Hangman's Knot (1952)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Roy Huggins

Writer:

Roy Huggins (written by)

Release Date:

15 November 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

The West's Most Spectacular Star--in His Most Spectacular Story!

Plot:

It's 1865 in Nevada and a unit of Reb soldiers attack a Union troop carrying gold. They kill the soldiers...

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Soldier | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Major Matt Stewart
Donna Reed	...	Molly Hull
Claude Jarman Jr.	...	Jamie Groves
Frank Faylen	...	Cass Browne
Glenn Langan	...	Capt. Petersen
Richard Denning	...	Lee Kemper
Lee Marvin	...	Rolph Bainter
Jeanette Nolan	...	Mrs. Margaret Harris
Clem Bevans	...	Plunkett, the Station agent
Ray Teal	...	Quincey
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Smitty
Monte Blue	...	Maxwell
John Call	...	Egan Walsh

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1953) | Finland:K-15 (2006) | UK:PG | Norway:(Banned) (1953) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Sweden:(Banned) | USA:Approved (PCA #15964)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Producers-Actors Corporation

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The man fighting with Lee Marvin is obviously not Randolph Scott.

Competent Scott Western

Some of Randolph Scott's Westerns are shown regularly on British TV, but I hadn't seen this one before, and it lived up to my expectations. The colour was good, the cast strong and the plot better than for most Westerns of this period. Lee Marvin was strong in an early role, and Claud Jarman jnr was also good (I wonder why his film career seemed to peter out?) I suppose a pedant might nitpick at the Union cavalrymen's uniforms appearing to be standard wardrobe issue, rather than the sort one might expect to see Civil War men wear. As a heavy, Guinn Williams was cast contrary to his usually semi-comic type, but over the years he hadn't lost his curious way of firing a revolver - almost as if he were tossing bullets out of its muzzle with a flick of his wrist.

The jarring note was the obligatory romance for Westerns of this period, this time between 54-year-old Scott (in the beginning of the film at least almost looking his age) and 32-year-old Donna Reed (as delightful as ever).