Review of The Hanging Tree (1959) by Fred S — 10 Mar 2010

As a cinephile, I have seen a great many western movies and all of Gary Cooper's films, and this one is really a forgotten little gem. I will not spoil your viewing enjoyment by giving details of the movie's story, but I will comment on the film's cinematography and the actors' performances.

The Hanging Tree (1959) is Gary Cooper's best western film and a much better movie than High Noon, period. It also the vehicle for one of Gary Cooper's finest performances ever. Sadly it is also one of last movies he ever made. Filmed in glorious Technicolor, the scenery near Yakima, Washington, is spectacular and the camera work excellent. Under the deft hand of renowned director Delmer Daves (assisted by Karl Malden who stepped in for Daves' during his illness near the end of filming), the actors provide an intense character study of greed, exploitation, moral corruption, redemption, and love - all set in the old west of the late 19th century. Other cast members giving outstanding performances are the beautiful Maria Schell, a drunken fortune hunter, Karl Malden, along with relative newcomers, George C Scott (in one of his more sinister roles) and a very young Ben Piazza. In fact, the entire cast gave excellent performances.

The movie's title song, written by Jerry Livingston (music) and Mack David (lyrics) and sung by Marty Robbins, was nominated for an Academy Award (losing to High Hopes from A Hole In The Head). It is that type of catchy tune that once you hear it you will be whistling, singing and humming it forevermore. The song, The Hanging Tree, was far more popular and received greater airplay than the Oscar winner, High Hopes, and also outsold the winner by over ten thousand to one.

For some unknown reason Warner Bros. has not released this terrific movie on DVD. I have an old, original Warner Home Video VHS copy from which I made a digitized DVD copy for my own use. This movie is one of those classics that is just begging to be restored and released on disc. I'd loved to see a good restored DVD copy of The Hanging Tree before I die.

It does appear from time to time on Turner Classics Movies (TCM) television network. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend this movie to you because once you have seen it, you will never forget it.

Rating: 10/10.