Hang 'Em High

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Inger Stevens, Ed Begley, Pat Hingle, Ben Johnson, Charles McGraw, Ruth White, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hooper, Alan Hale Jr.
Directed by: Ted Post
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Western, Drama
1968

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After an innocent man (Clint Eastwood) survives being hung, he becomes a deputy marshal and tracks down those responsible.

Review:

Tim: Hang 'Em High is an interesting film because it's one of the earlier Hollywood ones where he was the main star. He'd made spaghetti westerns, but this was transferring that style back to Hollywood. This is a good movie, it has some intriguing aspects to it. Ultimately, though, it's not the most memorable Western. It's good, but there are far better Eastwood films to see.

The film starts out wonderfully, though. Eastwood's character is surrounded by a vigilante mob, accused of murder, and without a trial, he's lynched. This all happens so quickly. The title of the film blazes across the screen in red, underneath his hanging feet. It's an incredible start to the movie. We watch as he is saved from death, cleared of the allegations against him, becomes a lawman, and starts hunting down those who nearly killed him. This is all interesting and it holds our attention.

One of the unique aspects of this film is that it's preoccupied with the question of justice, of law and order in the West. We spend a lot of time in the town, with the judge, discussing the importance of justice in establishing civilization on the way to statehood. Not that many Westerns are as focused on this as Hang 'Em High and it's certainly worth the journey.

The cast is a definite strength. Eastwood was still early in his career here, so he's not called upon to do too much, but his stare and demeanor are effective. He's quite likeable in the lead role. Pat Hingle steals nearly every scene he's in- he's such a good actor and his talent was on display here. His "hanging judge" character is complex and he brings him to memorable life. He was a big strength of this film. Inger Stevens was decent. I didn't know much about her (I'd only seen her once before, in Firecreek). I read about her tragic life and it was quite a sad story. Bruce Dern is certainly in a small role here, but he was entertaining. I really loved seeing Ben Johnson and Dennis Hopper, but they are both so little used before disappearing from the film. I wished we had more time with them both. Ed Begley was fine, he had a few good moments. I really did appreciate the cast assembled here.

The story itself is fine, but it does hold the movie back some. It starts off focused and exciting, but it meanders too much in the middle. Eastwood's character begins hunting those who hung him, but takes a detour to bring some other fugitives to justice. He spends time in the town, and Stevens' character eventually connects with his. Her story felt like it was building to something, but the resolution felt unsatisfying. The hanging scene ultimately feels like it takes too long and the back-and-forth deliberations on justice are interesting, but ultimately distracts from the main story. By the time Eastwood is able to hunt down those remaining in the hanging party, it feels like a lot of time was spent on other things. Rather than telling a story that builds throughout the film, it feels like it jumps around and loses focus before finally pulling back in for the finale. That prevent the film from achieving its full potential.

Hang 'Em High might not be close to the upper echelon of Westerns, but it's an effective film that does feel like it gives us a different flavor to the usual for the genre. It's a good movie and I had fun watching it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Firecreek, A Fistful of Dollars