1873, the Oklahoma Territory -- where hanging is the penalty for most crimes -- where hanging is the best show in town. In Hang 'Em High, Eastwood carves his niche as a taciturn and temperamental...

1873, the Oklahoma Territory -- where hanging is the penalty for most crimes -- where hanging is the best show in town. In Hang 'Em High, Eastwood carves his niche as a taciturn and temperamental tough guy in the strong, silent cowboy-hero tradition of Cary Cooper and John Wayne. Jed Cooper (Eastwood) is lynched by a rampaging band of vigilantes. But they make two mistakes; they hang the wrong man and they don't finish the job. Saved in the nick of time by a sheriff and cleared by a judge, Cooper takes on the job of deputy marshal in order to bring justice to the nine men who "done him wrong." Rounding out the cast are Inger Stevens as the coldly beautiful store owner out to avenge her rape and the murder of her husband, Pat Hingle as the 'hanging judge' and Ed Begley plays the kingpin of the wicked vigilantes. Director Ted Post deftly invokes the pervading violence of the 19th century American frontier so brazenly depicted by the film title.