The Hangman Blu-ray Review
OK, let's play: is there a C+?
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, June 25, 2012
There are some performers who are so indelibly associated with roles they played on television that it's hard to
separate actor from character. The soon to be released
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a case in point: though she
looks absolutely nothing like her iconic
Addams Family heroine, Carolyn Jones is
such a recognizable
presence that one almost expects John Astin to burst out of one of those horrifying pods and emit a lusty, "Morticia,
mi amore". (Few other than cult television fanatics probably remember Kevin McCarthy's blessedly short-lived
series—with co-stars Lana Turner and George Hamilton, no less—entitled
Harold Robbins' The Survivors.)
Another new Olive Films release, 1959's
The Hangman, presents a veritable treasure trove of iconic television
presences in roles that would at first (and probably second) glance seem far removed from the characters that brought
them fame in a weekly series format. Therefore, we have island castaway starlet Ginger Grant (Tina Louise, of course)
as the ex-lover of an "is he or isn't he?" criminal in the guise of
Hawaii Five-O's McGarrett (Jack Lord, of course),
while Davy Crocket and/or Dan'l Boone (Fess Parker, of course) looks on as the town Sheriff. The putative star of the
film is onetime MGM matinee idol who by 1959 was starring in a television series of his own (
The Detectives),
Robert Taylor. Directed by the legendary Michael Curtiz,
The Hangman is an odd little western, one curiously
short on the standard action setups which defined the genre (at least in the fifties, for the most part), and one which
seems distinctly at odds with Curtiz's own penchant for action and adventure, but which is at least somewhat in tune
with the director's preference for characters thrust into unexpected circumstances.
Taylor portrays Federal Marshal Mackenzie Bovard (why is it this era of Western frequently features improbably named
heroes?). Bovard has rounded up most of the members of a gang which killed an innocent man during a holdup.
There's
one last bad guy he needs to track down, though, and the only person who can identify this culprit is the last gang
member that Bovard caught—and that gent is due to hang from the wrong end of a rope within a week. Bovard hits on
the idea of visiting the missing villain's former haunt, a Fort, to see if any of the man's former soldier buddies might be
willing to help Bovard identify the man for the hefty reward of $500. Unfortunately, the Fort's Commander won't allow
any
of his men to leave their posts, plus the culprit—whose name is Johnny Butterfield—was so well liked that the sense is
Bovard wouldn't be able to find a willing soul to help him in any case. A soldier overhearing the mention of a reward
does
let Bovard know that Butterfield's former flame, Selah (Tina Louise), is still at the Fort, having hit hard times since
Johnny
jilted her some time ago. And so Bovard doesn't miss a beat, offering Selah the reward if she'll accompany him to the
town where Bovard thinks Butterfield is hiding out. Selah is conflicted and initially turns Bovard down, though Bovard is
sure she'll ultimately come to her senses to claim the funds.
When Bovard arrives at the town, he meets up with Sheriff Buck Weston (Fess Parker) and lets the Sheriff know he's
looking for Johnny Butterfield. Armed with a general description of the man, Bovard deduces that Butterfield
is
indeed in the town but is now going by the name Johnny Bishop (Jack Lord). The town seems ill prepared to accept
Bovard's contention that Butterfield – Bishop is a wanted criminal, as Bishop is a hard worker, beloved by all, and a
married man with a pregnant wife. Buck assumes that the "helper" Bovard is convinced will soon be arriving to identify
Butterfield is a trooper, and so is surprised once Selah does indeed finally show up. That sets the main section of
The Hangman into motion. Selah initially insists that "Bishop" is
not Butterfield, though Bovard has a
more than sneaking suspicion she's lying. Is Bishop Butterfield? Will Selah sell her soul (and rat out her maybe former
lover, who's now married) for $500? And why is Buck making goo-goo eyes at Selah all of a sudden?
The Hangman is a fairly rote piece that never works up much emotion one way or the other, perhaps due to the
somewhat laconic lead performance by Taylor, a man who always seemed to be a rather odd choice for a major motion
picture star. Much more interesting here, especially for fans of
Gilligan's Island (and you know who you are), is
the really appealing work of Tina Louise, who gets to show that she's more than just a pretty face (and knock out
body). Her Selah is a finely nuanced character, full of guilt and remorse, but also determined in a steely kind of way to
look out for herself and get herself out of the financial predicament and less than glamorous lifestyle she finds herself
trapped in. Louise had a sadly curtailed big screen career, especially once
Gilligan's Island started, but
The
Hangman proves she was an actress of more than typical skill, and her performance is a highlight of this film. (It
should be noted that another character actress from the halcyon days of sixties television is on hand here as well.
Mabel Albertson, whom many will recognize from her recurring role as the migraine prone mother of Darren Stephens in
Bewitched, plays a busy body who is a resident at the hotel where Bovard stays.
Real trivia buffs may
know that Albertson was Cloris Leachman's real life mother-in-law.)
Dramatically,
The Hangman never really gels, and the climax, which sees a daring jail escape and then a
patently bizarre quasi-love triangle between Buck, Bovard and Selah, just is a jarring kind of finale. The "all's well that
ends well" feeling is distinctly at odds with what has just happened, both with regard to Bishop – Butterfield (what
exactly is going to happen to that pregnant wife, for instance?) and with regard to Buck, who is certain Selah wants to
marry him (guess what—she doesn't). Even Curtiz seems to have things slightly backward. Instead of the typical crane
shot pulling back away from the action as "The End" comes into frame, Curtiz instead dollies in toward Buck as he
waves at Selah and Bovard riding off together into the dusty sunset. One of
The Detectives and Ginger Grant
make for an extremely odd couple indeed.
The Hangman Blu-ray, Video Quality
The Hangman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. In
terms of typical damage like scratches and blemishes,
The Hangman's elements are in surprisingly good shape.
What hampers this transfer is some recurrent flicker, some of which is
really bad (the worst example happens at
circa 36:00 and lasts for a couple of seconds). Contrast is also slightly inconsistent at times, with a number of outdoor
shots looking just slightly blown out, with whites that are too milky and some faded blacks. The bulk of this high definition
presentation looks really rather good, however. The image is often nicely crisp and well detailed, and Loyal Griggs'
cinematography is rendered very accurately. That said, there are occasional times when the image becomes strangely soft and overly grainy, as
if it sourced from different elements than the bulk of the film (see Screencap 15, the one with Parker and Louise carrying packages, for a good
example). It's a little unusual to see a black and white Western from 1959, but the dusty
ambience of the little town that Bovard finds himself in is captured quite well here, and while there's no really thrilling depth
of field to be found throughout this picture, the more intimate surroundings look decently sharp and should please those
who aren't expecting a totally top notch looking transfer. As with most previous Olive Films releases, there doesn't appear
to have been any digital tweaking whatsoever, so what you see is indeed what you get.
