Ted Post's "Hang 'Em High" Of 1968 is a tough and atmospheric Western, and Clint Eastwood's first Western after Sergio Leone's ingenious Dollar-trilogy, which had made him famous, and although "Hang 'Em High" can in no way reach the brilliance of the Dollar-trilogy, it must be said that it is a great film which no Clint Eastwood fan should miss.
I personally am a big fan of Clint Eastwood, especially for the Dollar-trilogy, "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" being my favorite movie of all-time. I'm a Western fan in general, and I usually prefer Spaghetti Westerns to the American ones. Quite a bunch the American Westerns of the late 60s and early 70s took their influence from the success of the Italian Western, and "Hang 'Em High" certainly has some Spaghetti Western elements too. It is still obvious, that this is an American Western, however, Clint Eastwood's character of Marshall Jed Cooper is not an antihero with a sense of black humor such as The Man With No Name from the Dollar-trilogy was, but a tough man driven by the desire for justice.
Jed Cooper (Eastwood) is lynched by a group of nine men for a murder he did not commit. Left hanging on a tree for dead, he is discovered by a Marshall, who cuts the noose and saves his life. The Marshall brings him to the town of Fort Grant, where the strict but idealistic Judge Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle) is to dispense justice for a huge area. After his innocence is proved, the former lawman Cooper is employed as a Marshall by judge Fenton, and he is now out to bring his own lynchers to justice. Lynchers who (as the tagline says) made two mistakes: They hung the wrong man and they didn't finish the job...
Clint Eastwood is great as always and he fits perfectly into his role of Marshall Jed Cooper. Pat Hingle delivers a great performance as Judge Adam Fenton (a role that is based on real life 'hanging-judge' Isaac Parker, as anyone who has read a bit about the American Old West will soon realize). Beautiful Inger Stevens is also very good, and lovable in the female lead. Ed Begley is great as the head lyncher. The cast furthermore contains Bruce Dern, Alan Hale Jr., LQ Jones and Dennis Hopper in a tiny, but good role. I also thought that Bert Freed did a great job as the hangman. Hwe probably didn't say a lot, but the way he looked and moved was just what his role demanded.
The movie's score is pretty good, and fits into the movie perfectly, although it is obvious from the beginning to the end that they just wanted it to resemble Ennio Moricone's ingenious Dollar-trilogy scores. One of the main themes was actually just taken out of "For A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly", and modified a little bit. I guess it's okay to try and copy the best, however, and the score certainly compliments the movie. "Hang 'Em High" is also very well photographed and atmospheric from the beginning to the end. There was a big resemblance to Sergio Corbucci's Spaghetti Western Masterpiece "Il Grande Silenzio" aka. "The Great Silence" from the same year in one scene, which I won't give away, watch both movies and you'll know what I mean.
All said, "Hang 'Em High" is a great Western, which Clint Eastwood fans can't afford to miss. Highly recommended. 8/10
I personally am a big fan of Clint Eastwood, especially for the Dollar-trilogy, "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" being my favorite movie of all-time. I'm a Western fan in general, and I usually prefer Spaghetti Westerns to the American ones. Quite a bunch the American Westerns of the late 60s and early 70s took their influence from the success of the Italian Western, and "Hang 'Em High" certainly has some Spaghetti Western elements too. It is still obvious, that this is an American Western, however, Clint Eastwood's character of Marshall Jed Cooper is not an antihero with a sense of black humor such as The Man With No Name from the Dollar-trilogy was, but a tough man driven by the desire for justice.
Jed Cooper (Eastwood) is lynched by a group of nine men for a murder he did not commit. Left hanging on a tree for dead, he is discovered by a Marshall, who cuts the noose and saves his life. The Marshall brings him to the town of Fort Grant, where the strict but idealistic Judge Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle) is to dispense justice for a huge area. After his innocence is proved, the former lawman Cooper is employed as a Marshall by judge Fenton, and he is now out to bring his own lynchers to justice. Lynchers who (as the tagline says) made two mistakes: They hung the wrong man and they didn't finish the job...
Clint Eastwood is great as always and he fits perfectly into his role of Marshall Jed Cooper. Pat Hingle delivers a great performance as Judge Adam Fenton (a role that is based on real life 'hanging-judge' Isaac Parker, as anyone who has read a bit about the American Old West will soon realize). Beautiful Inger Stevens is also very good, and lovable in the female lead. Ed Begley is great as the head lyncher. The cast furthermore contains Bruce Dern, Alan Hale Jr., LQ Jones and Dennis Hopper in a tiny, but good role. I also thought that Bert Freed did a great job as the hangman. Hwe probably didn't say a lot, but the way he looked and moved was just what his role demanded.
The movie's score is pretty good, and fits into the movie perfectly, although it is obvious from the beginning to the end that they just wanted it to resemble Ennio Moricone's ingenious Dollar-trilogy scores. One of the main themes was actually just taken out of "For A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly", and modified a little bit. I guess it's okay to try and copy the best, however, and the score certainly compliments the movie. "Hang 'Em High" is also very well photographed and atmospheric from the beginning to the end. There was a big resemblance to Sergio Corbucci's Spaghetti Western Masterpiece "Il Grande Silenzio" aka. "The Great Silence" from the same year in one scene, which I won't give away, watch both movies and you'll know what I mean.
All said, "Hang 'Em High" is a great Western, which Clint Eastwood fans can't afford to miss. Highly recommended. 8/10