Western

The Hanging Tree

Baroda

Warner Bros. Pictures

United States of America

English

Gary Cooper

Maria Schell

Karl Malden

George C. Scott

Karl Swenson

Virginia Gregg

John Dierkes

King Donovan

Ben Piazza

Emile Avery

Fern Barry

William Benedict

Oscar Blank

Danny Borzage

Annette Claudier

Tex Driscoll

Martin Eric

Frank Hagney

Dick Hudkins

John Hudkins

Jack Kenny

Dorothy Klewer

Baron James Lichter

Cactus Mack

Fred Marlow

Kansas Moehring

Bob Morgan

Charles Morton

Karen Norris

Bud Osborne

Joe Phillips

Ford Raymond

Tom Smith

Boyd Stockman

Clarence Straight

Slim Talbot

Don Turner

Sailor Vincent

Guy Wilkerson

Dorothy M. Johnson

Halsted Welles

Delmer Daves

Wendell Mayes

Max Steiner

Mack David

Martin Jurow

Marjorie Best

Jerry Livingston

Stanley Jones

Ted D. McCord

Gordon Bau

Richard Shepherd

Lew Leary

Frank M. Miller

Murray Cutter

Daniel B. Cathcart

Orry-Kelly

Owen Marks

Russell Llewellyn

Henry Vilardo

Archie Neel

Marty Robbins

**_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

The Hanging Tree (1959) Original Trailer [FHD]

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The Hanging Tree

Cast & Crew

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Cast

Gary Cooper

Maria Schell

Karl Malden

George C. Scott

Karl Swenson

Virginia Gregg

John Dierkes

King Donovan

Ben Piazza

Emile Avery

Box office

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