The Hanging Tree
- Gary Cooper: Dr. Joseph Frail
- Maria Schell: Elizabeth Mahler
- Karl Malden: Frenchy Plante
- George C. Scott: Dr. George Grubb
- Karl Swenson: Tom Flaunce
- Virginia Gregg: Edna Flaunce
- John Dierkes: Society Red
- King Donovan: Wonder
- Ben Piazza: Rune
The gallows tree is an American Western directed by Delmer Daves from 1959 with Gary Cooper, Maria Schell and Karl Malden in the lead roles.
Action
Doc Frail comes in 1873 in the small mining town of Skull Creek in Montana and opened a practice. Locals react first with reluctance, as he reveals nothing of his past. He saves the young Rune from the gallows, who now works as an assistant with him.
The prospectors Frenchy Plante and other men of the village to find the downed Elizabeth Mahler, a young Swede, who has survived only as a stagecoach robbery. They take her to Doc, who maintains healthy again. During treatment, she falls in love with DOC, but rejects their efforts, although he feels the same for her.
Meanwhile Frenchy attempts a pass, leading to a brawl between him and Doc at Elizabeth. People are starting to talk about Doc and Elizabeth. Dr. George Grubb, who has noticed the incident, sees his alcohol business by the presence of Doc endangered and slowly begins to stir up the people against him.
Elizabeth remains, despite all the talk in the village and acquires Rune together a Mine to pan for gold. Secretly supported Doc their projects. When she realizes this, she promises him to repay everything. At the same time she learns the real reason for his aloofness, which is caused by the infidelity of his late wife.
Frenchy is finally not associated by Elizabeth and Rune. As expected, a large gold discovery is made, there is a wild party in the village, where the alcohol flows freely. Frenchy is mad and tries to rape Elizabeth. Doc intervenes and shoots him. This incident gives Grubb the opportunity to incite the villagers finally against him and bring him to the gallows. He is rescued at the last second by Elizabeth, who proves her love to him in that they assign his rights to the mine to the villagers. Doc finally opts then for them.
Reviews
" The penultimate Western Gary Cooper is simply fall into his psychological action guide a little, but good actors, an excellent staging and compelling cinematography weigh this up."
Background
The screenplay based on the novel The Hanging Tree by Dorothy M. Johnson.
Lead actor Gary Cooper, who worked with his Baroda Productions as co-producer, worked by storm over the Pacific for the second time with director Delmer Daves together. Karl Malden stood in for the director, as this illness precipitated by two-thirds of the rotation time, which was not mentioned in the opening and closing credits.
The Warner Bros. brought the film in 1959 in the West German cinemas. In this modern common Gary Cooper was dubbed the voice of Heinz Engelmann.