Sunday, April 26, 2015

Hang 'Em High [M]


Whilst on the road herding his new group of cattle home, Jed Cooper is surrounded by a band of vigilante justice-seekers who incorrectly accuse him of cattle rustling and murder and they hang from a tree and leave him for dead. But he doesn’t die. A local lawman cuts him loose and takes him to the nearest town where his guilt or innocence is to be decided by the judge. When his story checks out and he’s freed, he returns to his previous job as a lawman and becomes Marshall of the town, on the proviso that he can hunt down the men who hung him and bring them to justice. 

Whilst the theme to The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly might terrify me to no end, it hasn’t dampened the appeal of the Western or the undeniable boss-ness of Clint Eastwood. Hang ‘Em High is a classic revenge story in a very exciting and conducive setting and which takes a really ethical turn and ends on an interesting note. It’s not a wholly significant piece of cinematic history, but it’s a film with undeniable appeal and it delivers a quite enjoyable viewing experience. 

Whilst on the road herding his new group of cattle home, Jed Cooper is surrounded by a band of vigilante justice-seekers who incorrectly accuse him of cattle rustling and murder and they hang from a tree and leave him for dead. But he doesn’t die. A local lawman cuts him loose and takes him to the nearest town where his guilt or innocence is to be decided by the judge. When his story checks out and he’s freed, he returns to his previous job as a lawman and becomes Marshall of the town, on the proviso that he can hunt down the men who hung him and bring them to justice. 

Essentially, this movie is a revenge story, and a very strongly founded and classic one at that. The harsh dusty Western setting is the perfect genre for it: really conducive to the story and it’s a great backdrop for the coolness, machoness, drama, and indeed the more gory parts. There is something about blood mixed with sharp grains of sand that really creates the shivers! Maybe because it’s so sensory: you can just imagine, almost feel the stings and the discomfort of having sand grate against tender and cut flesh! 
What I really liked about the story was how it took a turn for the ethical and it wasn’t just about a falsely accused man out to round up his accusers. Over the course of the movie, questions about justice and what is truly just and right and fair and fitting get raised and explored and challenged and it serves the story very well by making it stand aside from other vendetta tales. 
Clint Eastwood is, well, he’s Clint Eastwood. I mean, it cannot be denied that the guy is pretty boss! He’s not just delivering a macho and cool customer Western performance, but also one that goes through real subtle changes and transformations. They’re so subtle in fact that you hardly see them. 
Starring Inger Stevens, Ed Begley, Pat Hingle, Ben Johnson, Charles McGraw, Ruth White, Bruce Dern, Alan Hale Jr., Arlene Golonka, Dennis Hopper, L. Q. Jones, Michael O’Sullivan, and Joseph Sirola, Hang ‘Em High is an engaging vendetta tale that holds its ground apart from other stories of its kind. Filled with violence, action, drama, romance, conflicts, and deep questions of ethics and justice, it’s a movie that I was pleasantly surprised with. 

No comments:

Post a Comment