Hang 'em High (1968) on Netflix
Jed Cooper, a retired lawman, is accused of cattle rustling by nine men in Oklahoma Territory. They hang him, and Marshal Dave Bliss arrives and takes him to Fort Grant.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.0/1048,989 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes92%
Trailer
Plot summary
In Oklahoma Territory, a posse of nine men stops retired lawman Jed Cooper and accuses him of stealing the cattle he is driving. The herd's owner has been murdered, and Cooper cannot show a legitimate bill of sale, so Captain Wilson and the others hang him despite Jenkins's objection. Marshal Dave Bliss finds him and brings him to Fort Grant, where the actual rustler has been caught and hanged and Judge Adam Fenton sets Cooper free. Fenton warns him against taking revenge, offering him a marshal's job instead and telling him to bring the lynchers in for trial. Cooper accepts.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Hang 'em High (1968)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Hang 'Em High set a United Artists record: it took $5,241 on its opening day in Baltimore alone and became the studio's biggest ever opening, beating every James Bond film released up to then.
- Clint Eastwood complained to the producers that the scene where the hero is attacked by his enemies before the six-man hanging would not be believable if set in a saloon, so they agreed to add Cooper taking a prostitute upstairs during the hanging and move the attack to the bordello's bar.
- Pat Hingle's fictional judge in Hang 'Em High mirrors the real Isaac C. Parker, the "Hanging Judge" who sentenced many men to death as a federal judge in Arkansas in the late 1800s, and the film's Fort Grant stands for Parker's Fort Smith.
- Director Ted Post arranged for Inger Stevens, known for The Farmer's Daughter, to play the role of Rachel Warren; she had not heard of Clint Eastwood or Sergio Leone at the time, but liked Eastwood instantly and accepted.
- The William Morris Agency wanted Clint Eastwood to star in the bigger picture Mackenna's Gold with Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif and Telly Savalas, but he did not approve and preferred the script for Hang 'Em High.
- Composer Dominic Frontiere was given just eight days to write an Ennio Morricone-type score, and his theme was covered many times, by artists ranging from Hugo Montenegro to Booker T and the M.G.s.
- Hang 'Em High was the first production of The Malpaso Company, Clint Eastwood's own company, and the first American film in which he had a leading role.
