HANG 'EM HIGH (1968)

MORGAN'S RATING

In his first American-made western, Clint Eastwood indelibly carves his niche as the quintessential tough guy -- cool-headed, iron-willed and unrelenting in his pursuit of revenge. Oklahoma, 1873. Jed Cooper, mistaken for a rustler and killer, is lynched on the spot by crooked lawman Captain Wilson and a rampaging band of vigilantes. But as Wilson and his gang flee the scene, there's one very important detail they've overlooked: Cooper is still alive! Saved in the nick of time by a sheriff, Cooper takes on the job of deputy marshal in order to bring hard-handed justice to the Oklahoma territory...and to the nine men who "done him wrong."

Clint Eastwood (Marshal Jed Cooper), Inger Stevens (Rachel Warren), Ed Begley (Captain Wilson), Pat Hingle (Judge Adam Fenton), Ben Johnson (Marshal Dave Bliss), Charles McGraw (Sheriff Ray Calhoun), Ruth White (Madame 'Peaches' Sophie), Bruce Dern (Miller), Alan Hale Jr. (Matt Stone), Arlene Golonka (Jennifer), James Wester-field (Prisoner), Dennis Hopper (The Prophet), L.Q. Jones (Loomis), Michael O'Sullivan (Francis Elroy Duffy), Joseph Sirola, James MacArthur (The Preacher), Bob Steele (Jenkins), Bert Freed (Schmidt), Russell Thorson (Maddow), Ned Romero (Charlie Blackfoot), Jonathan Lippe (Tommy), Rick Gates (Ben), Bruce Scott (Billy Joe), Richard Guizon, Tod Andrews (Defense Attorney), Mark Lenard (Prosecutor), Roy Glenn (Guard), Paul Sorenson (Reno).

THE HANGING WAS THE BEST IN TOWN. BUT THEY MADE TWO MISTAKES. THEY HUNG THE WRONG MAN AND THEY DIDN'T FINISH THE JOB.

FACTS

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

RELEASE DATE: August 3rd, 1968 (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $11.0 million (USA) BUDGET: $1.8 million (USA) - Sergio Leone was approached to direct this film, but he turned it down since he was working on Once Upon a Time in the West (1967).

DIRECTOR: Ted Post (Magnum Force). WRITERS: Leonard Freeman and Mel Goldberg. PRODUCER: Leonard Freeman. ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Irving L. Leonard. SUPERVISING PRODUCER: Robert Stambler. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Dominic Frontiere. DISTRIBUTOR: MGM/UA

CRITICAL COMMENTS

QUOTES

"As savage as it is well-made." -- Los Angeles Times

Miller: You ain't never gonna get me back to town alive, boy. Jed Cooper: Then I'll get you there dead...boy.

"Not one of Eastwood's best, but still a good film." -- Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum