One of the best Western movies about revenge – Hang ‘Em High – can be watched online, completely for free. Revenge is one of the most common themes in Western movies, but that’s not to say it’s been overdone. Rather, it’s a basic motivation that’s served as the foundation for some of the most entertaining Westerns ever made.
Some of these are Clint Eastwood Westerns, one of which is The Outlaw Josey Wales, a superb film the actor made in the 1970s. Another great example is For a Few Dollars More, even though the revenge plotline is actually geared toward Lee Van Cleef’s character, not Eastwood’s The Man With No Name.
In addition to his involvement in those films, he was also the star of another great Western with a revenge-seeking gunslinger as the crux of the story. In fact, it was the first film he made in the genre following the completion of the Dollars Trilogy he made with Sergio Leone.
Hang ‘Em High Is A Great Clint Eastwood Western Movie About Revenge
Two years after The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Clint Eastwood played the lead character in Hang ‘Em High, a Western that now can be watched on the free streaming service, Tubi. In the movie, Clint Eastwood plays Jed Cooper, a man who almost dies when he is hanged by a lynch mob for a crime he didn’t commit.
Having survived the lynching, Cooper is appointed to the position of U.S. marshal and authorized by the government to track down the nine people responsible for what happened. However, he’s warned not to do it for the purpose of revenge. Unsurprisingly, his personal grudges do wind up becoming a guiding force as the story plays out.
What follows is a painstaking manhunt that’s almost episodic in its approach, as Hang ‘Em High shows Jed Cooper individually chase down each person he blames for his lynching – all under the cover of the law, because technically bringing them in his job.
Hang ‘Em High Features A Standout Clint Eastwood Performance
The subdued hatred burning inside Cooper helps elevate it to a great Clint Eastwood performance that fits perfectly with his stoic, cold image in Western movies. That aspect of his demeanor helps create a feeling of suspense, as exactly how far Jed Cooper will go isn’t made blatantly obvious by his outward behavior, thus justifying the fear he inspires in his targets.
Although Clint Eastwood has displayed tremendous range throughout his illustrious career and certainly isn’t restricted to any single genre or character archetype, it’s hard to argue with the notion that Eastwood is at his best when playing brooding and imposing characters with a dark side.
That was exactly the case with The Man With No Name in the Dollars Trilogy, who is more of an opportunistic gunfighter than a true hero. High Plains Drifter drifted into even darker territory, and Dirty Harry also leaned on Eastwood’s propensity for playing characters with a cruel edge to them. All of these facets of Eastwood’s acting style are present in this 1968 classic.
How Hang ‘Em High Is Different From Most Western Revenge Movies
Not only does it utilize Eastwood’s acting talents brilliantly, but Hang ‘Em High is also refreshing to watch as a Western film focused on this specific theme. Revenge is a common motivator, of couse, but Hang ‘Em High takes an unconventional approach that’s fun to watch develop onscreen as Cooper ruthlessly moves from apprehending one target to the next.
It’s a significant departure from the standard revenge movie formula, beginning with the fact that Jed Cooper’s mission, though personally motivated by vengeance, is actually a lawful one. That helps build an interesting cat-and-mouse dynamic with the people he’s hunting, who can’t reasonably deny the authority he holds.
Another notable difference is the type of people he’s after in the movie. In most Westerns where the hero is out for revenge, the subject of his mission is a gang of outlaws or some other group that represents evil in some way, just as it is in most classic Westerns.
Hang ‘Em High is much less black-and-white in its depiction of Jed Cooper’s crusade. Despite their complicity in his lynching, the film makes it clear throughout that these people whose lives he’s about to destroy are far away from being hardened criminals, and that’s much of where the intrique really lies in the movie.
Rather, his enemies are just normal people and accepted members of society. Of course, they’re heavily flawed individuals, but they’re not outlaws robbing banks or criminals actively committing crimes that need to be stopped. Instead, it’s Jed Cooper and his mission that brings chaos to town – not the people Eastwood’s character is fighting.
But while they’re not straightforward villains, there’s still a sense that Jed Cooper has every reason to hold a grudge against them and that they need to be brought to justice for what they did. All of these factors combine to add an emotional and psychological complexity to Hang ‘Em High that makes it a truly compelling Western, and a must-watch on Tubi.
