The Hanging Tree (1959)

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It's a must see if you like westerns or are a Gary Cooper fan.

There's already a number of reviews on this film so I'll try to avoid repeating what others have already covered. There are, however, two points I'd like to address.To begin with, I always thought of "The Hanging Tree" as being very similar to "Chinatown". Both films are similar in plot (they each deal with a haunted man unable to be free from the scars of his past) and in execution (both feature a great cast, a crisp script, gorgeous cinematography and an unusually good score). They're also quite similar in the abstract, each acknowledging the evil in the world and the importance of having one's own "honor code" to deal with it. They part company, however, when "Chinatown" goes one step further.The second point I'd like to cover is a bit disturbing and cast suspicion over the credibility of internet sites. If one were to look up "The Hanging Tree" on Wikipedia, IMBD or even the WB site, there's disturbing language alleging that the movie is about the attempt by one man (Gary Cooper as Joseph Frail) to "manipulate" or "control" others. When one reads "user reviews" like this one, however, and regardless of the site, no such assessment appears. So, I wish there was a way to speak to the person responsible for the error and set him or her straight. I have to wonder at why the person would be so wrong, or if he or she has even seen this movie in the first place. By any means, trying to apply 21st Century morays to a 19th Century western mining camp would be somewhat silly. True, Joseph Frail is much darker role for Gary Cooper but this only shows the actor's range. What happens in the early sequence, perhaps leading to the reveiwer's error, is that Dr. Frail takes in a proud and headstrong youth named Rune and gives him a place to stay and something to do with his time other than robbing another man's sluice box. This act, which most likely keeps Rune alive, is done in a way that doesn't force him to accept charity. Then with Elizabeth, Frail does try to push her away but the motive is not to control her but to avoid the pain he feared if he allowed himself to love her. Were Frail's goals with both Rune and Elizabeth merely to control or manipulate them he would never have tossed Frenchy's bullet away nor have tried to help Elizabeth anonymously. So, "professional reviewer" wherever you are, you were absolutely wrong about this movie and it angers me that your errant assessment might cause somone to miss seeing it.This is a thoughtful person's western with a lot of memorable scenes. The one with villains Frenchy, Grubb and Society Red standing in the street and staring so hatefully at Joe Frail as he rides away from the saloon is certainly one of them. So too are the times Elizabeth fights back against Frail. If you haven't seen it and consider yourself a connoisseur of great films, please consider adding this to your watch list.

I grew up during the last part of our love affair with the Western in the movies and on the idiot box. The first western I ever saw was a re-release of "High Noon" at a drive-in in Florida when I was 5 years old, and I was already watching cowboys in old movies on our first tv when "Gunsmoke" premiered in '55. So it's surprising that I had never seen this movie. I was aware of it, however, because I can remember a Saturday at the movies in '59 when the previews/coming attractions included the trailer for this movie. Fast forward to recently when, thanks to Netflix and other sources, I have been revisiting some of my favorites from long ago. IMDB I came across "The Hanging Tree" on a list of Gary Cooper movies when I realized I had never seen it. It was not available on Netflix so I tried my old standby, Amazon and found it was about to be released finally and was only to happy to order it. Apparently the only copy of the negative had some damage and in a very few places that is evident in the transfer, but by and large this is a gorgeously filmed movie with some very good acting and a story worth your time. Gary Cooper is outstanding and Karl Malden is excellent as "Frenchie". Other than Ben Piazza all the actors produce fine performances. It's one of Coopers' last movies (he released 3 movies in 1959, plus did a cameo in one other; and his last movie was 1961's "The Naked Edge"), and I am glad I finally got to see it. An enjoyable movie and a great example of the genre. Well worth the price.

Coop was aging and when he filmed this, but he looked fine and fit. He played a complex character named Dr. Joe Frail, whose backstory slowly comes out to the viewer. The villain is Frenchie, played by Karl Malden, who deserved to get up close and personal with the Hanging Tree in the title. Shot on location west of Yakima, Washington, it looks like Montana, which it is supposed to be. The characters are vivid, the plot is good, the casting is great (and introducing George C. Scott as a crazy faith healer), and scenery is good. It even opens with a Marty Robbins song (he was famous for Western ballads). The film is set in a mining rush and does well to depict the resulting town and site. The title comes from the place where people were hanged in the camp due to criminal acts, and in an era with no formal law enforcement, you know it had to be pretty lax much of the time. Cooper plays a physician with a gambling habit, a skill with a handgun, and a painful personal history, who tried to hide his soft heart but with diminishing success. There is a romance that emerges, and it actually seems plausible, despite the age difference between he and a patient. I like Cooper, and I like this.

Love this movie

Gran película del Oeste que se sale de lo normal. Grandes protagonistas, música magistral y emocionante final. La interpretación de Gary Cooper buenísima

Very dark story which gets better over time.

Questa nuova edizione del film completamente restaurata e riportata al formato originale 1,85: 1 da A&R è splendida, non paragonabile all'edizione del 2012. Racconta la storia di un medico, dottor Joseph Frail/Gary Cooper (dal passato oscuro, generoso e insieme spietato) che arriva in un accampamento di minatori e si prende cura di una ragazza, Elizabeth Mahler/Maria Shell, unica superstite di un attacco alla diligenza, diventata temporaneamente cieca per l'esposizione al sole. L'ultimo importante western di Gary Cooper e insieme l'ultimo e forse il miglior film western di Delmer Daves (superiore a "L'amante indiana", "L'ultima carovana", "Vento di terre lontane", "Quel treno per Yuma"), che poi, intuendo che l'utopica età del western sta volgendo al termine, si occuperà di melodrammi, quali "Scandalo al sole" e "Vento caldo". Intensa e singolare, inoltre, la storia d'amore che si sviluppa fra Frail e Elizabeth, la quale nel finale lo salva dall'impiccagione sacrificando una miniera d'oro. Una delle migliori operazioni di recupero realizzate da A&R quantomeno nell'ultimo anno.

本来ならば、日本語吹き替えか日本語字幕の物が欲しかったのですが、出ていないので購入する事にしました。どうしても、視たかった映画なので、満足しています。