Cheat the Hangman (2018)

Young Eli Herald is taking shooting lessons from his father, the town sheriff, when three scoundrels ride up.

A dispute breaks out; the sheriff is gunned down. Eli shoots too, from inside his home, killing the man who shot his dad.

Next thing you know, 13-year-old Eli is on trial for murder in Judge Harlan Parker’s courtroom with scoundrel #1 — Jericho Boardman (Jerry Chesser) — as the star witness for the prosecution.

The boy is sentenced to hang. But thanks to an appeal from Rev. Clarissa (Jezibell Anat), the sentence is reduced to 20 years in prison.

Flash forward 20 years, and Eli Herald (Eric Miller) has returned to Monument, Texas. He makes friends with hangman Michael O’Reilly, renews acquaintances with the reverend and is determined to forgive Boardman too.

But Boardman is now running a gang of outlaws called the Masques. He’s convinced Eli is up to no good.

So he and the gang interrupt a church social, open fire on the congregation and leave seven dead parishioners in their wake.

But they didn’t kill Eli. And, with the reverend’s blessing, he retrieves the guns he’d put away 20 years earlier and sets out after those responsible for the murders.

Review:

By Christopher Forbes standards, this film isn’t that bad for the first hour.

Oh, it’s boring. And the cast recites lines as though reading them for the first time and as though emoting would be a crime.

But it isn’t ludicrous … until the final 30 minutes, at which point, good ol’ Forbes comes through again.

First, seven masked gunmen walk into a church social, guns drawn, and no one notices! Until those guns start blazing. And, folks, these are the silliest outlaw masks since 1973’s Executioner of God.

Then our avenging hero gets close enough to the mourning bad guys to toss a noose onto the coffin they’re gathered around. Again, totally undetected. Clearly, Forbes has assembled the least observant cast in Western film history.

As the coup de grace, our hero stumbles into the judge’s chambers, suffering from a gunshot wound to his side. Then blood starts streaming down his forehead. Wow.

If you want to watch a film about a hangman, check out 1959’s “Hangman,” starring Robert Taylor alongside Tina Louise, Jack Lord and Fess Parker before they became TV stars.

Even if you’ve see it before, it will be a better spent hour and a half. The best thing about this film is the theme song.

Directed by:
Christopher Forbes

Cast:
Jerry Chesser … Jericho Boardman
Eric Miller … Eli Herald at age 33
Joseph Zuchowski … Michael O’Reilly
William Wylie … Judge Harlan Parker
Jezibell Anat … Rev. Clarissa
Catherine Jerald … Sophia Trudy at age 30
Leila Hollows … Maria Trudy
Barry W. Jerald Jr. … Ward, member of Masques
Thomas Barlet … Thomas / Luke
Ealan Miller … Eli Herald at age 13
Kayla Coppa … Sophia Trudy at age 13

Runtime: 88 min.

Memorable lines:

Wade: “Why do we have to wear these damn things? I just about choked out on the last job.”
Jericho Boardman: “Well, alright, those who don’t want to wear the mask, don’t wear the damned mask!”

Jericho Boardman: “You mean to tell me, you don’t hold a grudge after 20 years in prison.”
Eli Herald: “I do not.”
Jericho: “Why hell, that sure doesn’t make you much of a man, does it?”

Eli Herald, trying to convince Michael O’Reilly to come to a church dance: “People around town need to get to know you better.”
O’Reilly: “Who in their bloody right mind would want to get to know a hangman.”

Judge Harlan Parker: “Jericho, I could put you on trial, and we could do everything legal and proper. But, you know, I’ve gotten too old and too lazy for all that.”