Hang 'Em High [Blu-ray]

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.

This is a must see Clint Eastwood western.

PHOTOS 1 & 2: Bob Steele in ‘Hang ‘em High’ and in the 1930s PHOTOS 3 & 4: Charles McGraw in ‘Hang ‘em High’ and in 1949 In 2011 MGM Home Video issued Clint Eastwood’s first American western on Blu-Ray: Hang 'Em High [Blu-ray ] I haven’t seen it, but some Amazon reviewers complained that the picture was not restored for Blu-Ray release, and was basically just a reissue of the old DVD master. The new 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray of ‘Hang ‘em High’ from Shout does not claim to be newly restored, but I have seen it and can confirm that the picture looks quite good on my 40 inch screen. There are a few differences: the MGM blu-ray had English SDH and Spanish subtitles, the Shout 50th Anniversary blu-ray only has English SDH subtitles. The MGM blu-ray had audio in 5.1 DTS-HD surround or in the original mono. The new 50th Anniversary blu-ray has audio in 5.1 DTS-HD surround or in 2.0-HD stereo (excellent stereo sound - though released in mono in 1968, I am guessing that unused music and sound effect tracks tracks survive and were used for the blu-ray). The MGM blu-ray had NO bonus features. The Shout 50th Anniversary Edition has two separate full-length audio commentaries + the original 1968 Warner Brothers’ preview of coming attractions. WARNING: DO NOT VIEW THE PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE VIEWED THE MOVIE. It has a HORRIBLE spoiler that will completely ruin the big surprise that comes in chapter 11 of the blu-ray. What was Warner Brothers thinking? DON’T WATCH IT! Both 50th Anniversary audio commentaries are well-done, though screenwriter Lem Dobbs can’t tell the difference between a lamb and a cow. The 50th Anniversary blu-ray comes with a reversible cover (photos 5 & 6). In baseball, the Minor Leagues are the training ground for the Major Leagues Back in the 1950’s and ‘60s, Warner Brothers had their own Minor League: Television. Television was viewed as a training ground for Movie stardom. Most actors never made the transition, but there were exceptions. Clint Eastwood, star of “Rawhide”, was the most spectacular exception. Can you name the others? – see the footnote at the end of this review.* ‘Hang ‘em High’ was actually Clint Eastwood’s fourth starring film. While his TV show was on hiatus, Sergio Leone invited Eastwood to star in his Italian “man with no name” trilogy: ‘A Fistful of Dollars’-1964, ‘For a Few Dollars More’-1965, ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’-1966. These films were not released in America until after “Rawhide”s cancellation. Their popularity with American audiences took Warner Brothers completely by surprise. The studio reacted quickly by signing Eastwood to his first starring role in an American film. To save time, Warner hired TV director Ted Post, director of 24 episodes of “Rawhide”, and someone Eastwood was comfortable working with, to direct ‘Hang ‘em High’. The picture was a hit, and led to Eastwood co-starring with Richard Burton in ‘Where Eagles Dare’ later that year (his first prestige film). ‘Hang ‘em High’ was filmed in Hollywood on MGM’s Western set - the film looks like an American Western. The only nod to Leone’s Italian trilogy is the music by Dominic Frontierre which imitates (or is an homage to) Ennio Morricone, plus the tiny cigars that Eastwood smokes (he also wears the same gun belt he wore in the Italian films). ‘Hang ‘em High’ looks good and has the greatest supporting cast of any Eastwood western: --- Ed Begley --- Ben Johnson (one year before ‘The Wild Bunch’) --- Bruce Dern at his weaseliest --- Dennis Hopper at his squirreliest (one year before ‘Easy Rider’) --- Pat Hingle --- Alan Hale Jr. (his first film after “Gilligan’s Island’ was cancelled) --- L.Q. Jones + two Legends of Hollywood, neither of whom had aged well: --- Bob Steele: the B-Movie western star appeared in 242 films between 1920 and 1974 (photos 1 & 2) --- Charles McGraw: the Film Noir leading man played both detectives and crooks in 139 films between 1942 and 1977 (photos 3 & 4) --- Inger Stevens is officially listed as the leading lady, but she doesn’t have much to do except look enigmatic. Clint Eastwood’s “Angel of Death” trilogy: ‘Hang ‘em High’ (1968), ‘High Plains Drifter’ (1973), ‘Pale Rider’ (1985) - in each film the Clint Eastwood character is believed to be dead, but comes back to life to seek justice/vengeance. * Stars of TV Westerns who became Movie Stars: --- Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates in “Rawhide” (1959-1965) --- Steve McQueen as Josh Randall in “Wanted Dead or Alive” (1958-1961) --- James Garner as Bret Maverick in “Maverick” (1957-1960) --- Roger Moore as Beau Maverick in “Maverick” (1960-1962) - James Garner quit the show after three seasons and was replaced by cousin Beau from England (I was eleven years old and was devastated). Stars of TV Westerns who did not become Movie Stars: --- Eric Fleming, Clint Eastwood’s co-star on “Rawhide” (the poor guy drowned while filming a TV show the year after “Rawhide” was cancelled). --- James Arness in “Gunsmoke” (1955-1975) --- Clint Walker in “Cheyenne” (1955-1963) - R.I.P 2018 - this town ain’t big enough for two Clints. --- Ty Hardin in “Bronco” (1958-1962) --- Chuck Connors in the “Rifleman” (1958-1963) --- Nick Adams in “The Rebel” (1959-1961) - the least P.C. show on television - his death in 1968 was ruled a suicide (or was it?) --- Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon in “Bonanza” (1959-73)

An innocent man is lynched but lives to become a deputy marshal who tracks down the men who tried to kill him. There are some philosophical overtones about the nature and meaning of justice, but they don't get in the way of the action. Lots of familiar faces round out the cast with solid performances including Ben Johson and the great western star Bob Steele.

I loved this show. My dad and I have watched he’d this so many times it’s not possible to say how many times. But we loved it and it was always a good movie.

Clint is always good

I first saw "Hang 'Em High" in the theater when I was 19. Well, I'm 67 now and I got on DVD and I appreciate it even more. It was released in the summer of 1968, just months after Clint Eastwood's first big hit "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." He plays Jed Cooper, a former Deputy U.S. Marshal in the Oklahoma territory in 1889. In the the opening of the film, he's hung by a bunch of vigilantes for cattle rustling. He's soon found by a deputy and cut down from the tree. He's an innocent man. He soon recovers , gets his old job back as a deputy U. S. Marshal and goes after the men who lynched him. Directed by Ted Post ,who directed some episodes of Eastwood's CBS western series "Rawhide." He does a fine job here. It features the lovely Inger Stevens as his leading lady in one of her final roles. And a good score by Dominic Frontiere. A hit at the box-office and got good ratings when it was first broadcast on the ABC network. The tagline for the movie poster read..... " The hanging was the best show in town. They made two mistakes. They hung the wrong man. And they didn't finish the job."

Hang 'Em High was the first Hollywood film that Clint Eastwood starred in as the leading man. It followed up his three, "Spaghetti Westerns," made with Sergio Leone, and the style of those films is adapted somewhat to the more traditional Hollywood Western style. You could call this one a bit of a hybrid between those two styles. The script is excellent, the cast is fantastic, and the direction is solid. This is a great Western. The Blu Ray is very good. The DVD was a bit disappointing with colors that smeared a little, lots of print damage and dust, and a picture that wasn't very crisp and clear. The Blu Ray, on the other hand, has very little of that print damage remaining. The colors are sharp and don't bleed. The picture is significantly crisper and cleaner. The improvement is easily noticeable when compared back to back. If you like Clint Eastwood or Westerns (and especially if you like both), then this movie is highly recommended. (And the Blu Ray comes with the DVD as a bonus in case you want to watch it in a room where you don't have a Blu Ray player yet.)