Hang 'em High

So..What's our boy Clint up to in this great western? Well, he gets beat up, strung up, fed up, shot up(all very tough to take for the Eastwood fan), and then hung up on the beautiful Inger Stevens.

Eastwood plays Jed Cooper, an ex-lawman, now looking to get into the cattle business.After purchasing his cattle, he is mistaken for a rustler and murderer by nine very angry men. They take the law into their own hands,they lynch him and then leave him for dead.(No spoilers here folks, this all happens in the first 5 minutes!)Their actions will come back to haunt them though...

A lawman finds Cooper in the nick of time, cuts him down and brings him before a tough judge. After being found innocent,he puts the badge back on and goes after these vigilantes with a vengance.He is to bring these guys back alive(Yeah Right!) so they can recieve the justice due to them.There are lots of great western action and tension filled moments as he hunts them down and of course some romance, as Cooper falls for Rachel(Stevens),another who is hunting her own ghosts.

This was Eastwood's first American made western. Although you may see shades of the "Fistful of Dollars" trilogy in Clint's character, this is a great western story in itself. His costars in this one are legendary western actors themselves. To name a few there's Ben Johnson, Ed Begley, Bruce Dern and Pat Hingle.Some other notables to watch for are Alan Hale Jr., LQ Jones, Dennis Hopper, James MacArthur and Arlene Golonka.It was directed by Ted Post,and has a great score by Dominic Frontiere.

The film made in 1968 is a decent transfer to this DVD. The Picture is presented in widescreen, which shows off the nice western cinematography(or standard if you prefer). It's a nice clear picture and the colors are very good for a film of this age.The sound, although not bad, was a bit disapointing. It's in Dolby, but in mono(this was my only reason for 4 stars),and so many of the films of this era are at least in stereo now.Even with that it was still a good transfer and enjoyable to watch.There are no special features to speak of, but it does come with an informative booklet, the film may be viewed in French and has subtitles in French, English and Spanish. It also has the original theatrical trailer.

"We all have our ghosts...." Rachel to Jed....enjoy..Laurie


Hang 'em High - Eastwood's excellent first American western!   April 6, 2003
K. Wyatt (St. Louis, MO United States)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

Surprisingly enough, I'd never seen this Clint Eastwood masterpiece before. This was a regrettable mistake as it is a great western. Hang `em High is Clint Eastwood's first American "spaghetti" western and undoubtedly the one that furthered his launch into mega stardom. Upon excitedly opening the DVD case and placing the DVD into the player, one discovers that the only special feature is a theatrical trailer. This is fine, as one doesn't truly purchase these DVD's for special features as much as they do for the movie. While watching the theatrical trailer, I got the impression that this movie seemed as though it might lack the "true grit" style of his previous spaghetti westerns; this impression couldn't have been farther off though. Hang `em High has a truly well written script and is played perfectly by all involved.

The premise:

Clint Eastwood plays Jed Cooper, a former law man from St. Louis, MO. As the movie begins, we see him herding cattle past a river and he's approached by nine riders. We soon learn that Jed thought he'd purchased these cattle honestly, but the person he bought them from was a criminal and now Jed's going to pay for it because these nine riders are a lynch mob and they intend to hang Jed.

Fortunately for Jed, a law man comes by and cuts him down from the tree before he dies and throws him in the wagon with a bunch of other criminals headed towards the only court in the Oklahoma territory and run by the "Hanging Judge." As luck would have it though, his story checks out and the judge offers him a job as a Federal Marshal. What follows is a great western filled with Clint Eastwood's "true grit" western hero style as he sets out for vengeance upon those who attempted but failed to hang him.

I would highly recommend this outstanding western for those who favor this genre heavily or casually and especially for those who are Eastwood fans! {ssintrepid}


beware of who you buy your livestock from   August 15, 2000
carl womack (north carolina)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

In this film, Clint Eastwood plays a rancher who unknowingly buys stolen livestock. Soon, he meets up with those who knew the real owner, and is given a dose of lynch mob justice. Out of town and out in the country, they throw a rope over a tree limb and hang the innocent rancher. Once they leave, a sheriff happens by and discovers him swinging in the air. He stops and saves his life, but not knowing why he was hanged, the sheriff takes him to the local jail. Before long, the wronged rancher is wearing a star of his own and rides out looking for the men who hanged him. Only difference is he is ordered to try and bring the men into justice legally. This picture is lined with an all-star cast including Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern, and Alan Hale Jr.,.


Great Western!   November 30, 2002
Eric V. Moye (New York, by way of Dallas)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Along with the Sergio Leone trilogy, this movie helped make the Clint Eastwood legend. It is the simplest story line (after love) - revenge. Eastwood is an everyman, just a rancher. He buys some cattle from a passing drive, only to learn they are stolen. The true owners come along, and hang him before the truth can be ascertained. A passing lawman finds him swinging from a tree, saves his life and puts him in a jail wagon until his story can be figured out. The rest of the movie is Eastwood's tracking down those bad guys (not relevant is the fact that for the most part they are "good and true citizens") and bringing them to justice; either at the jailhouse or by his bullets. And Eastwood revenge is something else - he even shoots the dog!

Eastwood's character, Marshall Cooper is another strong and silent type, just like "The Man With No Name" whom we have come to expect in the Leone westerns. Unlike the spaghetti westerns, though, this time while he is again basically a good guy, he is now on the establishment side.

Eastwood is joined by a positively fabulous supporting cast: Western veterans Ben Johnson and Ed Begley, Pat Hingle as a true hangin' judge, Dennis Hopper (who is such a psycho even then, we are glad to see that he is the first guy killed in the film), Bruce Dern, L.Q. Jones. Surprising appearances are entered by Gilligan's Skipper, Alan Hale and Steve McGarrett's Five-0 sidekick "Dano", James McArthur. And for the true Star Trek cognoscenti, we have an appearance by Mark Leonard, who gave up his job as Oklahoma Territory Prosecuting Attorney to become Sarek, a/k/a Father of Spock.

Unlike some other reviewers, I found the more polished (as opposed to the Leone western trilogy) soundtrack superior to the movies which had preceded it. I also thought the cinematography supeerior here, with some breathtaking vistas.

Lots of reviewers dog this one out for not being up to the standards of the Leone trilogy. However, I think it is their equal, because the characters have more depth. Maybe I am just not the fan of minimalist genre of S. Leone. Nonetheless, I particularly find the bad guys are more complex than any in the spaghetti westerns, and I find this more pleasing.

It is one of my very favorite shoot-em-ups. As reviewer L.S.W. says, western fans need this movie.


Not Clint's Best   February 2, 2000
8 out of 13 found this review helpful

Predictable story, poor quality DVD. It could have been a glitch in my disc, but I had a fuzzy picture (esp. during close-ups) and really bad sound. For ex. the volume had to be turned way up to hear the voices but when the music came in it blew you out! I'm goint to give the blame to MGM for that because I have "The Searchers" on DVD, which is a much older movie, and the picture and sound is much better. As for the story itself, the movie ends unfinished. What about the girl, or the rest of the bad guys? Watch and you'll see for yourself. Or don't watch: Get "High Plains Drifter" or "The Outlaw Josey Wales" if you want to see Clint at his best taking on the western frontier and flat out kickin' some a--.