Hang 'Em High (1968)

Director:

Ted Post

Writers:

Leonard Freeman (written by) and
Mel Goldberg (written by)

Release Date:

3 August 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Western

Tagline:

The hanging was the best show in town. But they made two mistakes. They hung the wrong man and they didn't finish the job.

Plot:

When an innocent man barely survives a lynching, he returns as a lawman determined to bring the vigilantes to justice.

Plot Keywords:

Judge | Marshal | Rustling | Justice | Murder

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Marshal Jed Cooper
Inger Stevens	...	Rachel Warren
Ed Begley	...	Captain Wilson, Cooper Hanging Party
Pat Hingle	...	Judge Fenton
Ben Johnson	...	Marshal Dave Bliss
Charles McGraw	...	Sheriff Ray Calhoun, Red Creek
Ruth White	...	Madame 'Peaches' Sophie
Bruce Dern	...	Miller, One of the 3 rustlers, and murderer
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Matt Stone, Cooper Hanging Party
Arlene Golonka	...	Jennifer, the Prostitute
James Westerfield	...	Prisoner
Dennis Hopper	...	The Prophet
L.Q. Jones	...	Loomis, Cooper Hanging Party
Michael O'Sullivan	...	Francis Elroy Duffy, Prisoner
Joseph Sirola	...	Reno, Cooper Hanging Party
James MacArthur	...	The Preacher
Bob Steele	...	Jenkins, Cooper Hanging Party
Bert Freed	...	Schmidt, the Hangman
Russell Thorson	...	Maddow, Cooper Hanging Party (as Russell Thorsen)
Ned Romero	...	Charlie Blackfoot, Cooper Hanging Party
Jonathan Lippe	...	Tommy, Cooper Hanging Party
Richard Gates	...	Ben, Billy Joe's Brother (as Rick Gates)
Bruce Scott	...	Billy Joe, Ben's Brother
Richard Guizon
Tod Andrews	...	Defense Attorney
Mark Lenard	...	Prosecutor
Roy Glenn	...	Guard
Paul Sorensen	...	Reno (as Paul Sorenson)
Richard Angarola
Larry J. Blake	...	Drinking Spectator-to-Be (as Larry Blake)
Ted Thorpe
Robert Jones
Barry Cahill
John Wesley
Dennis Dengate
Bill Zuckert	...	Sheriff
Hal England
Robert Williams	...	Elwood, the Gravedigger (as Robert B. Williams)
Tony Di Milo		(as Tony di Milo)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Cochran	...	Jailer (uncredited)
Herbert Ellis	...	Swede (uncredited)
Joel Fluellen	...	Prisoner wagon driver (uncredited)
Jack Ging	...	Marshal Hayes (uncredited)

Directed by
Ted Post

Writing credits
Leonard Freeman		(written by) and
Mel Goldberg		(written by)

Produced by
Leonard Freeman	....	producer
Irving L. Leonard	....	associate producer (as Irving Leonard)
Robert Stambler	....	supervising producer

Original Music by
Dominic Frontiere

Cinematography by
Richard H. Kline		(director of photography) (as Richard Kline)
Leonard J. South		(director of photography) (as Leonard South)

Film Editing by
Gene Fowler Jr.

Casting by
Jane Murray

Art Direction by
John B. Goodman		(as John Goodman)

Set Decoration by
Arthur Krams

Makeup Department
Irving Pringle	....	makeup artist
Keester Sweeney	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Frank Mayer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard C. Bennett	....	assistant director (as Richard Bennett)
Donald C. Klune	....	assistant director (as Don Klune)

Art Department
Carl Beondé	....	property master (as Carl Beonde)

Sound Department
Franklin Milton	....	recording supervisor
Al Strasser	....	sound (as Al Strasser Jr.)

Special Effects by
Gene Grigg	....	special effects (as Dewey Grigg)
George Swartz	....	special effects

Stunts
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Walter Scott	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elva Martien	....	wardrobe: women
Gene Murray	....	wardrobe: men
Glenn Wright	....	wardrobe: men (as Glen Wright)

Music Department
John Caper Jr.	....	music supervisor
Igo Kantor	....	music coordinator
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator
John Caper Jr.	....	music editor (uncredited)
Mike Deasy	....	musician (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Don Olds	....	driver captain

Other crew
Karen Hale Wookey	....	script supervisor (as Karen Wookey)
Kenneth Lee	....	wrangler (as Kenny Lee)
Robert aaron Brown	....	gun master (uncredited)
Dominic Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Ruth Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Leonard Freeman Production (co-production)
• Malpaso Company, The (co-production)

Distributors

• United Artists (1968) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1973) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)
• United Artists (1968) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Ocean (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1984) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (Germany) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Edit-Rite  sound effects
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes (uncredited)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Spain:18 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #21776) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (1997) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Leonard Freeman Production

Trivia:

The character of Judge Adam Fenton was based in part on Judge Isaac Parker whose federal court in Fort Smith, Arkansas had jurisdiction over the Oklahoma and Indian Territories.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: On the evening before the hanging of the six prisoners, a man suggests that people have been setting up tents in the "boondocks". "Boondock", derived from the Tagalog bundok is an expression introduced to English by American soldiers in the Phillipenes during World War II, well after the period of this film.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Captain Wilson, Cooper Hanging Party: Alright, drop your gunbelt.
Jed Cooper: What is this all about?
Loomis, Cooper Hanging Party: The captain said to drop your gunbelt.
Captain Wilson, Cooper Hanging Party: Now.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Shanghai Noon (2000)

They Committed Three Mistakes...

While crossing a river with his cattle, the former marshal Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) is surrounded by nine men and accused of killing the rancher that owned the cattle. They leave Cooper hanging on a tree, but he is rescued by Marshal Dave Bliss (Ben Johnson) and brought to Fort Smith to the court of Judge Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle). His innocence is proved and Judge Fenton invites Copper to the position of deputy marshal to help him to implement the law in the large area. Cooper accepts the position and chases the vigilantes with the warrants of Judge Fenton. Meanwhile the leader of the lynchers, Captain Wilson (Ed Begley), realizes that they have committed three mistakes: they returned the money Jed Cooper had paid for the cattle expecting to get rid off him; they hung an innocent man; and they did not complete their task.

"Hang' Em High" is a different western disclosing a period when law and justice were in the beginning of implementation in the Wild West. The characters performed by Clint Eastwood and Pat Hingle have an interesting duel, with Marshal Jed Cooper following the traditional procedure of justice by his own hands, while Judge Fenton is concerned in introducing law and order to a wild place. The result is a good Western, but inferior to Sergio Leone's trilogy. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Marca da Forca" ("The Mark of the Hanging")