The Hangman (1959)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Touches You

Don't listen to the negative reviews

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

As an user pointed out,DR Kimble ,the fugitive ,might have been inspired by "the hangman"".As for me, I 'd rather think that Dudley Nichols -who took some of his inspiration for "stagecoach" from Maupassant's "Boule De Suif "- had thought of Javert and Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" Bovard (the name sounds a bit French)appears first a rather unsympathetic character;he places duty over everything (we learn the reason why later in the movie),and understanding and compassion are words unknown to him :isn't he called "the hangman"?Curtiz's movie is first a psychological western -not an action-packed movie full of shoot-outs -in which a man learns humanity.Johnny unintentionally took part in a hold-up (in Hugo's novel,Valjean stole a loaf and was sent to the chain gang),he had to flee to another town where he was known as a good fellow,always ready to lend a helping man ."He made me a better man" says the sheriff Like in "it's a wonderful life" ,a man who's got friends is never lost.(Valjean became the mayor of another town and was considered a known and respected man,who helped the sick and the poor;but Javert was always on his heels)A true friend does not betray :even if she is told that at 24,she looks like she 's 30!The thirty pieces of silver (here represented by 500 dollars)trick does not always work.This is a very suspenseful film (notably the scenes with Tina Louise on the street),often moving,without a single real villain .With a nod to Alfred Hitchcock 's "the thirty-nine steps" (the handcuffs) at that.

This one has a flawlessly-written script by Dudley Nichols, the screenwriter of many well-known movies from 1930 to 1960 such as "Stagecoach" "The Bells of St. Mary's" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls". There's often a good moral lesson to be learned from a screenplay written by Nichols. The original story was by Luke Short, the author of many Western novels. The cast is very good too with Robert Taylor as the "Hangman" Deputy Marshall, and several people who would later become familiar TV stars: Tina Louise, Jack Lord, Fess Parker and briefly, Lorne Green. And of course you can't go wrong with the direction of the great Michael Curtiz ("Casablanca") who, like Nichols, was nearing the end of his career.I especially liked the story, it's deeper than most westerns, as it explores the themes of justice, loyalty, and forgiveness.

By virtually every measure, the name of the film is a misnomer, as the title character repeatedly explains that he doesn't hang anyone, he just captures outlaws and brings them to justice. Figuratively speaking though, Mack Bovard (Robert Taylor) is in the law and order business, and once he's got his sights set on a target, they're as good as done.The film is quite the interesting character study of Bovard, who cynically decries human nature with the admonition that 'everyone has his price'. The deputy U.S. Marshal is about to test that theory once again when he tries to convince the widowed Selah Jennison (Tina Louise) to identify a murder and robbery suspect involved in a Wells Fargo heist. Failure to secure the capture of Johnny Butterfield will mean that he's liable to go scot-free, since the last remaining outlaw involved in the Wells Fargo job is about to hang; he's the only other person who knows what Johnny looks like.The picture makes a pretty good guessing game out of the identity of Johnny Butterfield/Bishop (Jack Lord), possibly the only cowboy in Western movie history who doesn't have an enemy in the world in his settled, unnamed town. Bovard makes an immediate assumption that Bishop is his target, the one stretch that eventually bears out correctly, but it takes some maneuvering to get there. The film briefly detours into comic territory somewhat when Selah Jennison, who knows Bishop's true identity, handcuffs herself to Bovard to waylay the inevitable.There's also a humorous gimmick running throughout the early part of the picture as Miss Amy Hopkins (Mabel Albertson) attempts to catch the deputy marshal's eye, but finally gives up, upset that she couldn't attract his attention to her matured charm and appreciation. Personally, I thought she was a busybody. The other character who caught my eye was the pretty waitress Molly (Betty Lynn) who just a few years later would have the unenviable task of being the girlfriend of hapless Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show".As almost all the other reviewers on this board have mentioned, the ending of the story comes almost out of left field, although attentive viewers might have seen it coming. Making it even more incredible was the way Sheriff Buck Weston (Fess Parker) handled it, he just stood there waving good-bye with no remorse. Maybe he was just too stunned.

The Hangman finds Robert Taylor as a relentless U.S. Marshal who pursues criminals with the zeal of Lieutenant Gerard when he was hunting for Richard Kimble in The Fugitive. Barry Morse's words from that show could equally have served as Taylor's bywords, "I don't philosophize, I hunt."Who he's hunting is the last man of a four man gang accused of a holdup where a death occurred. Two guys are already dead and one is sentenced to hang. But nobody knows who number four is or what he looks like.Taylor in his quest goes to an army post where he finds recent widow Tina Louise and he's authorized by Wells Fargo to offer a reward of $500.00 if she'll come to a town where he's reputed to be and point him out. When he arrives in town, the object of his quest who turns out to be Jack Lord is about the most popular fellow there. Why he didn't run for mayor or even for Fess Parker's job as sheriff is beyond me. But Taylor gets no help from anybody.The title derives from the nickname Taylor has acquired for his dogged dedication to duty. The Hangman is a western with very little action surprisingly, but it has a good character study by the mature Robert Taylor. It's a well rounded portrait of a man who'd like to leave the job he's in, but has grown used to it and it's the only living he's known for years.The Hangman was the first film Robert Taylor did outside MGM since Magnificent Obsession in the Thirties. He has a record, definitely unlikely to be broken now of the longest running studio contract in film history. The Hangman is a good, not great western besides those already mentioned I did enjoy Mabel Albertson's performance as a dotty old biddy who's eying Robert Taylor like a slab of romantic beef. Well he was one of the biggest screen heartthrobs ever. Personally, I think Taylor should have concentrated on westerns in his later years the same way Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott did. He liked making them and though he's not primarily known as a western star, films like Devil's Doorway, Saddle the Wind, The Last Hunt and The Law and Jake Wade hold up very well today. The Hangman's not as good as these I've mentioned, but it still has a fine performance from Robert Taylor and the rest of the cast.