Good Day for a Hanging

Last updated

Good Day for a Hanging
Good Day for a Hanging - 1959- Poster.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Nathan H. Juran
Screenplay by Daniel B. Ullman
Maurice Zimm
Based onThe Reluctant Hangman
1956 in Texas Rangers
by John H. Reese
Produced by Charles H. Schneer
Starring Fred MacMurray
Margaret Hayes
Cinematography Henry Freulich
Edited by Jerome Thoms
Color processColumbiaColor
Production
company
Morningside Productions
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • January 1959 (1959-01)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Good Day for a Hanging is a 1959 American B Western film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Fred MacMurray and Margaret Hayes. [1]

Contents

Plot

Eddie Campbell (Robert Vaughn) and two other members of an outlaw band watch a stagecoach as it travels toward a Nebraska town. They are leading two extra, saddled horses. Two other members of his gang are on the stage and they plan to meet in town to rob the bank when the stage arrives. Ben Cutler (MacMurray), owner of the stage line, is to be wed to Ruth Granger (Hayes).

During the holdup, a bank teller is killed. Ben joins the posse. His immature and foolish daughter, Laurie (Joan Blackman), is in love with Eddie, who left town some time before, and does not believe him to be truly bad. Eddie shoots and kills the marshal, however. He is wounded by Ben and brought back to town to stand trial.

Ben, who had once been a lawman, but gave up the profession after his daughter was born, is offered a temporary job as marshal. Selby (Edmon Ryan), a publicity-seeking lawyer who defends Eddie, insinuates that Ben was just acting in vengeance because his client had been intimate with Ben's daughter. Ben wins a fistfight with him for this slur on his childish daughter's character.

Eddie is found guilty due to Ben's eyewitness testimony. After the trial, he weeps uncontrollably and begs for his life, but it is all for naught. He is sentenced to hang. Caring less and less for the murdered marshal and his widow, the townspeople begin to have their doubts, even Ruth, partly due to Eddie's manipulation of their emotions. Laurie tries to smuggle a gun to Eddie's cell, but her father finds it.

Ben must ride to the state's capital after a plea for clemency from the governor is made by the townspeople. Shortly before Ben's return, Eddie's gang breaks him out of jail. Laurie comes to the jail to bring Eddie the good news that he will not hang. When she enters, one of the gang grabs her. When she pleads with Eddie not to escape, he hits her, revealing his true nature. Ben gets to the jail just in time, though, and shoots a fleeing Eddie atop the gallows.

Cast

Release

Good Day for a Hanging was released in theatres in January 1959. The film was released on DVD on April 5, 2005. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Hayes</span> American actress

Margaret Hayes was an American film, stage, and television actress.

<i>Hang Em High</i> 1968 film

Hang 'Em High is a 1968 American revisionist Western film directed by Ted Post and written by Leonard Freeman and Mel Goldberg. It stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives a lynching; Inger Stevens as a widow who helps him; Ed Begley as the leader of the gang that lynched Cooper; and Pat Hingle as the federal judge who hires him as a Deputy U.S. Marshal.

<i>The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again</i> 1979 film by Vincent McEveety

The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again is a 1979 American comedy-Western film directed by Vincent McEveety. Produced by Walt Disney Productions, it is a sequel to The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975), starring the comedy duo of Tim Conway and Don Knotts reprising their respective roles as Amos and Theodore. The film also stars Tim Matheson, Harry Morgan, and Kenneth Mars.

<i>The Magnificent Seven Ride!</i> 1972 film by George McCowan

The Magnificent Seven Ride! is a 1972 Western film and is the third and last sequel of the 1960 western, The Magnificent Seven. It stars Lee Van Cleef as Chris Adams, succeeding Yul Brynner and George Kennedy in the role. It was directed by George McCowan.

<i>Cleaner</i> (2007 film) 2007 American film

Cleaner is a 2007 American thriller film directed by Renny Harlin. It stars Samuel L. Jackson as a crime scene cleaner who thinks he has become part of a cover-up; Ed Harris, Keke Palmer, and Eva Mendes also star. The film was released on May 27, 2007.

<i>Frontier Marshal</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by Allan Dwan

Frontier Marshal is a 1939 American Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp. The film is the second produced by Sol M. Wurtzel based on Stuart N. Lake's biography of Earp Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. An earlier version was Wurtzel's Frontier Marshal, filmed in 1934. The film was remade by John Ford in 1946 as My Darling Clementine, including whole scenes reshot from the 1939 film.

<i>Cahill U.S. Marshal</i> 1973 film by Andrew V. McLaglen

Cahill U.S. Marshal is a 1973 American Western film in Technicolor starring John Wayne as a driven lawman in a black hat. The film was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and filmed on location in Durango, Mexico. The supporting cast features George Kennedy, Neville Brand, Marie Windsor, Royal Dano, Denver Pyle, Jackie Coogan, Harry Carey Jr., Paul Fix and Hank Worden.

<i>Rainbow Valley</i> (film) 1935 film

Rainbow Valley is a 1935 American Western film released by Monogram Pictures, written by Lindsley Parsons, directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring John Wayne and Gabby Hayes.

The Battle of Ingalls was a gunfight on September 1, 1893 between United States Marshals and the Doolin-Dalton Gang, during the closing years of the Old West era, in Ingalls, Oklahoma. The Doolin-Dalton Gang had been involved in a number of train robberies and bank robberies, beginning around 1891. They had found a safe haven in the town of Ingalls, which unwittingly harbored many outlaws during that period. On September 1, 1893, a posse was organized by the new United States Marshal, Evett Dumas "E.D." Nix, which entered the outlaw town of Ingalls with the intent to capture the gang. The lawmen were engaged in a gunbattle in which three of the fourteen lawmen carrying Deputy Marshals' commissions would die as a result of the battle.

<i>Colt .45</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Edwin L. Marin

Colt .45 is a 1950 American Western film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Randolph Scott, Ruth Roman and Zachary Scott. Reissued under the title Thundercloud, the film served as the loose basis for the television series Colt .45 starring Wayde Preston, which premiered seven years later. Written by Thomas W. Blackburn, author of the lyrics to The Ballad of Davy Crockett, the film is about a gun salesman and gunfighter who tracks down a killer who stole two new Colt .45 repeating pistols leaving a trail of dead bodies behind him. The revolvers used in the movie were actually first model .44 Caliber Colt revolving belt pistols made in 1849 and reaching final form by 1850. Scott correctly demonstrated how to load them so the producers of the film were most likely aware of the anachronism in the title.

<i>Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford</i> (1921 film) 1921 film

Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford is a lost 1921 American silent comedy film directed by Frank Borzage. The film's script was adapted by writer Luther Reed from the 1910 Broadway play by George M. Cohan, which in turn was adapted from the novel Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford by George Randolph Chester. Produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures Corporation, the film was released in seven reels on December 4, 1921.

<i>Oblivion</i> (1994 film) 1994 film

Oblivion is a 1994 space Western film directed by Sam Irvin and written by Peter David from a story by Charles Band, John Rheaume, Greg Suddeth, and Mark Goldstein.

<i>Fighting Man of the Plains</i> 1949 film by Edwin L. Marin

Fighting Man of the Plains is a 1949 American Western film produced by Nat Holt and directed by Edwin L. Marin. It starred Randolph Scott, Bill Williams, Victor Jory, and Jane Nigh. The supporting cast included Joan Taylor, Barry Kelley, Douglas Kennedy, Paul Fix, Rhys Williams, James Millican and, in his first credited role, Dale Robertson as Jesse James.

<i>Gunfight at Comanche Creek</i> 1963 film by Frank McDonald

Gunfight at Comanche Creek is a 1963 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Audie Murphy.

<i>At Gunpoint</i> 1955 film by Alfred L. Werker

At Gunpoint is a 1955 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Fred MacMurray, Dorothy Malone and Walter Brennan.

<i>Rebel in Town</i> 1956 film by Alfred L. Werker

Rebel in Town is a 1956 American Western film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring John Payne, Ruth Roman, J. Carrol Naish and Ben Cooper.

The Marshal of Mesa City is a 1939 American Western film directed by David Howard from a screenplay by Jack Lait Jr..

<i>The Marshals Daughter</i> 1953 film by William Berke

The Marshal's Daughter is a 1953 American action film directed by William Berke, produced by Ken Murray and written by Bob Duncan, the latter two appearing in the film. The film stars Laurie Anders, Hoot Gibson, Preston Foster and Johnny Mack Brown. The film was released on June 26, 1953, by United Artists.

<i>Outlaws Son</i> 1957 film by Lesley Selander

Outlaw's Son is a 1957 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Richard Alan Simmons. The film stars Dane Clark, Ben Cooper, Lori Nelson, Ellen Drew, Charles Watts, Cecile Rogers and Joseph Stafford. The film was released in July 1957, by United Artists.

<i>Exclusive</i> (film) 1937 film by Alexander Hall

Exclusive is a 1937 American drama film directed by Alexander Hall and written by Jack Moffitt, Sidney Salkow and Rian James. The film stars Fred MacMurray, Frances Farmer, Charlie Ruggles, Lloyd Nolan, Fay Holden and Ralph Morgan. The film was released on August 6, 1937, by Paramount Pictures.

References

  1. "Good Day for a Hanging". Turner Classic Movies . Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. "Good Day for a Hanging". Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . Culver City, California: Sony Pictures, Inc. USA. April 5, 2016. ASIN   B0007MANYO . Retrieved November 14, 2016.