Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

A Masterpiece!

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This film is a meeting of a lot different productions and it i the first film with credit to the newly formed Malpaso production company by Eastwood. Co-Produced with Leonard Freemans Company, the film has so many folks from the 2 companies that the cast ranges from people from Rawhide through Hawaii Five-O and beyond. The shock of the opening sequence with a Ed Begley led group hanging Eastwood, and then his savior throwing him into a wagon loaded with western dregs is quite a trip. While not as shocking as Eastwood would become later in terms of violence, the gallows domination of the film is firmly established. There are signs of choppy TV production like the opening sequence where Eastwood saves the calf and then the sudden move from a wet horse and Eastwood in the water to being on land and both Clint and his horse being totally dry is a small sign of some of the small screen sequencing that you have to pass over. The quality of the cast helps you do just that.Iger Stevens has quite a role in this one. The prime actress looking for certain deg and revenge, does not really find them. Eventually she helps heal Eastwood after he is shot up again by the Begley led noose party. Eastwood is a lot worse for the wear in this movie.Pat Hingle, an excellent character actor is the hanging judge in this one and he is a major influence on Eastwood's revenge journey which is different in this one because he has not finished his journey and has unfinished business with Stevens when the movie abruptly ends. While the sequencing is a bit choppy in this movie, the effort of the joint production companies is worth viewing.

Hang Em High (1968)1968 was an important year for Clint, with no Rawhide to fall back on, Clint's future career would be dependant on success with his movie work. He had 3 movies released in 1968, the first of which kept him in the western genre. Plot In A Paragraph: When Jed Cooper (Eastwood) an innocent man survives a lynching, he returns as a lawman determined to bring the vigilantes to justice.Watching this so soon after the previous 3 movies in the genre, it pales massively in comparison!! There is a lot of use of the zoom lens and plenty of dramatic music, and unlike the dollars trilogy there are plenty of women on show. There are a lot of similarities between Marshall Jed Cooper and Harry Callaghan as he must balance his personal impulses and the letter of the law, whilst questioning if he wants the badge at all. He also has no problem with arguing with his superiors.This movie was was the first production of Eastwood's newly formed production company The Malpaso Company, with Clint claiming a quarter of the movies net profits. Of the cast Clint does what Clint does, and he does it well, Inger Stevens is stunning, Ed Begley, Ben Johnson and Charles McGraw are all OK and Bruce Dern pops up in a little role, whilst Dennis Hopper has an even smaller role. It was also the first of many movies Clint made with Pat Hingle. Can I just add, I love Pat Hingle. He will always be my favourite Commissioner Gordon.It's not great by any means, but its watchable and I usually revisit it every couple of years.Sadly, Ed Begley and Inger Stevens died within 2 days of each other in April 1970 in Hollywood. Begley died at age 69 of a heart attack and Stevens at age 35 by suicide.

When Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) is walking along minding his own business when he is stopped by a group of men who accuse him of cattle-rustling. Despite Cooper's protests of innocence, the men decide that he is guilty and sentence him to death by hanging (albeit a private and unsanctioned hanging). However, Cooper survives this hanging and once his innocence has been proved, Judge Fenton (Pat Hingle) makes Cooper a lawmen and tasks him with the job of bringing all the men back to him alive so that they can be brought to justice.Hang 'Em High is another in a long line of Eastwood westerns and to date this is probably the weakest offering that I've seen. The problem I found with this film is that is that the story just wasn't all that engaging. At close to 2 hours it's far too long and I just found that so many elements of the film seemed to be drawn out for no real reason (the scene involving a group of men being hung about halfway through the film is a case in point). It also wasn't particularly exciting or entertaining and Eastwood is saddled here with a character that has no real character - no one-liners or humorous moments. This all just made the film rather dull. Director Ted Post also showed a lot of close-ups of several cast members which may have been the 'in thing' and I suppose it was intended to create suspense and tension, but looking at it today it looks ridiculous and rather cheesy.Where this film does deserve some praise is in the way that the writers expose some of the flaws in the justice system. Cooper is also a man that finds that his heart is telling him to get revenge on the men that left him for dead, but finds his head and conscience is telling him that they should be brought to justice and let the justice system decide their fate. This is an interesting aspect to the story which sadly for me didn't quite get enough focus.What makes this film slightly more disappointing is the final showdown which lacked any sort of intensity and was very anti-climactic.Taking everything into account, Hang 'Em High is an underwhelming and slightly disappointing film that just isn't as compelling or entertaining as many of Eastwood's other westerns.

(45%) With a plot thinner than good old Clint himself, its fairly standard direction, and characters we've all seen many times before in many different movies, this is some largely overrated wild west set fluff. It is a well made production, and the performances are fine, but the movie boils down to Clint arresting (yes arresting) a bunch of men that tired to kill him, he does, they get hung or shot, the end. The BBFC awarded this film an 18 certificate, I cannot see why myself, besides some men being hung nothing else is even worthy of a PG. Fans of Clint should give this a go, but I doubt I'll ever want to watch it again.