Western Wednesdays: Hang Em' High (1968)

      Hang Em' High was released on July 31st, 1968. Directed by Ted Post it stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper, a cattle driver who is falsely accused of murder and lynched by a posse of nine men. Saved from death by Federal Marshal Dave Bliss (Ben Johnson), Cooper is made a Deputy Marshall by Judge Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle) and sets out to find the men who tried to hang him and bring them to justice.

     Hang Em' High is a fairly ambitious western. It attempts to balance themes concerning justice, vengeance, and the law. Jed Cooper isn't really interested in upholding the law, he simply wants retribution against the men who hung him. He, like them, wants to take the law into his own hands. The difference is he wears a badge. He is backed up by the authority of the law, represented by Judge Fenton, and this is where his character's central conflict arises. Fenton is a bit of an authoritarian. He is the supreme arbiter of the law and criminals live or die according to his whims. His is a primitive forerunner to the law of civilization. The two men clash when Fenton condemns two cattle rustlers, who Cooper feels are worthy of reprieve, to death. He tells Cooper, "if there's no justice in Fort Grant, Cooper, there will be no statehood for this territory." This evokes the classic western theme of the necessity of violence to make way for civilization, in this case putting in a somewhat subversive light. The film's ending, which I won't spoil for those who haven't seen it, is very ambiguous and the conflict between justice and vengeance is never satisfactorily resolved. This impressed me.

      Hang Em' High is a little heavy handed at times and is also lacking in humor and levity. It's definitely a dark film, given its themes and a little black humor, as is common in many of Eastwood's later films, would have been welcome. There is a romantic subplot involving Cooper and Rachel Warren (Inger Stevens), a local shopkeeper looking for her husband's killer among the Judge Fenton's prisoners. I also found the inciting incident of the film a little shaky. Cooper is hanged after Joe Hanson, the man who he purchased his cattle from, is brutally murdered. The lynchers assume that Cooper killed him and stole his cattle and they ask him to describe Hanson but the description he gives doesn't match that of the murdered man. While watching this scene I immediately deduced that the real murderer must have pretended to be Hanson and then sold the cattle to Cooper. After all if Cooper had killed Hanson, why would he lie about his appearance. I suppose one could argue that the men in the lynching party are caught up in the moment and not thinking clearly but surely at least one of them must have some doubts? It's not awful but it is a little contrived.

     Ted Post's direction is very competent and restrained. The man was not a audacious filmmaker by any means but he clearly understands the basic language of cinema and how to employ it effectively. Similarly the performances, though not groundbreaking, are all pretty solid. Eastwood carries the film with his usual taciturn, stoic personality. His Jed Cooper is a somewhat inscrutable character, one who is driven by vengeance but not unaffected by compassion and conscience. Pat Hingle is, at times, over-the-top as the self righteous Judge Fenton. Inger Stevens does her best as the underwritten Rachel Warren, imbuing her with a real sense of  pathos and bitterness. Ben Johnson is great as always in his brief but memorable role. The score by Dominic Frontiere, who is mainly distinguished for his TV work (The Outer Limits, The Rat Patrol) is also quite good. The main theme (which became a top-ten hit when covered by Booker T. & the M.G.'s) is incredibly memorable and contributes greatly to the films heavy, oppressive tone.

     Hang Em' High is far from perfect but it does juggle some really interesting thematic ideas and features solid performances, a memorable score and proficient direction from Ted Post.

Score: 8/10