The Hangman was released on June 17th, 1959. Directed by Micheal Curtiz and written by Dudley Nichols from a short story by Luke Short, this films tells the story of Marshal Mac Bovard (Robert Taylor), a cynical lawman tasked with bringing a the last of four men suspected of taking part in a bank robbery to justice.
There's a lot of familiar faces in this late 50's western. Robert Taylor, who I complained about in my review of
Quo Vadis, is actually quite good here. Mac Bovard is a really stiff, jaded character, so Taylor's sardonic personality works in a way that it didn't in
Quo Vadis. Playing opposite Taylor is Tina Louise as Selah Jennison, the military widow who he hires to identify the criminal he's looking for. Louise, who I know mainly from growing up with Gilligan's island, also does a good job in this film. Jennison feels really guilty about betraying Bovard's man Butterfield, who was a friend to her after her husband died, but she is conflicted because she wants the reward money in order to escape her hellish life doing laundry at the fort where her husband was formally stationed. This leads to conflict between her and Mac.
Contrasting with Mac is Fess Parker's Sheriff Buck Weston. I grew up watching Parker play Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone and, as with those roles, he is good natured, charismatic, and optimistic in this movie. He refuses to believe that John Bishop (the pseudonym Butterfield has taken on to escape the law) is the man Mac is looking for. As the film goes on Buck begins to pursue Selah, hoping to court her. She feels unsure about this and, in the end after he decides to let Butterfield go, she decides to leave with Mac instead. This doesn't really work for me as their relationship is played more like that of a father and his daughter then two lovers. This made sense to me as the two actors have a 23 year age difference but, I suppose, the studio wanted the typical happy ending, with the two leads getting together romantically, so here we are.
Rounding out the main cast is Jack Lord as John Butterfield/John Bishop. Known mainly for his starring role as Steve Garret in
Hawaii Five-O (a show I'm not familiar with) Lord does a decent enough job as the wanted man who everybody likes, but he makes less of an impact as his costars and feels a little out-of-place, especially with his bleached hair. Also appearing in the film, in smaller roles are Lorne Greene, who any self-respecting Western aficionado knows as Ben Cartwright from
Bonanza, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez (Carlos from
Rio Bravo) and Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou from
The Andy Griffith Show).
Dudley Nichols script, outside of the overly sappy ending, is pretty solid. We understand why Mac has become so jaded (his brother was murdered a long time ago, which lead him to become a Marshall and seek vengeance) but we like him enough that we want him to regain some optimism and, interestingly, he wants the same thing himself. While waiting for Selah to arrive in town, he confesses to Buck that he secretly hopes she won't show up, that she has too much integrity to betray a friend. By allowing Butterfield to escape in the end, Bovard regains a sense of trust in humanity. Maybe, like everyone in town seems to believe, Butterfield is actually a good person and got caught up in the bank robbery out of ignorance and desperation. It's good stuff. There's also a scene where Selah walks through the town in a new dress while all the men gawk at her. The less said about that the better.
Micheal Curtiz's direction is really confident and assured. The way he, and so many other directors from this period, effortlessly blocks his shots is all but a lost art nowadays. There are a few jarring edits and Harry Sukman's score is a little over dramatic at times but, overall, the film making is pretty consistent.
With a solid script, assured direction and a first-rate cast
The Hangman is something of an underrated gem. It's not a great western but it's definitely worth checking out.
Score: 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment