Synopsis

After surviving a brutal lynching by a group of vigilantes, rancher Jed Cooper is rescued and appointed a deputy U.S. marshal. Charged with bringing the men responsible to justice, Cooper must balance his personal desire for revenge against the law he now serves, while confronting a judicial system that permits harsh and often uncertain punishment.

Factoids & Trivia

• Hang 'Em High was the first production released by The Malpaso Company, Clint Eastwood's production company, and marked his first Hollywood Western after his success in Sergio Leone's Italian-made Westerns.

• The story originated with producer Leonard Freeman. Mel Goldberg was hired to write the screenplay, with Freeman later sharing the writing credit.

• Principal photography began on June 19, 1967, and wrapped on August 8, 1967. Location work was carried out in and around Las Cruces, New Mexico, with additional filming at White Sands and locations in Arizona.

• The outdoor scenes were filmed on location, while the interior sequences were shot in rented space at the MGM studios in Century City, California.

• United Artists distributed the film in the United States. It was released in August 1968 and became a major commercial success, earning substantially more than its reported production cost.

• The film helped establish Eastwood as a major American movie star rather than only an imported Western attraction. Its story also anticipated the revisionist Western trend by treating vigilante justice and institutional punishment as morally compromised rather than automatically heroic.