The Hanged Man (1974)

The Worst Film Ever

Thanks for the memories!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is a 1974 made for TV film, a good old fashion western.Devlin (Steve Forrest) is a free thinking gun slinger who escapes the hangman's noose like Lazarus...sort of. He goes on to help the poor widow Gault (Sharon Acker) save her silver mine. That's about it. No twists. Cameron Mitchell plays the bad guy. "Slicker than bear grease." Available on a 70's 50 film pack.

The title role of The Hanged Man is played by Steve Forrest who plays a notorious gunfighter who was duly hanged for a crime he committed and declared dead. But the only problem was the report of his demise was greatly exaggerated. Whether he was cut down too soon or the rope wasn't tight enough or some unseen power intervened, point is that Forrest is still walking around and breathing. And he's reflecting on a new chance at life because his old life had led him up thirteen steps to the hangman's noose. And he's legally dead.His first chance at redemption comes in helping widow Sharon Acker and her little boy Bobby Eilbacher fight off the designs of mining tycoon Cameron Mitchell. He's not too squeamish about his methods and has young gunslinger Brendon Boone on his payroll who despite the mystique surrounding Forrest is eager for showdown.This unsold TV pilot which was produced by Bing Crosby didn't break any new ground and westerns on television were getting scarce. Around this time Bonanza and Gunsmoke ended their runs and the few that have succeeded them up to this time haven't had their staying power. Speaking of Bonanza this was Ray Teal's farewell role and Bonanza fans will remember his semi-regular presence as sheriff Roy Coffey of Virginia City.The Hanged Man might have been picked up for a television series fifteen years earlier when westerns were a glut on the market. As it is western fans will have little reason to complain.

The Hanged Man is a pilot to a proposed television series (executive produced by Bing Crosby!) about a godless gunfighter who miraculously survives his own execution and goes on a spiritual journey through the desert where he comes to the aid of a widow and her young son being terrorized by a vicious mine owner played superbly nasty by Cameron Mitchell.This is slightly above average for a seventies TV movie, with neat writing, much of which ponders the mysteries of life and the fear of death and some good scenes like when the the gunfighter rides out of town in broad daylight, days after his execution, Cameron Mitchell's interrupted bath, and Will Geer's death scene.A good climax occurs as the hanged man comes to the conclusion that he was spared by God to be an angel of vengeance! Cameron Mitchell's death scene is very satisfying.

This was to be a series pilot, but didn't get picked up. The typical way a drama series pilot in the 70s was handled was to make it long enough to end up as a movie of the week, so if it didn't get picked up as a series, then at least some production money was recouped. I saw this after seeing The Lazarus Man series, and was surprised at the similarities. This one is typical TV western fare, older gunslinger sees the evil of his ways, and turns into good gunslinger, yet always full of angst about the old ways. The whole idea of a hanged man returning to life was merely a contrivance to make things more interesting. I must say I missed the whole mind-reading ability thing. It wasn't evident apparently because there were plenty of times the lead didn't read someone's mind when if he had, he would have saved himself a lot of trouble. By the way, this movie shows why Cameron Mitchell should always be remembered as the epitome of hammy acting.