Hang 'Em High
Encyclopedia
Hang 'Em High is a 1968 American Western film
directed by Ted Post
and produced and co-written by Leonard Freeman
. It stars Clint Eastwood
as Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives a lynching
, Inger Stevens
as a widow who helps him, Ed Begley
as the leader of the gang that lynched him, and Pat Hingle
as the judge who hires Jed as a US Marshal.
Hang 'Em High was the first production of The Malpaso Company, Clint Eastwood
's own production company.
In the film, actor Pat Hingle
portrays a fictional judge
who mirrors the true life Judge Isaac Parker
, who was labeled "The Hanging Judge" due to the large number of men he had executed during his service as District Judge. The film also depicts the dangers of serving as a US Marshal or Deputy US Marshal during that period, as large numbers of Marshals were killed while serving under Parker. In the film, the fictional Fort Grant, the base for operations for that District Judge seat, is also a mirror of the factual Fort Smith, Arkansas
, where Judge Parker's court
was located. This was the same Judge Parker in the John Wayne movie "True Grit".
in 1889. It describes the efforts of Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood
) to bring the men who tried to lynch
him to justice. The men are Capt. Wilson (Ed Begley
), Reno (Joseph Sirola), Miller (Bruce Dern
), Jenkins (Bob Steele
), Stone (Alan Hale Jr.), Charlie Blackfoot (Ned Romero
), Maddow (Russell Thorson
), Tommy (Jonathan Lippe), and Loomis (L.Q. Jones).
Cooper drives a small herd of cattle across a stream. When the men in a posse
surround him, he shows them a receipt for the cattle, but the man he bought them from was a rustler who killed the herd's owner. Cooper explains that he knew nothing about the murder, but only Jenkins expresses doubts about his guilt. After Reno takes Cooper's saddle and Miller takes his wallet, the men hang him from a tree and ride away, leaving him for dead.
Federal Marshal Dave Bliss (Ben Johnson
) sees Cooper and cuts him down while he is still alive, then takes him to Fort Grant, where the territorial judge
, Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle
), determines that Cooper is innocent, sets him free, and warns him not to become a vigilante
. As an alternative, Fenton offers Cooper a job as a marshal. Cooper accepts, and Fenton warns him not to kill the men who lynched him.
One day, Cooper sees his saddle on a horse in front of a small-town saloon. He finds Reno inside and tries to arrest him, but Reno reaches for his gun, forcing Cooper to shoot him dead. When word of this becomes public, Jenkins turns himself in and provides the names of the rest of the posse. Cooper finds Stone in another town, arrests him, and has the local sheriff, Ray Calhoun (Charles McGraw
), put him in jail. Most of the men Cooper seeks are respected members of the community, but Calhoun honors Cooper's warrants for their arrest.
On their way to arresting the men, Cooper and Calhoun encounter the survivors of a new rustling/murder. Cooper and a posse catch the rustlers, who turn out to be Miller and two teenage brothers, Ben (Richard Gates) and Billy Joe (Bruce Scott). Cooper takes them to Fort Grant single-handedly after refusing to let the posse lynch them. On the way, Ben and Billy Joe insist that Miller was the murderer. Miller catches Cooper off guard and attacks him, but Cooper overpowers and subdues him while the brothers watch.
Fenton sentences all three rustlers to be hanged, despite Cooper's defense of the teenagers. Fenton insists that the public will resort to lynching if they see rustlers going unpunished, threatening Oklahoma's bid for statehood. Some time later, Calhoun arrives at Fort Grant and pays Cooper for his cattle. He is trying to bribe Cooper into leaving the rest of the men who lynched him alone, but Cooper makes it clear that he still intends to arrest them. With the bribe rejected, Blackfoot and Maddow flee, while Tommy and Loomis remain loyal to Wilson, who has decided to kill Cooper.
At Fort Grant, Wilson, Loomis, and Tommy shoot Cooper up while most of the town watches the hanging of Miller, Ben, Billy Joe, and three other men. Cooper survives and is slowly nursed back to health by Rachel Warren (Inger Stevens
). At Wilson's ranch, he kills Tommy and Loomis, and Wilson hangs himself. At Fort Grant again, Cooper threatens to quit unless Fenton releases Jenkins, who is both contrite and seriously ill. Fenton again insists that justice must be served, but he agrees to pardon Jenkins. Cooper agrees to continue as a marshal, and Fenton gives him warrants for Blackfoot and Maddow.
. However, the William Morris Agency had wanted him to star in a bigger picture, Mackenna's Gold
with a cast of notable actors such as Gregory Peck
, Omar Sharif
and Telly Savalas
. Eastwood, however, did not approve and preferred the script for Hang 'Em High but had one complaint which he voiced to the producers; the scene before the first hanging, where the hero is attacked by the enemies. Eastwood believed that the scene would not be suitable in a saloon and they eventually agreed to introduce a whore scene in which the attack takes place afterwards as Eastwood enters the bar. Eastwood signed for the film with a salary of $400,000 and 25% of the net earnings to the film, playing the character of Cooper, a man accused by vigilantes of a cow baron's murder and lynched and left for dead and later seeks revenge.
With the wealth generated by the Dollars trilogy, Leonard helped set up a new production company for Eastwood, Malpaso Productions
, something he had long yearned for and was named after a river on Eastwood's property in Monterey County. Leonard became the company's president and arranged for Hang 'Em High to be a joint production with United Artists. Directors Robert Aldrich
and John Sturges
were considered for the director's helm, but on the request of Eastwood, old friend Ted Post
was brought in to direct, against the wishes of producer Leonard Freeman
, who Eastwood had urged away. Post was important in casting for the film and arranged for Inger Stevens
of The Farmer's Daughter
fame to play the role of Rachel Warren and had not heard of Eastwood or Sergio Leone at the time but instantly took a liking to Clint and accepted. Pat Hingle
, Dennis Hopper
, Ed Begley
, Bruce Dern
and James MacArthur
were also cast.
area of New Mexico
. Additional scenes were shot at White Sands
and in the interiors were shot in MGM studios. The opening lynching scene was filmed next to the Rio Grande River. Eastwood had considerable leeway in the production, especially in the script which was altered in parts such as the dialogue and setting of the bar room scene to his liking. The film marked the later and final movie appearances of both Ed Begley
and Inger Stevens
, who did movies and TV: in April 1970, two years after this film's release, Ed Begley died of heart failure. Inger Stevens joined him when the month ended, after a drug overdose.
alone, it became the biggest United Artists opening in history, exceeding all of the James Bond films at that time. It debuted at number five on Variety's weekly survey of top films and had made its money back within two weeks of screening. It eventually grossed $11 million in the U.S. It was widely praised by critics including Arthur Winsten of the New York Post
who described Hang 'Em High as "A Western of quality, courage, danger and excitement". Variety gave the film a negative review, calling it "a poor American-made imitation of a poor Italian-made imitation of an American-made western."
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
directed by Ted Post
Ted Post
Ted Post is an American TV and film director.Born in Brooklyn, New York, he started his career in show business in 1938 working as an usher at Loew's Pitkin Theater. He abandoned plans to become an actor after training with Tamara Daykarhanova, and turned to directing summer theater...
and produced and co-written by Leonard Freeman
Leonard Freeman
Leonard Freeman was an American television writer and producer whose most famous achievement was the creation of the CBS television network series Hawaii Five-O in 1968. The show ran for twelve seasons. At the time that was a record for a crime drama. In 1960, he wrote for the series Route 66; in...
. It stars Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
as Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives a lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
, Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens was a Swedish-American movie and TV actress.- Early life :Inger Stevens was born Inger Stensland in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an insecure child and was often ill. When she was nine, her parents divorced and she moved with her father to New York City...
as a widow who helps him, Ed Begley
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
as the leader of the gang that lynched him, and Pat Hingle
Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
as the judge who hires Jed as a US Marshal.
Hang 'Em High was the first production of The Malpaso Company, Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
's own production company.
In the film, actor Pat Hingle
Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
portrays a fictional judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
who mirrors the true life Judge Isaac Parker
Isaac Parker
Isaac Charles Parker served as a U.S. District Judge presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas for 21 years and also one-time politician. He served in that capacity during the most dangerous time for law enforcement during the western expansion...
, who was labeled "The Hanging Judge" due to the large number of men he had executed during his service as District Judge. The film also depicts the dangers of serving as a US Marshal or Deputy US Marshal during that period, as large numbers of Marshals were killed while serving under Parker. In the film, the fictional Fort Grant, the base for operations for that District Judge seat, is also a mirror of the factual Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
, where Judge Parker's court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
was located. This was the same Judge Parker in the John Wayne movie "True Grit".
Plot
The story is set in Oklahoma TerritoryOklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
in 1889. It describes the efforts of Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
) to bring the men who tried to lynch
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
him to justice. The men are Capt. Wilson (Ed Begley
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
), Reno (Joseph Sirola), Miller (Bruce Dern
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
), Jenkins (Bob Steele
Bob Steele (actor)
Bob Steele was an American actor. He was born Robert Adrian Bradbury in Portland, Oregon, into a vaudeville family. After years of touring, the family settled down in Hollywood in the late 1910s, where his father, Robert N...
), Stone (Alan Hale Jr.), Charlie Blackfoot (Ned Romero
Ned Romero
Ned Romero is an American actor and opera singer who has appeared in television and film.Romero was born in Franklin, the seat of St. Mary Parish in South Louisiana, the son of Anna and Sidney Romero. His ancestry is Chitimacha Native American, as well as Spanish and French...
), Maddow (Russell Thorson
Russell Thorson
----Russell Thorson , was an American actor, perhaps best known for his co- starring role as Det. Lt. Otto Lindstrom in the ABC late '50's hit crime series, The Detectives- Career :Born in Wisconsin, USA...
), Tommy (Jonathan Lippe), and Loomis (L.Q. Jones).
Cooper drives a small herd of cattle across a stream. When the men in a posse
Posse comitatus (common law)
Posse comitatus or sheriff's posse is the common-law or statute law authority of a county sheriff or other law officer to conscript any able-bodied males to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon, similar to the concept of the "hue and cry"...
surround him, he shows them a receipt for the cattle, but the man he bought them from was a rustler who killed the herd's owner. Cooper explains that he knew nothing about the murder, but only Jenkins expresses doubts about his guilt. After Reno takes Cooper's saddle and Miller takes his wallet, the men hang him from a tree and ride away, leaving him for dead.
Federal Marshal Dave Bliss (Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson (actor)
Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
) sees Cooper and cuts him down while he is still alive, then takes him to Fort Grant, where the territorial judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle
Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
), determines that Cooper is innocent, sets him free, and warns him not to become a vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
. As an alternative, Fenton offers Cooper a job as a marshal. Cooper accepts, and Fenton warns him not to kill the men who lynched him.
One day, Cooper sees his saddle on a horse in front of a small-town saloon. He finds Reno inside and tries to arrest him, but Reno reaches for his gun, forcing Cooper to shoot him dead. When word of this becomes public, Jenkins turns himself in and provides the names of the rest of the posse. Cooper finds Stone in another town, arrests him, and has the local sheriff, Ray Calhoun (Charles McGraw
Charles McGraw
Charles Butters , best known by his stage name Charles McGraw, was an American actor, who made his first film in 1942, albeit in a small, uncredited role. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa.-Career:...
), put him in jail. Most of the men Cooper seeks are respected members of the community, but Calhoun honors Cooper's warrants for their arrest.
On their way to arresting the men, Cooper and Calhoun encounter the survivors of a new rustling/murder. Cooper and a posse catch the rustlers, who turn out to be Miller and two teenage brothers, Ben (Richard Gates) and Billy Joe (Bruce Scott). Cooper takes them to Fort Grant single-handedly after refusing to let the posse lynch them. On the way, Ben and Billy Joe insist that Miller was the murderer. Miller catches Cooper off guard and attacks him, but Cooper overpowers and subdues him while the brothers watch.
Fenton sentences all three rustlers to be hanged, despite Cooper's defense of the teenagers. Fenton insists that the public will resort to lynching if they see rustlers going unpunished, threatening Oklahoma's bid for statehood. Some time later, Calhoun arrives at Fort Grant and pays Cooper for his cattle. He is trying to bribe Cooper into leaving the rest of the men who lynched him alone, but Cooper makes it clear that he still intends to arrest them. With the bribe rejected, Blackfoot and Maddow flee, while Tommy and Loomis remain loyal to Wilson, who has decided to kill Cooper.
At Fort Grant, Wilson, Loomis, and Tommy shoot Cooper up while most of the town watches the hanging of Miller, Ben, Billy Joe, and three other men. Cooper survives and is slowly nursed back to health by Rachel Warren (Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens was a Swedish-American movie and TV actress.- Early life :Inger Stevens was born Inger Stensland in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an insecure child and was often ill. When she was nine, her parents divorced and she moved with her father to New York City...
). At Wilson's ranch, he kills Tommy and Loomis, and Wilson hangs himself. At Fort Grant again, Cooper threatens to quit unless Fenton releases Jenkins, who is both contrite and seriously ill. Fenton again insists that justice must be served, but he agrees to pardon Jenkins. Cooper agrees to continue as a marshal, and Fenton gives him warrants for Blackfoot and Maddow.
Cast
- Clint EastwoodClint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
as Marshal Jed Cooper - Inger StevensInger StevensInger Stevens was a Swedish-American movie and TV actress.- Early life :Inger Stevens was born Inger Stensland in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an insecure child and was often ill. When she was nine, her parents divorced and she moved with her father to New York City...
as Rachel Warren - Ed BegleyEd BegleyEdward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
as Captain Wilson, Cooper Hanging Party - Pat HinglePat HingleMartin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
as Judge Adam Fenton - Ben JohnsonBen Johnson (actor)Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
as Marshal Dave Bliss - Charles McGrawCharles McGrawCharles Butters , best known by his stage name Charles McGraw, was an American actor, who made his first film in 1942, albeit in a small, uncredited role. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa.-Career:...
as Sheriff Ray Calhoun, Red Creek - Ruth WhiteRuth White (actress)Ruth Patricia White was an American Emmy Award-winning and movie actress.-Early career:A lifelong resident of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, White graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Literature from Rutgers University in 1935. While pursuing her acting career in nearby New York City, she taught acting...
as Madame 'Peaches' Sophie - Bruce DernBruce DernBruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
as Miller, One of the lynching party, the 3 rustlers, and a murderer - Alan Hale Jr. as Matt Stone, blacksmith, Cooper Hanging Party
- Arlene GolonkaArlene GolonkaArlene Golonka is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Millie Swanson on the television comedies The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., and often portrayed bubbly, eccentric blondes in supporting character roles on stage, film, and television.-Early years:Golonka was...
as Jennifer, the Prostitute - James WesterfieldJames WesterfieldJames A. Westerfield was an American actor.Born in Nashville, Tennessee, he starred in more than 50 films during his lifetime...
as Prisoner - Dennis HopperDennis HopperDennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
as The Prophet, a crazed prisoner who is shot dead by Bliss in an attempted escape. - L.Q. Jones as Loomis, Cooper Hanging Party
- Michael O'SullivanMichael O'SullivanMichael O'Sullivan is a former English cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman, left-arm fast medium and slow left-arm orthodox bowler who played for Berkshire. He was born in Reading....
as Francis Elroy Duffy, Prisoner - Joseph Sirola as Reno, Cooper Hanging Party
- James MacArthurJames MacArthurJames Gordon MacArthur was an American actor best known for the role of Danny "Danno" Williams, the reliable second-in-command of the fictional Hawaiian State Police squad Hawaii Five-O.-Early life:...
as Preacher - Mark LenardMark LenardMark Lenard was an American actor, primarily in television.-Biography:Lenard was born Leonard Rosenson in Chicago, Illinois, the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Abraham, and his wife, Bessie...
as the Prosecuting Attorney - Bert FreedBert FreedBert Freed was a prolific American character actor, voice over actor, and the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.-Life and career:...
as Hangman Schmidt - Bob SteeleBob Steele (actor)Bob Steele was an American actor. He was born Robert Adrian Bradbury in Portland, Oregon, into a vaudeville family. After years of touring, the family settled down in Hollywood in the late 1910s, where his father, Robert N...
as Jenkins, Cooper Hanging Party - Tod AndrewsTod AndrewsTod Andrews was an American actor on the stage, screen, and television. Born in New York, he was raised in California. He studied acting and journalism at Washington State College.-Career:...
as Defense Attorney
Production
Eastwood spent much of late 1966 and 1967 dubbing for the English-language version of the Dollars Trilogy and being interviewed, something which left him feeling angry and frustrated. Stardom brought more roles in the "tough guy" mold and Irving Leornard gave him a script to a new film, the American revisionist western Hang 'Em High, a cross between Rawhide and Leone's westerns, written by Mel Goldberg and produced by Leonard FreemanLeonard Freeman
Leonard Freeman was an American television writer and producer whose most famous achievement was the creation of the CBS television network series Hawaii Five-O in 1968. The show ran for twelve seasons. At the time that was a record for a crime drama. In 1960, he wrote for the series Route 66; in...
. However, the William Morris Agency had wanted him to star in a bigger picture, Mackenna's Gold
Mackenna's Gold
Mackenna's Gold is a 1969 western film directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas, Camilla Sparv, and Julie Newmar...
with a cast of notable actors such as Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
and Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
. Eastwood, however, did not approve and preferred the script for Hang 'Em High but had one complaint which he voiced to the producers; the scene before the first hanging, where the hero is attacked by the enemies. Eastwood believed that the scene would not be suitable in a saloon and they eventually agreed to introduce a whore scene in which the attack takes place afterwards as Eastwood enters the bar. Eastwood signed for the film with a salary of $400,000 and 25% of the net earnings to the film, playing the character of Cooper, a man accused by vigilantes of a cow baron's murder and lynched and left for dead and later seeks revenge.
With the wealth generated by the Dollars trilogy, Leonard helped set up a new production company for Eastwood, Malpaso Productions
Malpaso Productions
Malpaso Productions, originally known as The Malpaso Company, is Clint Eastwood's production company. It was established in 1967 by Eastwood's financial adviser Irving Leonard for the film Hang 'Em High, using finances from the Dollars trilogy...
, something he had long yearned for and was named after a river on Eastwood's property in Monterey County. Leonard became the company's president and arranged for Hang 'Em High to be a joint production with United Artists. Directors Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich was an American film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly , The Big Knife , What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? , Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Dirty Dozen , and The Longest Yard .-Biography:Robert...
and John Sturges
John Sturges
John Eliot Sturges was an American film director. His movies include Bad Day at Black Rock , Gunfight at the O.K. Corral , The Magnificent Seven , The Great Escape and Ice Station Zebra .-Career:He started his career in Hollywood as an editor in 1932...
were considered for the director's helm, but on the request of Eastwood, old friend Ted Post
Ted Post
Ted Post is an American TV and film director.Born in Brooklyn, New York, he started his career in show business in 1938 working as an usher at Loew's Pitkin Theater. He abandoned plans to become an actor after training with Tamara Daykarhanova, and turned to directing summer theater...
was brought in to direct, against the wishes of producer Leonard Freeman
Leonard Freeman
Leonard Freeman was an American television writer and producer whose most famous achievement was the creation of the CBS television network series Hawaii Five-O in 1968. The show ran for twelve seasons. At the time that was a record for a crime drama. In 1960, he wrote for the series Route 66; in...
, who Eastwood had urged away. Post was important in casting for the film and arranged for Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens was a Swedish-American movie and TV actress.- Early life :Inger Stevens was born Inger Stensland in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an insecure child and was often ill. When she was nine, her parents divorced and she moved with her father to New York City...
of The Farmer's Daughter
The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)
The Farmer's Daughter is an American situation comedy series that was produced by Screen Gems Television and aired on ABC from September 20, 1963 to April 22, 1966. It was sponsored by Lark cigarettes and Clairol for whom the two leading stars often appeared at show's end promoting the products...
fame to play the role of Rachel Warren and had not heard of Eastwood or Sergio Leone at the time but instantly took a liking to Clint and accepted. Pat Hingle
Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
, Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
, Ed Begley
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
, Bruce Dern
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
and James MacArthur
James MacArthur
James Gordon MacArthur was an American actor best known for the role of Danny "Danno" Williams, the reliable second-in-command of the fictional Hawaiian State Police squad Hawaii Five-O.-Early life:...
were also cast.
Filming
Filming began in June 1967 in the Las CrucesLas Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, also known as "The City of the Crosses", is the county seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 97,618 in 2010 according to the 2010 Census, making it the second largest city in the state....
area of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. Additional scenes were shot at White Sands
White Sands, New Mexico
White Sands is a census-designated place in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,323 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and in the interiors were shot in MGM studios. The opening lynching scene was filmed next to the Rio Grande River. Eastwood had considerable leeway in the production, especially in the script which was altered in parts such as the dialogue and setting of the bar room scene to his liking. The film marked the later and final movie appearances of both Ed Begley
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
and Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens was a Swedish-American movie and TV actress.- Early life :Inger Stevens was born Inger Stensland in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an insecure child and was often ill. When she was nine, her parents divorced and she moved with her father to New York City...
, who did movies and TV: in April 1970, two years after this film's release, Ed Begley died of heart failure. Inger Stevens joined him when the month ended, after a drug overdose.
Reception
The film became a major success after release in July 1968 and with an opening day revenue of $5,241 in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
alone, it became the biggest United Artists opening in history, exceeding all of the James Bond films at that time. It debuted at number five on Variety's weekly survey of top films and had made its money back within two weeks of screening. It eventually grossed $11 million in the U.S. It was widely praised by critics including Arthur Winsten of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
who described Hang 'Em High as "A Western of quality, courage, danger and excitement". Variety gave the film a negative review, calling it "a poor American-made imitation of a poor Italian-made imitation of an American-made western."