Search - Good Day for a Hanging on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1958 DVD Release: 04/05/2005 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, Japanese SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 25 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Western, Traditional Western

The Springdale, NE, bank is held up and robbed by a well organized gang. One of the members is Eddie Campbell (Robert Vaughn), a onetime resident of the town and orphan who was brought up in part by Ben Cutler (Fred MacMurray), an ex-lawman-turned-rancher. While pursuing the robbers, the town marshal, Hiram Cain (Emile G. Meyer), is shot dead by Campbell, who in turn is wounded and captured by Cutler. The town council appoints Cutler as temporary marshal, and the prosecution seems like an open-and-shut case -- he begins to see signs of trouble when his own daughter Laurie (Joan Blackman), who was raised with Campbell and was once his sweetheart, refuses to believe that he's guilty of the crime. Ben's fiancée, Ruth (Maggie Hayes), also feels the boy deserves leniency, but the real trouble starts when Campbell's attorney, William Selby (Edmon Ryan), shows up; he first tries to compromise the jury pool by ingratiating himself with the asking the townspeople what we would now call "push" questions, about Campbell's being an orphan and a hard-luck case all of his life, under the guise of building his case. He's also just clever enough at the trial to shake the testimony of the five other witnesses to the shooting, but Cutler's testimony is enough to put the jury into the guilty column. Then Campbell starts working on the sympathy of Laurie and the townspeople who've been persuaded by his lawyer -- it's also been a long time since there's been a capital case like this in the state, and Cutler discovers that the townspeople and even the law may not be as ready to execute a killer as common sense says they should be. Cutler's and Ruth's romance is jeopardized, and he is pushed to the point of resigning when matters come to an explosive head. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Fred MacMurray - Ben Cutler
Maggie Hayes - Ruth Granger
Robert Vaughn - The Kid
Joan Blackman - Laurie Cutler
James Drury - Paul Ridgely

Producer Charles H. Schneer is best known for his films with special-effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, but he made notable movies that did not involve fantasy or science fiction. Good Day for a Hanging was one of them, directed by Nathan Juran and starring Fred MacMurray and Robert Vaughn. Columbia Pictures has released the 1958 psychological Western in a simple yet handsome DVD edition with a letterboxed picture capturing the original non-anamorphic (1.85:1) aspect ratio in a crisp, detailed image. The movie has been shown exclusively in full-frame on television for decades and works far better in this format; the widescreen image allows us to appreciate important details in the composition that are lost in full-frame showings, such as one very suspenseful shot in the first ten minutes in which a pistol -- wielded by a bankrobber -- is held at the far left of the screen while outside of a window in the background on the right-hand side stands the town marshal having a conversation. The high-definition remastering gives the movie a sharpness that makes it look better than any broadcast showing, and the night shots have detail that was lost in earlier presentations. The detail extends to the audio track -- film is not over-scored, but what little music there is has good presence, and all of the dialogue is well delineated. The 12 chapters are adequate given the complexity of the plot and the psychological dimensions of the story. There aren't any extras, except for optional Japanese subtitles, and there is no trailer for this movie. There are trailers promoting Silverado and The Professionals, however, which are accessible through a cleverly designed menu that opens after an annoyingly long preview (which can be jumped past very easily). Now, if only Universal could be persuaded to release Day of the Bad Man, a very similar (but even darker, more downbeat) Western made by MacMurray that same year with a better cast, we'd be able to take in this mostly forgotten, very serious side of his career before he became permanently identified with Disney and family entertainment. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide