Ted Post's "Hang 'Em High" is a very entertaining movie to watch even though it isn't one of the best westerns ever made, and while watching it I was reminded of "High Noon" (1952) which was made 16 years earlier because some aspects of both stories to the two movies are similar even though they are mostly different. The movie stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper who in the beginning of the movie gets hanged by a group of men who accused him of murder, and cattle rustling and the group of men is led by Captain Wilson (Ed Begley). A few minutes after Cooper is hanged he gets rescued by Marshall Dave Bliss (Ben Johnson) and is then sent to jail on those charges. Then Cooper meets a local judge (Pat Hingle) who he explains his case to, and then returns to being a lawman to track down those people who attempted to kill him. This was Eastwood's first American western after doing the "Man with No Name" trilogy with Sergio Leone, and the first collaboration between Ted Post and Clint Eastwood. The movie also has really nice backstory to it which is the relationship between Cooper and a local store owner named Rachel Warren (Inger Stevens). Most things about the movie work very well and it succeeds with the elements to making a good western, but it lacks in suspense because of the title making the whole story so predictable except for the ending. I am recommending this movie on the basis of the acting, and the story despite it's predictability, even though it isn't the best western movie that Eastwood has ever done in his career.

Hang Em High is a great Eastwood film. This was Clint Eastwoods American Western debut. Clints first film outside of Sergio Leones sensational Dollars trilogy is none other than...a Western. Hang Em High is a rather overlooked entry in Clints long and impressive film wagon. Hang em High was the first production of the Malpaso Company, Eastwoods production company. Viewers may enjoy seeing a lot of familiar faces. Bob Steele (The Big Sleep). Ben Johnson (The wild bunch, the getaway). Bruce Dern ( Black Sunday, Django Unchained, Nebraska, The Hateful Eight). Alan Hale, Jr. ( The Big Trees, Terror Night). L.Q. Jones ( Hell Is for Heroes, The Wild Bunch). Charles McGraw ( Spartacus, A Boy and His Dog). Ed Begley ( Sweet Bird of Youth, 12 Angry Men). Pat Hingle ( Batman, Splendor in the Grass, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Shaft, On the waterfront). N Dennis Hopper in a tiny role. A slow movie but enjoyable.

Hang 'Em High proves to be one Western too many for Clint Eastwood. After the success of the Dollars trilogy he jumps back into the genre with a movie which thoroughly disappoints. This is a slow, dull, quite tedious film. Not much interesting happens. Honestly not much of anything happens. Drama and excitement are in desperately short supply. The big action sequences you expect from such a film never arrive. The characters are not compelling, the story is paper-thin and the supposed climax is totally anticlimactic. Very hard to find anything good to say about this one.In this film Eastwood's character actually has a name. He's Jed Cooper and soon after we meet him Jed finds himself swinging from a tree with a rope around his neck. A posse, thinking him to be a cattle rustler and a murderer, hangs him. They do a rather lousy job of it. A federal Marshal shows up, cuts down the still very much alive Cooper and brings him before a judge. This judge likes to hang pretty much anyone brought before him but he realizes Cooper's innocence and actually makes Cooper a Marshal. And from there things go about as you would expect, Cooper hunting down the men who lynched him, seeking vengeance. Sounds like it could be interesting but it doesn't turn out that way. The fact the bad guys are such bumbling, bungling idiots doesn't help. Given another chance to kill Cooper they fail even more miserably than the first time. They really are quite pathetic. If you can't take the bad guys seriously it's near impossible for this type of movie to succeed. And that's the case here. The film's central conflict is a letdown. And there's nothing else to prop the film up. A tepid love story falls completely flat. The hanging scenes (and with this judge in town there are plenty of opportunities for hanging scenes) are interminable. Eastwood is reasonably decent in his role but no other performer really makes a mark. Some, most notably Ed Begley as the lead bad guy, miss the mark entirely. Getting through this film is really a chore. There's no suspense, the drama drains away all too quickly. This is not a good film. In fact it's quite bad. You might even call it ugly.

This is a serious western drama that goes against typical „revenge movie" plot. There is more talk than action . Eastwood is rather an anti-hero than simple hero . During the story his view of the law and justice will change . It gives us a lot of reflection what is wrong and what is right . It's definitely more mature view at crime and punishment than most westerns. The internal struggle is interesting to watch at least. There is no black-white morality , only grey here.Veteran actor Pat Hingle ("Batman") shines as Judge Fenton and quite possibly gives the best performance of his career. Clint Eastwood is Clint Eastwood – enough said. He's tough and charming. Other actors aren't bad too.The opening sequence is memorable and powerful. The hanging scene in the middle is actually sad and thought provoking. The music is really effective.The love story doesn't seem really developed and movie could be a little faster."Hang'em high" is a deep and clever western . It holds even better on repeated viewings . I give it 7/10.