"The hanging was the best show in town."
Though considered classics today, Clint Eastwood's early spaghetti westerns were initially panned by critics who complained about the movies' "dopey" plots and Eastwood's "wooden" acting. It wasn't until Eastwood returned to America to star in Hang 'em High that he started to receive any recognition for his portrayal of dusty anti-heroes. Co-produced with United Artists (UA) by Eastwood's newly-established production company, Malpaso Productions , and shot on location in New Mexico, Hang 'em High received overwhelmingly favorable reviews and had the largest opening at the box office of any previous UA movie.
Hang 'em High finds Eastwood playing Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives being lynched by a posse convinced that he is a murderer and cattle rustler. After being found innocent by regional judge Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle) — loosely based on real-life "Hanging Judge" Isaac Parker — Cooper accepts Fenton's offer to become a marshal.
Though considered classics today, Clint Eastwood's early spaghetti westerns were initially panned by critics who complained about the movies' "dopey" plots and Eastwood's "wooden" acting. It wasn't until Eastwood returned to America to star in Hang 'em High that he started to receive any recognition for his portrayal of dusty anti-heroes. Co-produced with United Artists (UA) by Eastwood's newly-established production company, Malpaso Productions , and shot on location in New Mexico, Hang 'em High received overwhelmingly favorable reviews and had the largest opening at the box office of any previous UA movie.
Hang 'em High finds Eastwood playing Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives being lynched by a posse convinced that he is a murderer and cattle rustler. After being found innocent by regional judge Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle) — loosely based on real-life "Hanging Judge" Isaac Parker — Cooper accepts Fenton's offer to become a marshal.
- 10/7/2012
- by BrentJS Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
Typecasting is a terrible fate to befall an actor. Many of them have suffered from it over the years, accepting role after role in similar films with similar plots and similar characters simply because they have no real alternative. However, in spite of the risks involved there are also those who subvert this association; those who have elevated themselves to near legendary status within their chosen genre. Their performances define it and are woven inextricably into its rich tapestry. Two such actors are pictured above and are the subject of this article – one, a silent and anonymous loner with no time for small talk and very direct methods of dealing with his adversaries, the other a straight talking, no – nonsense peacekeeper with a trademark southern drawl. Both are perhaps best known for their westerns, although they also directed, produced and starred in a variety of other films too including military epics and ‘unorthodox’ police procedurals.
- 11/23/2011
- by Jame Simpson
- Obsessed with Film
After nominating For a Few Dollars More and The Good the Bad and the Ugly for Free Flick of the Day, I'm going to sound like a very old and tired drum by nominating Hang 'Em High. But hey, you need something to watch today and it's just sitting there, waiting for someone to notice it.
Hang 'Em High isn't a great film by any means, and it's not a very remarkable Western. It's full of missed opportunities, and the end hints that there may have been plans for a franchise centered around Marshall Jed Cooper. It's notable because it was the first film Clint Eastwood produced with his Malpaso shingle, which he would obviously go onto do great things with. (Would there be an Unforgiven without Hang 'Em High? Probably, but who knows!) It's also his first post-Sergio Leone Western, and one of the first attempts to bring Leone's style to America.
Hang 'Em High isn't a great film by any means, and it's not a very remarkable Western. It's full of missed opportunities, and the end hints that there may have been plans for a franchise centered around Marshall Jed Cooper. It's notable because it was the first film Clint Eastwood produced with his Malpaso shingle, which he would obviously go onto do great things with. (Would there be an Unforgiven without Hang 'Em High? Probably, but who knows!) It's also his first post-Sergio Leone Western, and one of the first attempts to bring Leone's style to America.
- 11/25/2009
- by Elisabeth Rappe
- Cinematical
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