The Hangman

This isn't your typical Western, but it isn't exactly "atypical" either.

This is actually more of a drama that just happens to be set in the West.

In other words, you could put this on a stage in front of a live audience, and probably get the same production.

And that's generally pretty good.

We have a story line that really isn't the story line.

The surface plot is Robert Taylor as a cynic who is trying to identify the fourth man in a robbery, a man we know early on played a very minor role, if any. The man is sentenced to be hanged.

He finds that people don't want to identify the man, Jack Lord with blond hair. It's much like "The Spy Who Loved Me" in that it is a quest to have a man killed who probably doesn't deserve it.

That's just the surface plot. In essence, Lord becomes the fourth character. The real plot is the romantic subplot that lays beneath the surface.

The woman in the triangle finds herself in emotional turmoil over betraying Jack Lord's character to the law, which is represented by Taylor and Fess Parker.

Parker is the younger, striking man who immediately sets out to make her his wife. Taylor is the older man who sets out to understand her and have a relationship.

In this, we have a switch. The younger man becomes the solid, steady force, and strangely devoid of romance. He is a tall, handsome, affable fellow. What women call "a catch" in public, but in practice, they just can't find what the all "chemistry" with.

Taylor's character, meanwhile, is full of charged emotion. While Fess is a "Earth", Robert is "fire".

The story becomes the story of female romanticism. It is a very credible depiction, whether we like it or not.

It isn't what I call a "great Western", but perhaps I judge it on the standards of usual action. It is actually a drama, one of those stage dramas that focus on a subject. It isn't dull, and the characters are three dimensional, like most golden age Westerns. It's very watchable.

An uncompromising marshal known as 'the Hangman' (Robert Taylor) rides into a town to apprehend a suspect (Jack Lord), but needs a witness to identify him and so enlists a struggling young woman (Tina Louise). Fess Parker plays the sheriff of the town.

While "The Hangman" (1959) is a town-bound Western and hindered by the flat B&W photography, the story is good, which is the most important part. You get to know the characters and the film leaves you with a good feeling.

Tina Louise was only 23 during shooting (almost 24) and looks great, not to mention a convincing actress. Five or six years later she would start her 3-year run in Gilligan's Island. Shirley Harmer is also notable on the feminine front as Kitty, the wife of Johnny Bishop.

If you like Robert Taylor, be sure to check him out in the eponymous role of "The Law and Jake Wade" (1958), a standout 50's Western.

The movie is short & sweet at 1 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot at Old Tucson, Arizona, and Paramount Studios & Ranch, California.

GRADE: B/B-

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.

This is sort of a crossroads film where some on the way up (Lord, Parker, Louise) cross paths with a Taylor whose career is winding down. As a western, it's not your usual "shoot 'em up."

Marshall Taylor, a man on a mission, arrives in town to arrest a murder suspect. The only problem is he doesn't know this man's identity. Enter Ms. Louise as the answer to his problem. Dangling a $500 reward for her identification of the suspected killer, he figures his problems are over. Only issue? They are just starting. With local sheriff Fess Parker and wanted man Jack Lord plus some other familiar faces in supporting roles, The Hangman is much more about dialog and character study than action. The ending was a bit awkward but the journey there an OK ride.

For me, the most interesting element of this film was Ms. Louise. I'd only seen her previously as the breathless Ginger Grant, trapped forever (or it seemed that way) on Gilligan's Island. She is definitely a head-turner in this, her third movie, and does a fine job as a somewhat down on one's luck widow who sees more to Taylor than he sees in himself. One never knows why some actors move up the food chain while others sort of stall out. Between this release and Gilligan's Island were a bunch of Italian movies and some rather nondescript US B-films so maybe getting type cast as Ginger wasn't as career crippling as one might presume. Personally, I'd love to know if her trajectory might have changed if she had avoided the Italian phase and been cast in some mid-level US films instead. She certainly didn't embarrass herself in The Hangman and while we might have had to do without Ginger, I'd like to have seen how she fared in more substantial roles.

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.