MovieChat Forums > Hang 'Em High (1968) Discussion > blackfoot and maddow film endss to short...

blackfoot and maddow film endss to short!

posted 18 years ago by mikepel1
15 replies | jump to latest

why didn't the movie end with supposedly blackfoot and maddow still on the run and still left off in the unknown without knowing if eastwood's character jed cooper catches up with either man.the movie i think ends to abbruptly in my opinion.

[–] joekiddlouischama 18 years ago

I think that the open-ended conclusion is intriguing and thought-provoking. This way, you don't know what Jed's future will be like ...

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] joekiddlouischama 18 years ago

the fact that cooper is willing to give up his "ghosts," and the ironcy-laced ending that cooper now joins the law to save jenkins (instead of revenge like earlier in the film) is a more powerful ending in regaurds to the story.

I don't know that Cooper (unlike Rachel) is willing to give up his ghosts, though, because he's still tracking them down as the film concludes. He does convince the overzealous hanging judge to spare Jenkins' life at the end, hence confirming his fight against a manipulative justice system. Indeed, Jed realizes that a lynching can be legal and yet unjust.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] joekiddlouischama 18 years ago

jed wanted to turn in his badge and give up his quest for blackfoot and maddow.

That's because Judge Fenton was still planning on hanging Jenkins. When Fenton relented and pardoned the old man, Cooper picked up the badge again and returned to the hunt. The initial gesture was a mark of protestation against a decision that Cooper deemed unjust.

cougar, remember that at one point, Rachel tells Jed that she can now stop looking for her ghosts, and she asks him if he can do the same. However, Jed notes that he's not looking for ghosts, but real people in a real place. As a result, he refuses to settle down with her and maintains his pursuit instead.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] joekiddlouischama 18 years ago

jed wanted out.

But I think that Jed wanted out because he didn't want to be an accomplice to another legal lynching. Once Judge Fenton relents on that issue, Jed is willing to resume the pursuit of justice, now that he feels that his quest won't be abused by the overzealous judge.

beings that jed wanted to turn in his badge......i think you'd be able to say that jed was willing to give up looking for his ghosts, just as rachel had.

It depends on how one interprets the desire to turn in his badge. If one views it as a symbolic statement borne from frustrations with the judicial system (rather foreshadowing Dirty Harry), then it may be that he isn't really interested in quitting but will do so in protestation of an injustice. All through the film, Jed wants to pursue the men who nearly lynched him; however, he does not want to participate in a legal system that gratitutiously indulges in hangings, and that's where his frustration arises from.

and it's likely jed planned on settling down with rachel, as judge fenton said something about how they lit a fire in each other.

That possible, but to a certain degree, Fenton is speculating. Most significantly, the film (unlike a more traditional Western) does not end by showing Jed settling down with Rachel, nor does he ever promise to do so. Instead, Hang 'em High concludes with Jed riding off and continuing the hunt, which leaves an unrelenting and compulsive resonance for the viewer.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] joekiddlouischama 18 years ago

again though.........judge fenton says he'll only pardon jenkins if cooper picks up the badge, which is the reason why cooper does indeed pick up his badge and continue his quest for blackfoot and maddow.

Right, but I think that that's why Jed turned in his badge in the first place, in order to enact such a chain-of-events. My feeling is that Cooper submitted the badge in order to provoke a certain response, when he then received.

but he's disgusted by the cruel, unfair punishments as evidenced in the film. which is the main reason why he wanted out.

Right, and so when Judge Fenton agrees to back off and pardon Jenkins, it's logical to assume that Cooper no longer wants out.

rachel's relationship with jed helped her give up her ghosts and go on with her life. rather than being needlessly 'haunted' by these ghosts. you could say the same thing happens on jed's behalf as well.

You could say that, but when Rachel explicitly raises the issue with Jed, he rejects that position and we never see the two of them together again. For an extremely loose analogy, you could also look at High Plains Drifter (Eastwood, 1973), where the Stranger and Sarah Belding are attracted to one another yet clearly do not have a future together. Now, the characters and situations in Hang 'em High are quite different, but mutual attraction won't necessarily lead to a longstanding romantic fusion. Indeed, similar potentialities exist in Pale Rider (Eastwood, 1985) and Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992), but as in High Plains Drifter, they fail to materialize. A stronger possibility can be found in The Outlaw Josey Wales (Eastwood, 1976), but even there, Eastwood leaves the resolution open-ended.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] joekiddlouischama 18 years ago

to showing affection for jed and willing to put those ghosts to rest because she's ready to move on with her life. i think that says a lot about rachel's feelings towards jed.

True, but while Jed likes Rachel, he refuses to return her commitment.

when judge fenton asks jed something about whether or not they're going to marry and raise cattle, jed says "maybe" in a convincing way.

I thought that the "maybe" was said in disdainful jest, a sign of Jed's annoyance with the judge's pomposity.

from cooper's disgusted demeanor, i just get the impression that cooper's actions were genuine and he truly did want out.

I agree that Jed was disgusted and genuine in his disgust, but I think that those feelings are based on the judge's zeal for lynching. If that situation were rectified (and Judge Fenton rectifies it in the Jenkins case), then I don't think that Jed would have a problem with being a lawman. As he says earlier, "I don't have much use for cattle these days." Certainly, I don't see him becoming a cowboy or rancher in the near future. It's evident that even by the end of the film, Jed's still not at peace, thus precluding the notion of settling down (with Rachel, cows, or anything else).

[–] Bklyn4ever 18 years ago

The conclusion of this film shows all the hallmarks of a production team that has simply run out of money, so they leave it 'hanging' (pun intended) without giving it a proper conclusion. Sometimes open endings can be thought-provoking but in the context of the shabby production values of this film it is just dissatisfying. It's too bad since there are many great things about the film.

There are other examples of poor editing in the movie—when the Swede suddenly appears behind bars and there has been no explanation of how Jed brought him in (Jed had said he was going to "have that steak" in the scene immediately prior). But none is as devastating as leaving the whole story hanging at the end. Yet this does happen in the world of low-budget movies quite frequently.

There is nothing artistic about leaving Jed not finished with his search for his enemies and not quite married off to Rachel. Like so many other aspects of the movie (the visible filming crew during the tracking scene as Clint rides into town is the worst I have ever seen!), the producer has taken the cheapest way out.

[–] kalamazoo101 18 years ago

"The conclusion of this film shows all the hallmarks of a production team that has simply run out of money"

The movie was already long enough. I didn't like the ending either but I don't think the film should have been concluded overly long with a bow on top.

"There are other examples of poor editing in the movie—when the Swede suddenly appears behind bars and there has been no explanation of how Jed brought him in"

Yeah, there is. Jed made the trip himself with Swede in tow on horseback; it's implied in the dialog. I agree with you, it was weak, however HOW he got him back wasn't really necessary for the overall story. Maybe a 10 second scene with Jed transporting him back would have worked.

"There is nothing artistic about leaving Jed not finished with his search for his enemies and not quite married off to Rachel. Like so many other aspects of the movie (the visible filming crew during the tracking scene as Clint rides into town is the worst I have ever seen!), the producer has taken the cheapest way out."

This wasn't meant to be an artistic film. Jed only pursued his enemies at the end because that was his job, and he only stayed as a Deputy Marshall in order to save Jenkins. The romance to Rachel wasn't really important to the story either, the ONLY reason for their relationship was for the dialog regarding the ghosts. Rachel serves as a change of motivation for Jed; she's not meant to be a love interest for the movie.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] derekwilson-1 18 years ago

You guys think too much. The most obvious answer is that it was going to be a pilot for a TV show. Go back and watch the movie and every time there is some climax, you get the annoying "time for a commercial in the sixites" music. That was why is was left hanging. Every week a new villian to hunt down and hang, in COLOR. This week's guest star, Lee Van Cleef! Now back to the show.