Warner Bros. Pictures
Not part of a collection.
The Hanging Tree
From The Prize Novel -- A Picture Of Thundering Power!
Joseph "Doc" Frail is a doctor with a past he's trying to outrun. While in Montana, he comes across a mining camp with a hanging tree and rescues a man named Rune from the noose. With Rune as his servant, Frail decides to settle down, and he takes over as town doctor. He meets Elizabeth, who is suffering from shock, and the two soon fall in love. But when Elizabeth is attacked, Frail's attempt to help her lands them both in trouble.
- Original title
- The Hanging Tree
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
Wuchak
Oct 10, 2024 · via TMDB
**_Ahead-of-its-time Western with Gary Cooper, set in the Great Northwest_** In 1873, an embittered doctor (Cooper) sets up practice in a small gold mining town along The Montana Trail. After acquiring a dubious bondservant (Ben Piazza), he tries to help a wounded Swiss immigrant (Maria Schell). But this stirs up the town’s moral police biddies and the jealousy of a lecherous prospector (Karl Malden), not to mention his successful practice threatens the livelihood of a faith healer (George C. Scott). "The Hanging Tree" (1959) was Cooper’s second to last Western. He passed away due to prostate cancer less than three years after it was shot in the summer of ’58. He was 57 during shooting and carries the film with his towering presence, which doesn’t feel like a 50’s Western, but rather one from the mid-60s. The colorful locations and town set are as good as you’ll see in any Western, very realistic, while angelic Maria Schell is a highlight, the older sister of Maximilian (by four years). Not everything in the story is spelled out. The intelligence of the viewer is respected and thus expected to put the pieces together based on clues offered. It’s good, just kind of ambiguous, which explains its failure at the box office and eventual sleeper status. It no doubt plays better on repeat viewings. This was George C. Scott’s breakout into feature films, but his character isn’t given much screentime and he hams it up a bit too much as the wild-eyed preacher, a one-note loony tune. More dimension was needed in order to ring true. The film runs 1 hour, 47 minutes, and was shot in the general area of Yakima, Washington, including Nile (the mining town) and Goose Prairie (the opening scene). This region is located about a 2.5-hour drive southeast of Seattle. GRADE: B
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Gary Cooper
Dr. Joseph "Doc" Frail
Maria Schell
Elizabeth Mahler
Karl Malden
Frenchy Plante
George C. Scott
George Grubb
Karl Swenson
Tom Flaunce
Virginia Gregg
Edna Flaunce
John Dierkes
Society Red
King Donovan
Wonder
Ben Piazza
Rune
William Benedict
Trapper (uncredited)
Tex Driscoll
Townsman (uncredited)
Frank Hagney
Townsman (uncredited)
John Hudkins
Townsman (uncredited)
Jack Kenny
Townsman (uncredited)
Cactus Mack
Townsman (uncredited)
Kansas Moehring
Townsman (uncredited)
Bob Morgan
Townsman (uncredited)
Charles Morton
Townsman (uncredited)
Karen Norris
Duck Girl (uncredited)
Bud Osborne
Horseman (uncredited)
Joe Phillips
Bartender (uncredited)
Boyd Stockman
Townsman (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent
Townsman (uncredited)
Guy Wilkerson
Townsman (uncredited)
Orry-Kelly
Costume Design
Delmer Daves
Director
Max Steiner
Original Music Composer
Mack David
Songs
Marty Robbins
Theme Song Performance
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Feb 11, 1959
New York City, New York
Mar 13, 1959
