Hang 'Em High

"The hanging was the best show in town. But they made two mistakes. They hung the wrong man... and they didn't finish the job!"

- Tagline

Hang 'Em High is a 1968 western, starring Clint Eastwood, but not directed by him.

The action starts off with Jed Cooper being wrongfully accused by nine men of murder and stealing cattle, who then proceed to lynch him--but not very well; he lives long enough for a passing sheriff to come cut him down. His story of being a one-time lawman for St. Louis checks out, and the judge offers him a job as his marshal--with the understanding that he bring in the men who lynched him alive.

Hang 'Em High provides examples of:
"Captain Wilson: All right, now that makes three mistakes we've made. The money, we hung an innocent man, and we didn't finish the job. We can't undo the first two... but we can still finish the job."
 * Big Bad: Captain Wilson, who leads the vigilantes.
 * Bond Villain Stupidity: The nine vigilantes display shades of this, and the third mistake becomes their undoing.

"Jed: When you hang a man, you'd better look at him."
 * Circuit Judge
 * Determinator: Jed.
 * Evil Overlord List: Upon simply leaving Jed to die after hanging him, the vigilantes broke Rule 13 (relevant parts shown here): "All slain enemies will... have several rounds of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff."
 * Good Scars Evil Scars: After surviving the hanging, Jed goes through the rest of the story with a large scar across his neck.


 * Kirk Summation: The reason why one of the men scheduled to be hanged en masse (unsuccessfully) uses his last request to try to get the deliverer (a God-fearing young man who was truly repentant for the crimes he got caught up in) of said summation to shut up.
 * Laser Guided Karma: The vigilantes are brought to justice by the man they tried to hang. Turns out, he used to work for law enforcement in St. Louis. Also, the man that framed him gets hanged for the crime that nearly got pinned on him, and he gets to watch the execution from the sheriff's office.
 * The Man They Couldn't Hang: Jed's botched hanging is what sets off the whole plot.
 * Only Mostly Dead: The protagonist in the opening scene.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Subverted.
 * The Rustler
 * Shut Up Kirk: During the mass hanging, in the form of a last request. It doesn't work.
 * Tear Jerker: The hanging of the two young outlaws.
 * Title Drop
 * Turn in Your Badge: After the Big Bad hangs himself, Jed does this on his own initiative and retires to a quiet life with his family until the sheriff needs his services as deputy again.