The Hangman (1959)

Robert Taylor is Mackenzie Bovard, the hangman of the title. He doesn’t really hang men, but he’s quite effective in tracking down those wanted by the law and delivering them for hanging. He’s also an embittered man, who thinks everyone can be bought if the price is high enough.

His current job involves tracking down four men involved in a holdup and the killing of a deputy. Three are already in custody; he’s just turned in a man named Zimmerman for the hangman’s noose. Now he’s on the trail of Johnny Butterfield, but needs someone to identify the suspect, who has started a new life with a new name in a nearby town. Authorities aren’t sure what he looks like.

Bovard’s trek takes him first to Fort Canton, where he’s hoping he can find someone who can point out Butterfield if they see him; the wanted man is a former cavalryman. That’s where Selah Jennison (Tina Louise) comes in. She’s a down-on-her-luck laundress who desperately needs the $500 reward Bovard is offering. And she used to be friends with Johnny Butterfield.

Bovard heads to North Creek and invites Selah to follow. When she’s slow to show, he thinks he might finally have found someone who won’t turn on a friend. Finally, she does arrive, but finds it difficult to carry through on her end of the bargain.

Meanwhile, Bovard has located the men he thinks is Butterfield. He’s working as a freighter under the named Johnny Bishop (Jack Lord). But he’s also one of the best liked men in town, even by North Creek Sheriff Buck Weston (Fess Parker).

Review:

Entertaining Western that’s different enough to be interesting and features a host of fine performances from actors and actresses who would later become stars on TV — Tina Louise, Fess Parker, Jack Lorde — even Lorne Greene has a small role.

The interplay between Louise and Taylor adds a touch of humor to the film. At one point, Taylor handcuffs Louise to his arm to make sure she doesn’t sneak off to warn Butterfield in the middle of the night.

The next day, Louise turns the tables, handcuffs herself to Taylor and hides the key in an effort to deter his attempts to track down her old friend.

Parker plays the town sheriff “who melts like butter” around Louise. Indeed, she looks lovely. In one scene, she’s walking down the street in a fancy new dress turning heads. Even a man’s dog stops to take a second look.

But for all the film has going for it, director Michael Curtiz and company deliver a rather silly ending.

Directed by:
Michael Curtiz

Cast:
Robert Taylor … Mackenzie Bovard
Tina Louise … Selah Jennison
Fess Parker … Sheriff Buck Weston
Jack Lord … Johnny Bishop (Butterfield)
Mickey Shaughnessy … Al Cruze
Shirley Harner … Kitty Bishop
Gene Evans … Big Murph
James Westerfield … Herb Lofts
Mabel Albertson … Amy Hopkins
Jose Gonzales-Gonzales … Pedro Alonso
Betty Lynn … Molly
Loren Greene … Marshal Cummings
Richard Collier … Hotel clerk

Runtime: 86 min.

Memorable lines:

Selah Jennison to Mackenzie Bovard: “You think everyone can be bought?”
Mackenzie Bovard: “Yes. I’m not a sentimentalist. I’ve seen too much of life.”

Selah Jennison to Mackenzie Bovard: “Must be what hell’s like, to be alone, no one to talk to, no hope, no way out. Not til you came along. Now I know there’s another kind of hell.”

Mackenzie Bovard to Selah: “You know, that young sheriff, he melts like butter every time he looks at you. Marry him, Selah. He’s not half good enough for you, but I think you’ll make something out of him.”

Deputy Marshal Mackenzie Bovard to Sheriff Weston: “I’ve got to trust you, Weston.”
Weston: “I wear a badge too, Bovard. It might not be as big as yours, but I live up to it.”

Mackenzie Bovard, baffled by Johnny Butterfield’s popularity, to Sheriff Weston: “What’d he do for you?”
Weston: “That’s a fair question. Men like us come up against mean skunks, makes us mean too. Whenever I see somebody doing things for people instead of against ’em, it makes me feel better. That’s what Johnny done for me.”

Lorne Green as Marshal Cummings, overseeing Bovard’s investigation into a deputy’s death in The Hangman (1959)

Gene Evans as Big Murphy, cooling off in a water trough with Johnny Bishop’s help in The Hangman (1959)

Tina Louise as Selah Jennison and Fess Parker as Sheriff Weston, worried about Bovard’s next move in The Hangman (1959)

Robert Taylor as Mackenzie Bovard, dealing with a minor wound with the help of Selah Jennison (Tina Louise) in The Hangman (1959)

Shirley Harner as Kitty Bishop, worried about her future with husband Johnny in The Hangman (1959)

Mabel Albertson as Amy Hopkins, worried someting immoral is going on between Bovard and Selah in The Hangman (1959)

James Westerfield as Herb Lofts, the freight line boss Johnny Bishop works for in The Hangman (1959)

Tina Louise as Selah Jennison, fretting over the drop of a handkerchief that might land an old friend in jail in The Hangman (1959)

Robert Taylor as Mackenzie Bovard, disappointed to see a key witness has arrived in town in The Hangman (1960)

Fess Parker as Sheriff Weston, trying to disconnect Mackenzie Bovard (Robert Taylor) and Selah Jennison (Tina Louise) in The Hangman (1959)

Tina Louise as Selah Jennison with Robert Taylor as Mackenzie Bovard as she faces a decision about her future in The Hangman (1959)

Tina Louise as Selah Jennison, giving Bovard a piece of her mind, yet again, in The Hangman (1959)