Here comes another cool 50s Western on Blu-ray — The Hangman (1959).
Directed by Michael Curtiz at the end of his long career, from a script by Dudley Nichols, it stars Robert Taylor, Tina Louise, Fess Parker and Jack Lord. That’s quite a cast. Tina Louise did Andre de Toth’s Day Of The Outlaw the same year.
There was a time, not long ago, when 50s Westerns were represented on Blu-ray by The Searchers (1956) and Rio Bravo (1959). That was it. Luckily, that has changed. Recently, Olive Films has really come through for us with some of the “minor” Westerns we all love.
On June 26, The Hangman will join Silver City (1951), Denver And Rio Grande (1952), The Jayhawkers (1959) and Nicholas Ray’s Run For Cover (1954) on high-def, all from Olive Films.
Hi,
long time since I saw this, Robert Taylor was always good in Westerns. Funny fact on this, it was based on a Luke Short short story called ” Pull Your Freight” but having written it Short must have been unhappy with it and re-wrote it as “The Hangman”. In the first the Robert Taylor character is cruel and unbending
and has to be tricked out of his prey by Fess Parker’s Sheriff. In the later version the Taylor character is swayed and relents, letting his prey go free.