SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

disinterested_spectator Doc Frail helps Rune, who is a thief, escape from those he stole from, but since Frail is played by Gary Cooper, who is tall and good looking, we figure that makes what he is doing all right. He then blackmails Rune, forcing him into slavery, but since it's Gary Cooper, what he is doing must be for the best somehow.When Elizabeth is discovered suffering from exposure and dehydration, Frail refuses to leave the bedside of a woman who he knows is going to die in a couple of hours anyway. It is a standard principle of triage that a doctor should help those who can be helped and not waste time on those who cannot, but since it's Gary Cooper, we figure he must be doing the right thing somehow. Besides, the person who thinks he should leave the dying woman and help Elizabeth is Frenchy, played by Karl Malden in an unsavory role, so he must be wrong somehow.When Frail finally arrives at the house where the men who found Elizabeth had taken her, Frail expresses his disgust with the fact that the house is dirty, asking the old man who lives there why he doesn't clean the place up. But that can't be rude, because it's Gary Cooper, so we figure the old man deserved to be insulted.Frail keeps Elizabeth in a cabin, allowing no one else in except himself and Rune. When ladies from town come to check on her after she has been there for a while, Frail refuses to let them talk to her. And Elizabeth, after finding out that he made the women leave, asks if she is a prisoner. Normally, it would be perfectly reasonable for concerned citizens to be allowed to ask Elizabeth if she is being kept there against her will, if she would like to leave. After all, if it were Frenchy keeping her in a cabin and not letting others talk to her, we would suspect that he was keeping her as a sex slave. But it is not Frenchy, played by Karl Malden; it is Frail, played by Gary Cooper. And besides, the women are really just a bunch of busybodies. And if Elizabeth thinks she is being kept there as a prisoner, that is just too bad, because it's Gary Cooper who is doing it, and so he must be right to disregard her wishes.And then, when Elizabeth finally gets her sight back, she goes to a lot of trouble to prepare a special dinner for Rune and Frail, but Frail would rather play poker instead. But we have to overlook this, in part because it's Gary Cooper, and in part because of some dark secret from his past. As best we can figure from rumor and from what Frail says, he caught his brother and his wife having sex. When he killed his brother, his wife was so horrified that she shot herself and died, after which Frail burned the house down. If it had been Frenchy who did something like that, we would hate him for it, but since it was Frail who did it, we are expected to be understanding.This is not to say that Frail does not do good things. Even if he were not played Gary Cooper, we would still approve of much of his behavior: letting Rune go free after a while; curing Elizabeth; letting some poor folks borrow his cow so their daughter can have milk; secretly funding Elizabeth in her determination to make her own way; and saving her from being raped by Frenchy. But it is still remarkable how much latitude we allow a character in a movie if he is played by an actor with an established persona of moral rectitude, especially if he is tall and good looking.

audiemurph A magisterial Western. Everything about this film is of the highest quality. Let's start with Gary Cooper: he is at his taciturn best, full of deep-seated anger and resentment in the best tradition of Randolph Scott and Jimmy Stewart. Yet, when he is fully engaged in doctoring, he is able to forget himself in his work, and his kind, gentle side comes out.In fact, it is the numerous contradictions and tensions that make this movie rise so far above the norm. We never know how Cooper will react to a given situation. With the exception of Maria Schell, all the main characters are always on the razor's edge, in determining whether to do the right thing or not. But even Schell does not do the expected. We would expect her to harbor some bitterness, or at least some wariness, when interacting with the men of the town, but her complete faith in the inherent goodness of men is astounding, yet attractive and pleasing. She is so polite to everyone! Karl Malden is outstanding as the obnoxious Frenchie, a miner who also sometimes does the moral thing, sometimes not. In an amazing turn, Maria Schell becomes a partner of Malden, despite the fact that she has good reason to avoid him; now it is not unusual for antagonists to put aside their differences for the sake of a common goal. But when one of the characters is a woman, and she has such obvious reasons to avoid, rather than join a business venture with, a lech like Frenchie - well, the tension is unique, and thoroughly enjoyable. You never know what the characters will do.The only detraction from the movie is that damnable red hat with the flaps that Karl Malden refuses to ever remove, at least until the end of the film.The cinematography is spectacular too. Though the film is largely confined to a small town, the endless variety of the shots and creativity of the cameramen leave a Western-lover like me with an ache of appreciation for the beauty of the land.For an unusually unpredictable and beautiful film, with top-notch acting, I highly recommend this fabulous, slightly unknown Western.

MartinHafer This is a very good movie that could have been a lot better with two small changes. George C. Scott's role was completely unnecessary to the film and should have been excised. He was too good an actor for such a dopey character. Also, they call Karl Malden 'Frenchie' throughout the film, but why?! He seems to be attempting a French accent here and there--but rarely. It's a shame, as otherwise it's a really, really good film.Gary Cooper plays a doctor that comes into a crappy mining town. You don't know exactly what he's done in the past, but he's got a heck of a reputation with the gun. So, folks mostly leave him alone...that is, except for stupid 'ol Frenchie--but more about that later. Early in the film, Doc saves a stupid young man (Karl Swenson) and as a result, he announces that the kid is his indentured servant. Either that, or he'll tell the other miners that the kid was the guy they shot who was trying to steal from their sluices! The kid isn't happy, but he doesn't seem to have any choice.It gets a lot more interesting when a stagecoach is attacked outside town. Everyone but a lady is killed and the Doc takes her in and nurses her back to health. Tongues wag in this horrible town--in particular those of the viperous 'ladies' (Virginia Gregg is great as the leading slimy lady). You can tell there is some sexual tension developing between them. However, some other form of sexual tension has developed. Frenchie is clearly a sex offender in training and Doc warns him to stay away from the lady. But, he doesn't listen and the doctor beats the snot out of him. You know that eventually this will mean one of them will try to kill the other. But, what makes this an exceptional film is the ending--an ending that has a lot to say about greed and the baser nature of mankind. See the film--I really don't want to ruin the wild ending. Overall, a very well written film...aside from Scott! Cooper is great in one of his last roles--a real plum one. Watch this one.

Spikeopath The Hanging Tree is directed by Delmer Daves and adapted to screenplay by Wendell Mayes and Halsted Welles from a story written by Dorothy M. Johnson. It stars Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden, Ben Piazza and George C. Scott. A Technicolor production, film was shot on location at the Oak Creek Wildlife Area, Yakima, Washington, with Ted D. McCord on cinematography duties, and Max Steiner scores the music.The Gold Trail, Montana 1878. Joseph Frail (Cooper), Doctor, Gambler and Gunslinger, arrives in the Gold mining town of Skull Creek looking to settle down and make a living. However, his past haunts him and after medically aiding Rune (Piazza) and Elizabeth Mahler (Schell), subsequently changing their lives, Frail finds this town and its people are less than enamoured with his presence.Slow but compelling, The Hanging Tree has a unique feel to it on account of its interesting location setting, the Gold Rush backdrop and the multi stranded characters that form the story. Not given much support at the box office on its release, it's a film that has gained a cult following over the years and it's now often referred to as an intelligent Western. The performances are smart, from a very good cast, and the story manages to steer away from conventional Western movie pitfalls. But what marks it out as a must see for Western fans is the work of Daves (and Malden who stepped in while the director was hospitalised with ulcers), where the expansive scenery is utilised for both authentic impact on the narrative, and also for the emotional conditioning of the characters.Personally I think it falls some way short of the great intelligent and psychological Westerns crafted by Boetticher and Mann. Yes there are complexities to the characters, but the script doesn't quite dig deep enough into them, which is particularly galling as regards Cooper's portrayal of Frail (an appropriate name given Coop's ailing health at the time). It's credit to Cooper that he still manages to bring the viewer into his pained world, helping to make the impact of the finale far better than it had any right to be if taken as written on the page. But it still rounds out as a thoroughly absorbing picture, one that's beautifully shot and scored with gusto by Steiner. Lovely hummable title song from Marty Robbins as well. 7/10