Film #171 - Hang ‘Em High (1968)
Hang ‘Em High is my favorite Clint Eastwood Western. Yes, most would choose a true spaghetti western like The Good, The Bad and the Ugly or A Fistful of Dollars, but Hang ‘Em High is an American film through and through. And if there is a genre that benefits from true American roots, it is, naturally, the western.
The film tells of Jed Cooper (Eastwood), an ex-lawman who is tracked down by a posse searching for a cattle rustler and murderer. Mistaking Cooper for the killer, they string him up, leaving him for dead. But he is found and cut down by passing U.S. Marshal Dave Bliss (Ben Johnson) and brought before Judge Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle), the only law in the Arkansas Territory. Fenton sets Cooper free and convinces him to join up as a Marshal as an aid to finding the men who hung him. Cooper quickly finds one of the lynchers, but is forced to kill him. Returning to Fort Grant, he learns that another has turned himself in and he gets the names he needs. On his way to bring them in, he is sidetracked by a report of another rustling & murder. Forming a posse, he tracks down the rustlers and finds one of them is a man he is after, Miller (Bruce Dern). The posse wants to string them up on the spot, but Cooper insists on bringing them in for trial and is left alone. He does bring them in after a difficult journey where Miller tries to kill him. All three are sentenced to die, despite Cooper’s attempt to get leniancy for the two rustlers who did not participate in the killing and didn’t help Miller in his attempt to kill Cooper. Meanwhile, the remaininf members of the posse who lynched Cooper first try to buy him off, then decide they need to kill him. An assassination attempt fails and it comes down to a standoff with the remaining lynchers and Cooper.
The key to the film is that it is, at heart, a treatise on law and its application to a lawless land. Fenton is the law in the Territory, with no appeals and little in the way of accountability for his actions. He is not happy about it. He brings in Cooper because he sees the lawman’s inherent desire for justice, not only for himself, but for everyone. Without the protections that statehood brings, however, the justice in the Territory is compromised. The judge is unable to let the two young men go because there is no place in the law for it and he can’t afford to be viewed as soft. He must prove that he has the territory controlled with an iron fist in the hope that that fist will be taken away by a proper state government.
It also looks at the nature of the vigilante, a common occurance in the old west. The men who hang Cooper are mostly decent law-abiding citizens. From the local blacksmith, Matt Stone (Alan Hale, Jr.), to the respected Captain Wilson (Ed Begley), they are basically good people who were doing what they thought was right. Even after learning of their mistake, members of the group express the belief that their actions were correct. What it comes down to is their unwillingnes to face true justice for what they have done. The one member who does turn himself in is shown leniancy. All of the others avoid it one way or another (even resorting to flat-out murder) and pay the price.
The acting is universally excellent. Eastwood has a more complex character to play here than in many of his westerns. With a clear-cut identity, this is no “man with no name”. He is continuously pulled between the desire for vengeance and a belief in the law and justice. In this way, he represents the very heart of the west as it moved from frontier to civilization. Eastwood handles all this with great skill.
The supporting cast is also wonderful. Ed Begley (Sr.) proves to be a sympathetic villain: a man who feels forced to do evil things, all the while meaning to do right. The same can be said for Al Hale, Jr. as the blacksmith. The genial nature evident in his most famous role (the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island) is evident here and it is difficult to watch him being arrested and locked up. It is a powerful scene as he walks dumbfounded through town, a shotgun following his every move. Bruce Dern isn’t exactly stretching as the vile Miller, but he still uses his trademark snide drawl to great effect.
Inger Stevens is, unfortunately, not given enough to do as Eastwood’s erstwhile love interest, Rachel Warren. Her sub-plot, concerning her search for the man who killed her husband, also touches on the theme of revenge vs. justice, but is more about not letting revenge consume you. It is lightweight compared to the other themes and she kind of wilts in the lesser light shone on her character.
But the top prize has to go to Pat Hingle, who practically steals the film from Eastwood. As the tough-as-nails judge, Hingle expresses the basic theme of the film; the difficult, painful steps necessary to tame the west. Even as Fenton ruthlessly executes young men, Hingle shows how heavily these decisions weigh on the judge. It is a tour-de-force, allowing Hingle to show a powerful, yet flawed, man trying mightily to move society forward.
Visually, Hang ‘Em High does lack the scope seen in the Sergio Leone westerns that made Eastwood famous. But it makes up for that with a gritty and realistic view of the west. This is not the sugar-coated frontier of the singing cowboys, but a harsh, troubled land. The only pretty and clean place on view is the brothel. Director Ted Post uses a very straightforward directing style, learned from years of directing for television. This prevents the visuals from overpowering the story, the real draw.
I can understand why Hang ‘Em High isn’t more popular. It lacks those big, sweeping images that critics and film buffs love so much. But what it has in its place are a strong, complex story, sympathetic and complicated characters and strong, vibrant dialogue. It tackles a difficult era in American history and presents it in a way that can be understood on an a basic level. With all that and great performances to boot, Hang ‘Em High is one of the best.