Customer Reviews

The Hanged Man

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1 star:		(0)

 

 

A speculative pilot for a TV series that never came to pass, this is a by-the-numbers flick with no real originality or style going for it.

Handsome, rugged Steve Forrest is a ruthless gunslinger (we are told) who, as the pic opens, awaits his execution. He is a little reflective, a little pensive in his chat with the padre before the hanging. This is meant to suggest that he sees the evil of his former ways (or that he is feeling remorseful), but since we have no feeling for the character to begin with, it feels forced. The hanging goes off as planned; then we see the body of Forrest lying in the coroner's office, twitching ever so slightly. He has survived the hanging. No explanation or reason is given -- they attribute it to neither simple luck or supernatural forces, though the latter is implied.

Given a new lease on life, Forrest decides to roam the country helping folks out, all the while sporting a handy scarf to cover the scars (?) on his neck. First stop is the very tired scenario of a stubborn widow and her tow-headed son who refuse to sell their farm to an evil land baron. The cast go through the predictable motions of this setup until a big showdown at the bad guy's factory.

Clearly the intention here is to have a "Fugitive" or "Kung Fu"-type of scenario, where our mysterious hero rolls into a new town each week, helping various folk solve their problems, then rambling on. However, in this initial outing, the Hanged Man is a cipher. We don't really have reason to either fear or root for him. Forrest is rugged and handsome, but a little too much like the Brawny paper towel guy... soap-opera style good looks rather than the deep, mysterious charisma required to pull off a role like this.

Supporting cast is fine, led by Dean Jagger as a lawyer and the great Cameron Mitchell as the flick's sleazy heavy. Mitchell in particular is a standout, making each of his scenes crackle with drama.

All told, watchable, sure, but it's not good enough to necessarily recommend. Fans of TV westerns or genre completists might find it enjoyable, but even they couldn't argue that it's a great flick.

Disclaimer: The print of this film that I watched was included in 20 Great Westerns: Heroes & Bandits. As such, I cannot comment on the audio or picture quality of this TMG release. My review is concerned with the entertainment value of the film only.

Steve Forrest stars as James Devlin, a gunfighter sentenced to hang by the neck until he is dead, except something goes wrong between the hanging part and the dead part. Devlin survives his experience, and, haughtily atheistic prior to his execution, begins a soul quest to find out the reasons for his reprieve. Filmed as TV pilot for a series that never got picked up, 'The Hanged Man' looked as though it would follow the tried-and-true tracks of such series as 'The Fugitive', or 'Kung-Fu', and pre-dates the popular 'Hulk' series from the mid-seventies: a haunted, sometimes hunted man drifts from place to place, helping out the weak and oppressed, then leaving again as the ghosts that haunt him push him forward.

If you compare this failed pilot with other programming from early seventies American television, I don't think it stacks up to badly - but then I also happen to think most early seventies television was pretty weak. In other words, this film is mediocre at best, with a predictable script and scenario for this first episode [widow with small son are trying to hold out against an unscrupulous silver baron (Cameron Mitchell) and his gang], though most of the actors involved are competent. Mitchell is probably the best here, bringing a hint of subtlety to a role that really doesn't call for it, and Forrest seemed to have the looks and bearing to carry the series. Had a producer with any clout, such as Aaron Spelling, been behind this, it probably would have made it for a season or two. I would bet that it was passed over in the end more for the rather grisly nature of the origin rather than the formulaic script, which was no more formulaic than anything else on television at the time.

Unless one had some particular connection to this film, I can't think of a good reason to spend money on an individual package such as this one offered by 'The Timeless Media Group' - whoever that is. No extras are listed, which seems par for the course with distributors dealing in public domain material. 20 Great Westerns: Heroes & Bandits, on the other hand, has this film and 19 others for about the same price. (Also available in this format) There are two issues with the '20 Great' collections: poor audio and pixellation. HD television will only augment the latter issue, and, since the individually packaged film is most likely lifted from the same print as the compilation disc, chances are the audio problem (very low volume) is common to both.

Underneath that red divot in the failed TV pilot THE HANGED MAN is Steve Forrest. Also here in a small role is Robert Mitchum's kid brother, John.

This film's curious premise is that an atheistic gunman somehow survives the gallows and in a reborn fit of cosmic do-goodery he roams the west looking to help folks in distress. His first (and it seems only) beneficiaries are a widow and child who are actively harrassed by an unscrupulous land baron (aren't they all, though?).

Forrest is alleged to have psychic powers but they're too intermittent to be relied upon. Bad guy Cameron Mitchell chews scenery, screen time and everything else save horseshoe nails and cactus needles. Sharon Acker as the "woe is me" female lead acquits herself as well as possible in such a dumb story as this. It's no wonder that the only place this proposed TV series went was on a warehouse back shelf. In fact, when it was placed there all the other bad pilots moved over.

NOTE:
Gray market discs such as this offer no commentary, deleted scenes or other bonus features. Dubs are "best available source" and can vary from very good to only fair.


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 imdb user poll rating.

(5.5) The Hanged Man (TV-1974) - Steve Forrest/Dean Jagger/Will Geer/Sharon Acker/Cameron Mitchell/John Mitchum/Hank Worden