IMDb user comments for
The Hanging Tree (1959)

advertisement

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 3:

[1] [2] [3]

Index

22 comments in total

---

24 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
"Give me a Kiss", 18 November 2004
Author: Brian Pelton (laconf@whidbey.com) from Whidbey Island, Washington

The Hanging Tree (1959) is one of my favorite Westerns. Like the other great movies of the genre, it has more to do with human relationships than sagebrush, cattle, and shootouts. This isn't to say that there aren't plenty of action scenes in The Hanging Tree; We have a fistfight, a beating, a shooting, and a mining town set ablaze, but all of this is a backdrop to love, deceit, greed, jealousy, and intolerance.

Gary Cooper, ill during filming, brings his sinister character, Doc Joe Frail, to life with a leathery, wise, and weary portrayal. This is HIS movie.

Much of the movie was filmed in the hills above Yakima, Washington. The sets were located up a old logging road that the Washington State Patrol had barricaded in order to keep onlookers away. George C. Scott (in his debut movie) told how Gary Cooper, ill with lung cancer, would make the mile-long walk down that logging road, and back again, just to sign autographs for his fans. What a man!

There is one scene out of many that I particularly like. In it, a poor miner and his wife have brought their daughter in to see Doc Frail because she "is doin' poorly".

Doc looks at the girl, turns to her parents and tells them that the child is malnourished. And he, realizing that they are struggling, suggests that they take a cow that he he has tied-up outside and to "fatten this child up on some milk".

The mom and dad look very embarrassed; They don't have money for a cow. "We don't know how we can pay you for it, Doc", the father says, stepping forward.

This killer-turned-doctor, looks at the girl and says, "Give me a kiss".

After the girl obeys (and she's an adorable Beanie Baby-type) he smiles and says, "I've been paid".

--- and so have we.

---

17 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
A LITTLE GEM!, 5 August 2001

Author: gelpi20007 (gelpi20007@cs.com)

Every time people talk about great westernS, movies like High Noon, The Searchers, Red River, Stagecoach and The Wild Bunch are always mentioned. I certainly agree, those are great films, but sometimes we overlook other, less known films that are as good, or better that the official classics. This is one of those films. A great, poetic masterpiece, filled with many moments of truth. Gary Cooper is a doctor with a mysterious past, Maria Schell is the blind lady he takes care of, Karl Malden is the greedy gold miner that clashes with Cooper and George C. Scott is a crazy preacher, they are all superb! Great cinematography, unforgettable title tune by Jerry Livingston (the title Song won an Academy Award Nomination) and a heartbreaking ending!

---

14 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
A fascinating Western of the Gold Rush wave!, 16 July 1999

Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

There was stars and superstars, and then there are the handful by whose success one may understand the nature of the movies' massive appeal to the public... One of these rare people was Gary Cooper, a forever reliable cowboy who remained the strong fairly silent, man of action...

Cooper plays Doc Joe Frail, a frontier doctor running away from a personal tragedy... He now takes his Hippocratic oath with a little gambling and gunfighting in Skull Creek, a wild gold camp in the territory of Montana...

Cooper saves an accused thief from a posse and, after healing the young Rune (Ben Piazza), they become friends... Next the Doc treats a young Swiss girl, Elizatbeth Mahler (Maria Schell), for shock and blindness suffered from exposure to the sun after a stage holdup...

After succeeding in getting her sight back, Elizabeth was already in love with Frail... The doctor tries not to sound his feelings about her... Something was troubling his conscience deeply... He certainly hides a mysterious past...

Frail aids Elizabeth in a grubstake and, with her partners Frenchy and Rune, she soon strikes it rich... Frenchy tries to force his attentions on Elizabeth, but just then Doc Frail rides up...

Karl Malden is excellent as Frenchy, the hypocrite opportunistic, the person without scruples willing to make Elizabeth believes that he cares for her, and is after her love, not after her gold... Malden is very good as a supporting actor... He proved it in "The Gunfighter," with Gregory Peck, in "One-Eyed Jacks," with Marlon Brando, and in "Nevada Smith," with Steve McQueen...

In his film debut, George C. Scott portrays the poisonous bible-punching drunk who incites and excites the whole town to carry Cooper to the hanging tree...

Jerry Livingston's Title Song won an Academy Award Nomination...

---

11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
A Western gem, 24 May 2006

Author: matchettja from Japan

Little known, this Western gem has not attracted the attention or appreciation it deserves. Gary Cooper's Doc Frail is to me the most interesting of his Western heroes, much more complex than the Will Kane of "High Noon." He is a man of sharp contrast, kind but domineering, compassionate but unyielding, a healer but a killer, strong but at the same time frail. He draws people towards him, only to keep them at a distance when they get too close because of a tragic incident in his past, one he can neither forget nor allow to ever happen again. He is a vagabond, moving from gold camp to gold camp to set up his services as a doctor, without hope of ever settling down. Into his life come two key figures bound to change it. One is Rune, a young thief whom he rescues from the hanging tree, and they are bonded together. The other is Elizabeth, a young woman from Switzerland who has come with her father to find a new life in the gold camps. After a stagecoach accident, Doc Frail must cure her, both body and spirit, and she loves him for it, a love he cannot accept. He would send her back to her country; she stubbornly refuses and eventually partners in a gold claim with Frenchy (played by the marvelous Karl Malden), a man with lust in his heart for both gold and women. The emphasis on character lifts this film above the realm of the ordinary. Add to that a memorable title song sung by Marty Robbins, an appealing music score by Max Steiner, a no-nonsense script based on a story by Dorothy Johnson and on location filming in the mountains outside of Yakima, Washington, and what you have is one really fine Western.

---

12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Gary Cooper's Best, 9 February 2002
Author: LACUES (LACUES@netscape.net) from Independence, California

"High Noon", move over. "The Hanging Tree", in my estimation, is by far the better picture. The story, characterizations, acting, and musical score put this movie in the class of "Shane", "The Big Country", and "The Magnificent Seven". Cooper portrays Dr. Joe Frail as only he can. He is perfectly cast as a man with "frail hope" and, yet, has the strength and caring to help and protect others. As others have commented, this film is not even available new in vhs format, let alone dvd. The last time I checked The Western Channel and Turner Classic Movies it was not scheduled for viewing.

If you want to enjoy a realistic story and superb acting from a great cast I recommend the "Hanging Tree."

---

11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
It amazes me...., 27 March 2005

Author: jim6263 from So.California, USA

It's still amazing me that excellent films such as "The Hanging Tree" and Arthur Penn's "Four Friends" (to name but two) are NOT made available on DVD -- esp. LONG before such crap as "My Mom's A Werewolf" (to name but one example)!!! Others commenters here have already summarized the story well, and this is one of the very best and detail-memorable of the western genre, esp. when one discounts the epic westerns and certainly one of Cooper's best. Co-star Karl Malden is excellent as always, and this is the time I recall noticing George C. Scott on film, in a small but scenery chewing role. I've not seen this film in at least 10~15 years, sad to say, but I hope to again. MAKE A DVD OF THIS FILM!!!

---

12 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
A first rate classic unavailable movie, 23 January 2004

Author: Ron (johnwayner@intergate.com) from Colorado

Western lovers will appreciate a non corny plot that retains all the heroism of the American western. The location shots are great making you wish the frontier was still open and void of people. Why is this film not available?!!!

---

9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
A sadly overlooked classic western--one of the best!, 14 September 2002
Author: Schilling, Scott A. from New Bloomfield, Missouri

This movie should be right up there with "High Noon", "The Searchers", "The Magnificent Seven", and other classic westerns. The cinematography and fantastic outdoor location alone make it a must see. Gary Cooper plays a gun-toting frontier doctor, with a mysterious past, Maria Schell, a determined immigrant, who becomes his patient. Karl Malden, a ruthless miner, who becomes her partner. The supporting cast is excellent, including a very slender young actor by the name of George C. Scott, whose performance is compelling. This is one of Cooper's last movies, and one of his best. I'm not really sure why, but this movie has not been enjoyed as much as it should, or received the praise it deserves. If you're a fan of the genre, and you have not seen this movie, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

---

9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best Westerns. Love Maria Schell. Coop was #1, 27 December 2003

Author: ghallmark612 (ghallmark612@netzero.net) from Las Vegas, Nevada

I loved the movie. Westerns are one of my Favorites. Maria Schell, well I had a crush on her for years after that movie. Gary Cooper was the greatest in all his movie roles. Plus, I was named after him. The musical score of the movie was great and the titled song, a haunting melody.

---

11 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the two top westerns ever., 14 January 2002

Author: stump69 from United States

There are no other western actors to compare with Gary Cooper. His role in High Noon has been conceded to be his best ever. I would put the Hanging Tree right up there at number two. I cannot understand why it is not available on either video of DVD, when High Noon is readily available in any format you want. If it ever becomes available, you will not be disappointed if you rent or buy it. I haven't seen it for so long that I don't remember the details, just that it was a very good film. (No spoilers possible here!).

---

---

Page 1 of 3:

[1] [2] [3]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Ratings	Awards
External reviews	Plot keywords	Main details
Your user comments	Your vote history