Hang 'em High (1968)
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92% of critics liked it
(13 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(31,931 ratings)
Ex-lawman turned rancher Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) is moving a small herd of cattle when a group of nine men on horseback, led by Captain Wilson (Ed Begley Sr.), ride up and accuse him of having stolen the cattle and killed their owner. Refusing to believe his account, they string him up by the… More Ex-lawman turned rancher Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) is moving a small herd of cattle when a group of nine men on horseback, led by Captain Wilson (Ed Begley Sr.), ride up and accuse him of having stolen the cattle and killed their owner. Refusing to believe his account, they string him up by the neck and leave him for dead, but they don't do the job right. Cooper is dangling there, barely alive, a few minutes later when Deputy U.S. Marshal Bliss (Ben Johnson) spots him and cuts him down. He survives the next few days in Bliss' tumbleweed wagon with the other prisoners, and is later cleared of any wrongdoing and released by Judge Fenton (Pat Hingle), just in time to witness the hanging of the man who really murdered the owner of the cattle and took Cooper's money. Cooper still wants revenge on the nine men who tried to hang him, but Fenton insists that he leave the bringing of them to justice to his deputy marshals. As it happens, Fenton is in desperate need of deputy marshals for the territory that he oversees, and he also knows that Cooper was a good lawman. Cooper, in turn, is now broke and in need of a job, and does want to see justice done. They strike an uneasy bargain, Cooper agreeing to wear a badge and bring in the men he's looking for -- alive -- for trial. The latter proves easier said than done, however, when the first of them that he spots tries to draw on him when he makes the arrest. One of the hanging party, Jenkins (Bob Steele), soon turns himself in and provides the names of the others. Cooper takes Stone (Alan Hale Jr.) alive, but the hapless blacksmith is later shot by the local sheriff (Charles McGraw) while trying to escape. The other men, led by Wilson, have no intention of dying, or even being brought to trial, without a fight. Two of them go on the run out of the territory, while Wilson and two of the others decide to take the law into their own hands once again. Meanwhile, Cooper becomes a hero when he single-handedly brings back a trio of rustlers who are also guilty of murder. This leads to Cooper's first confrontation with Judge Fenton, who, in a gripping scene, explains why it is essential that he be as seemingly quick to hang a man as he is. Unless the people are convinced that the law will do its job -- including hanging men who deserve it -- they will keep taking the law into their own hands and there will be more lynch mobs like the one that tried to kill Cooper. In the course of his quest for justice, Cooper also makes the acquaintance of Rachel (Inger Stevens), a young woman with her own search for justice, haunted by her own ghosts, and the two of them are drawn together, no more so than when Wilson and two of the others try to gun Cooper down in cold blood. The final confrontation between Cooper and Wilson escalates in violence to its savage, irony-laced conclusion. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ted Post
- Written By
- Leonard Freeman, Mel Goldberg
- Genres
- Western, Drama, Classics
- In Theaters
- Jul 31, 1968 Wide
- Studio
- United Artists
Critic Reviews
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Charles Cassady, Common Sense Media
High-minded Eastwood Western weighs mercy vs. justice.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Ted Post's direction is especially adroit at keeping the baroque flurries bubbling under the deceptive surface of old-pro craftsmanship
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Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com
Though not high-minded debate, Hang 'Em certainly counts as a solid victory lap
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Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
This is the film that brought Clint Eastwood (and his reefer smoking habit) back from Sergio Leoneland to Hollywood
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Move over squeaky clean John Wayne, a new darker western hero by the name of Clint Eastwood has arrived to challenge your title as top cowboy star!
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Clint Eastwood
as Jed Cooper
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Inger Stevens
as Rachel
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Ed Begley Sr.
as Capt. Wilson
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Pat Hingle
as Judge Adam Fenton
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Arlene Golonka
as Jennifer
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Ben Johnson
as Sheriff Dave Bliss
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Tod Andrews
as Defense Attorney
- Richard Angarola
- Larry J. Blake
- Barry Cahill
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Bruce Dern
as Miller
- Hal England
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Bert Freed
as Schmidt the Hangman
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Jack Ging
as Marshall Hayes
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Roy E. Glenn Sr.
as Guard
- Richard Guizon
- Robert Earl Jones
- Mark Lenard
- Jonathan Lippe
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James MacArthur
as Preacher
- Charles McGraw
- Ned Romero
- Joseph Sirola
- Paul Sorenson
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Bob Steele
as Jenkins
- Ted Thorpe
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Russell Thorson
as Mr. Maddow
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James Westerfield
as Prisoner
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Ruth White
as Madam Peaches Sophie
- Robert B. Williams
- Bill Zuckert
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Alan Hale Jr.
as Stone
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Dennis Hopper
as The Prophet
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L.Q. Jones
as Loomis
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Michael O'Sullivan
as Francis Duffy
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Bruce Scott
as Billy Joe
- John Wesley
- Dennis Dengate
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Rick Gates
as Ben
- Herb Ellis

