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Released in 1952, "Hangman's Knot" tells the story of a small troop of Confederates led by Major Stewart (Randolph Scott) on special assignment in the West to apprehend gold for the Confederacy. After ambushing a Union stagecoach full of gold they find out the war has been over for a month. Desperate, they hitch a ride with stagecoach to get out of the area, but are eventually forced to hold up at a way station. Lee Marvin and Claude Jarman Jr. co-star as two of Stewart's men while Donna Reed plays a Union nurse and Richard Denning her traveling companion.

"Hangman's Knot" lacks those roll-your-eyes elements typical of too many older Westerns and benefits from a confined-location plot that's conducive to characterization. Many of the characters are corrupted by the bloody four-year war or just plain greed while some try to maintain a sense of honor amidst the madness. Despite the many deaths, the climax leaves you with a good feeling. Contrived or not, it's inspiring.

The film runs 81 minutes and was shot in Alabama Hills, Lone Pine and Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California.

GRADE: B

Some of Randolph Scott's Westerns are shown regularly on British TV, but I hadn't seen this one before, and it lived up to my expectations. The colour was good, the cast strong and the plot better than for most Westerns of this period. Lee Marvin was strong in an early role, and Claud Jarman jnr was also good (I wonder why his film career seemed to peter out?) I suppose a pedant might nitpick at the Union cavalrymen's uniforms appearing to be standard wardrobe issue, rather than the sort one might expect to see Civil War men wear. As a heavy, Guinn Williams was cast contrary to his usually semi-comic type, but over the years he hadn't lost his curious way of firing a revolver - almost as if he were tossing bullets out of its muzzle with a flick of his wrist.

The jarring note was the obligatory romance for Westerns of this period, this time between 54-year-old Scott (in the beginning of the film at least almost looking his age) and 32-year-old Donna Reed (as delightful as ever).

In 1865, a troop of Confederate soldiers led by Major Matt Stewart (Randolph Scott) attack the wagon of gold escorted by Union cavalry and the soldiers are killed. The only wounded survivor tells that the war ended one month ago, and the group decides to take the gold and meet their liaison that knew that the war ended but did not inform the troop. The harsh Rolph Bainter (Lee Marvin) kills the greedy man and the soldiers flee in his wagon driven by Major Stewart. When they meet a posse chasing them, Stewart gives wrong information to misguide the group; however, they have an accident with the wagon and lose the horses. They decide to stop a stagecoach and force the driver to transport them, but the posse returns and they are trapped in the station with the passenger. They realize that the men are not deputies and have no intention to bring them to justice but take the stolen gold.

"Hangman's Knot" is a simple but effective Western in the after American Civil War period mainly about lack of communication and greed. Randolph Scott and Lee Marvin in the beginning of his career perform their usual type of characters, a fair rough man and a bad character. The story is engaging with many conflictive situations and the screenplay is very tight. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Laço do Carrasco" ("The Hangman's Noose")

I'm just getting into Randolph Scott movies, my usual Western diet consists mostly of John Wayne, Tom Selleck and Sam Elliot movies with a few Jimmy Stewart and Clint Eastwood tossed in for good measure, but so far I have about 8 movies he's in, all of them westerns except for My Favorite Wife which I got because I'm a Cary Grant fan.

If you like western movies, you'll enjoy this one. Scott and Marvin are good with Marvin standing out in almost every scene he's in, especially with Donna Reed and I really liked Claude Jarman Jr.'s performance playing the young man who's reluctant to pull the trigger and all of his scenes interacting with Jeanette Nolan (Mrs. Margaret Harris) and Clem Bevans (The Station manager and Nolan's father) are great. Plot is one that I've never seen in a western genre film before, Confederate soldiers don't know that the war is over and are on a mission to steal gold from Union troops, the lone solder from the Union detachment tells the confederate soldiers that the war had been over for a month just before he dies placing the men in a bad predicament.

This isn't a bad western, but its not one that I would recommend to individuals unless they are fans of the genre because it follows the tried and true western plot from beginning to end. Action starting off the movie with lots of drama and a little action to drive the plot along until you come to the inevitable shootout and fight to bring the story to its conclusion. Saying that may make it sound like I don't like the movie which isn't true, I do like it, the acting is great and the plot and dialogue stands out, it just doesn't contain anything that would make it stand out in such a way where individuals who are not fans of the genre would find it appealing. If you want a movie that will entice you to start watching the genre, start with something like The Cowboys with with John Wayne or Quigley Down Under with Tom Selleck, both of which I think will keep anyone's attention, but if you have seen everything that Selleck and Elliot has offered in the 90s and you want to see how the OG boys from the 40s and 50s did it, then you can't go wrong watching this.

A unit of Confederate soldiers out on a special mission attack a Union troop that is carrying a cargo of gold. The idea being that the gold will be used to better the Confederate cause, but upon finding a barely living Union survivor, they learn that General Lee has surrendered and the war finished a month prior. The men, now guilty of murder outside of war regulations, are hunted by suspect deputies, taking a stagecoach hostage and holing up at a stage line way station, inner conflicts and murderous thieves are the order of the night.

Incredible to think that this fine Western was the only effort to have been directed by Roy Huggins; because it's exactly that, damn fine. He would go on to direct notable work in TV such as The Virginian, The Rockford Files, Maverick and The Fugitive, but it seems that he wanted to put down a marker that he could in fact direct a feature length film, and although it only runs at a respectable 80 minutes, he must have been real satisfied with the finished product. Huggins is backed up by genre legend Randolph Scott in the lead role of Major Matt Stewart, with Scott providing the sort of performance that reminds us of his excellent work for Budd Boetticher in Ride Lonesome, The Tall T and Comanche Station etc. Donna Reed (lovely as ever), Lee Marvin (another fine loose cannon job), Richard Denning and Frank Faylen all beef up the cast, and although some of the other supporting players do not quite shine so bright, they do, however, earn their corn and don't harm the movie.

The film itself is structured real well, we open with a fantastic sequence as the "Rebs" attack the Union troop, with Charles Lawton Jr's photography expertly capturing the Lone Pine vista in Technicolor glory. From here we are centred inside the way station in what at first appears to be your standard Rio Bravo set up, this set up could easily have failed if the characters inside the building were dull and very uninteresting. Thankfully Huggins, who wrote the story as well as directing it, gives us characters of interest with little offshoots of conflicts to further enhance the plot. This makes for a tense build up until we lurch towards the inevitable showdown where the rouges gallery of thugs outside - who want the gold at any cost to life - plot with hungry menace.

It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, as some B movie traits and budgetary tone downs are evident, but the quality is still impressively high. From the direction and photography to the performances of the leads; Hangman's Knot is an essential viewing for the discerning Western fan. 8/10