MovieChat Forums > Hang 'Em High (1968) Discussion > 2 Things That Bother me about this film

2 Things That Bother me about this film

posted 15 years ago by tiredeyes
1 reply | jump to latest

One of my favorite westerns, but 2 things have always bugged me.
1. What happened to the cows that Clint bought and gets hanged for at the start. The gang of 'citizens' don't hang around long after the deed. Since Ben Johnson only waits a few seconds before he sees they're out of sight and cuts Clint down, they must have skinned out pretty quick. This means they didn't collect them up and herd them somewhere. Ben hauls Clint away in the cage and doesn't herd them anywhere either. Did they just leave $800 worth of beef out there to die?
2. Why was Ben only in a few minutes of this otherwise fine film? Most roles he took were at least substantual enough to last through 1/4 of any film, so why the sudden disappearance?
Just curious..........

[–] harryplatt33702 15 years ago

1) When the 'bad back' Sheriff comes to the hotel and tells Jed that he had to shoot the Blacksmith (Alan Hale Jr. AKA 'The Skipper), he says that Jed can have the money or the cattle. I would assume the lynch mob took them and...??? I guess they don't specifically address it.

2) His character is killed off screen. The Judge mentions it. Not sure why the actor chose a small role but they do address what happened to his character.