The movie, helmed by director Ted Post, kicks off with Jed Cooper (played by Eastwood) facing a perilous situation as he falls into the hands of a rogue vigilante group led by Captain Wilson (Ed Begley). Mistakenly accused of murdering a cattle owner, the group leaves Cooper hanging from a tree, presuming him dead. However, Cooper survives and is exonerated, witnessing the real killer’s execution in the town square. Judge Adam Fenton (Pat Hingle), recognizing a thirst for justice—or perhaps revenge—in Cooper, offers him the role of Marshal to legally pursue the men who nearly ended his life. As Cooper steps into his new role in Fort Grant, he soon discovers that the boundary between justice and vengeance is a fragile one.

While “Hang ‘Em High” might not rank as Eastwood’s top-tier Westerns, its significance cannot be overstated. The film marks the beginning of what would blossom into one of the most remarkable careers in cinema history. Before becoming a household name in the mid-1960s, Eastwood gained prominence through his role as Rowdy Yates in the CBS-TV Western “Rawhide.” This series not only launched Eastwood’s journey toward directing but also caught the attention of Italian director Sergio Leone. Their partnership birthed a trio of iconic spaghetti Westerns: “A Fistful of Dollars,” “For a Few Dollars More,” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

By the time these films reached American audiences, Eastwood had achieved international stardom, revolutionizing the Western genre. It was therefore only natural for him to return to the U.S. film scene with another Western, “Hang ‘Em High,” which also holds the distinction of being the inaugural production of The Malpaso Company, Eastwood’s long-standing production entity.

Prior to the mid-1960s, most American audiences were familiar with Clint Eastwood from his eight-season stint on “Rawhide” as ramrod Rowdy Yates. The CBS-TV Western wasn’t just responsible for putting Eastwood on the path to start directing, but it got him recognized by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone. Their collaboration resulted in three of the greatest spaghetti Westerns ever made: “A Fistful of Dollars,” “For a Few Dollars More” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” 

By the time the famed trilogy made its way to the United States, Eastwood had become an international superstar who changed the way Westerns were made. It was only fitting that he would capitalize on his newfound silver screen fame with a Western made back home. “Hang ‘Em High” is notable for being the first film produced under The Malpaso Company, which Eastwood has used for most of his projects ever since. 

It makes sense why Eastwood chose Ted Post to direct his first American Western, considering they had previously worked together on 24 episodes of “Rawhide.” While Post was a good journeyman director who knew how to get the best profile of the infamous Clint squint, he’s far removed from the controlled chaos of Leone’s filmmaking that made his leading man a screen legend. In some respects, “Hang ‘Em High” exists in a middle ground of emulating the spaghetti Western while being shot, edited and paced like an episodic television series. It helps, however, that Eastwood had graduated beyond the naivete of his Rowdy Yates days, as “Hang ‘Em High” presents its flawed protagonist with a compelling moral dilemma to lean on.

Everything about “Hang ‘Em High” suggests a typical revenge story, with Clint Eastwood’s Marshal Cooper going on a bloody killing spree against the lynching party. Leonard Freeman and Mel Goldberg’s screenplay, however, puts him in the position of carrying out his retribution by picking up the badge and doing it the “right” way. Where the film shines is in the relationship between Cooper and Pat Hingle’s Judge Fenton, who was loosely based on the real-life “Hanging Judge,” Isaac Parker, of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fenton rules with an iron fist, bringing law and order to the Oklahoma territory in the hopes that his actions will help its chances of statehood. Tensions arise when Judge Fenton is quick to praise his new Marshal’s catches, but doesn’t allow him to speak up on behalf of two boys who saved his life from the murderous cattle rustler Miller (Bruce Dern).

“Hang ‘Em High” is at its best when Marshal Cooper contemplates the effectiveness of doling out true justice in an imperfect system, especially one that employs a routinely barbaric form of capital punishment. He can’t even bring himself to watch the prolonged mass hanging ceremony, itself a standout sequence. It’s a shame the film falls short of making any meaningful conclusions about the flawed nature of lawful murder, marking it up to something along the lines of “well, someone’s gotta do it.” It prevents “Hang ‘Em High” from achieving greatness.

With that said, this 1968 Western is well worth seeing for the morally conflicted lawman persona Eastwood would develop into the “Dirty” Harry Callahan character and beyond.