This week we look at a case study in vengeance with Hang ‘em High (1968).  This western classic explores revenge and justice, and the blurring of those lines.  The law is about justice, or is it?

This Ted Post directed classic stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper, a retired lawman who comes back to the badge to seek revenge on a group of vigilante ranchers who wrongfully tried to hang him.  After his recovery, he takes a job as a Deputy Marshall, working for Fort Grant Judge Fenton, played by Pat Hingle. 

Cooper is given arrest warrants to execute, but is personal goal is to bring in the group that almost killed him.  He would be happy to just gun them down, but Judge Fenton wants them brought in alive for their day in court. 

Whether the perps are shot dead by the Marshall, or brought before the Judge, the result will be the same.  The Judge hangs everyone. There is no mercy and mitigating circumstances.  If the law is broken, the sentence is death.  It this justice?  Is there a difference?     

The vengeance motif can be seen throughout the film.   Even the love interest, Rachel Warren, played by Inger Stevens, has revenge in her mind.  She carefully looks at the face of every prisoner brought in to Judge Fenton’s jail.  She wants to find the man who killed her husband.  She is bent on seeing the man who hurt her hang.

The town of Fort Grant is as twisted as the Marshall and Judge.  They love the death sentences that Judge Fenton hands out mercilessly.  There is a festive atmosphere at the mass hangings that serve as justice in the town.  Everyone comes to watch and there is a grotesque enjoyment of the entire process.

Judge Fenton is based on a real live character.  Judge Isaac Parker served in Fort Smith, Arkansas in the late 1800’s.  He was known as a strict magistrate, sentencing at least 160 people to death sentences. 

Eastwood is great in this movie. He builds off his Man With No Name character from the Sergio Leone trilogy, but breathes more life and depth into Marshall Cooper. This also is the first film the Eastwood produced. In addition to Pat Hingle and Inger Stevens, Eastwood has a supporting cast that contains Ed Begley, Allen Hale, Dennis Hopper, and Bruce Dern.

Hang ‘em High runs a little less than two hours.  It can be slow at times, but that just serves to string out the character’s enjoyment of their vengeance.  You can watch the film for free on Hoopla or Tubi or pay the usual $4 on the major streaming services.  Check out as the law comes to the wild west.  Nothing is changed. 

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