddie is just a boy. Tom was killed by a hardened criminal.
Ben Cutler: Do you think this kid is any less hardened? Since when is a young rattlesnake any less poisonous than an old one?

User Reviews

Fred MacMurray Plays a Different Role

This film starts out with a typical bank robbery which has been cleverly planned until a bank employee shoots at one of the robbers and the city Marshall is killed by a young guy named Eddie, (The Kid). Ben Cutler, ( Fred MacMurray) shoots some of the robbers and half of the money is returned. Ben Cutler claims that the Kid killed the city Marshall and he intends to bring him up on trial and a death sentence. The results of the trial change the direction of the film and it takes on in another direction which makes this a very interesting film. Fred MacMurray was able to show his great acting ability as a Western Marshall and he gave an outstanding performance.