The Hanging Tree

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The Hanging Tree

1959

1h 46m

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Joseph "Doc" Frail (Gary Cooper) is a doctor with a past he's trying to outrun. While in Montana, he comes across a mining camp with a hanging tree and rescues a man named Rune (Ben Piazza) from the noose. With Rune as his servant, Frail decides to settle down, and he takes over as town doctor. He meets Elizabeth (Maria Schell), who is suffering from shock, and the two soon fall in love. But when Elizabeth is attacked, Frail's attempt to help her land them both in trouble.

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

07/07/2025

4/5

Gary Cooper brings a ruthlessness to Frail, a sort of strange mixture of kindness and control expressed by a doctor itching to do at least some harm. An uncomplicated Western about four complicated people and the squabbles that swallow their happiness.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

07/06/2025

3/4

Perhaps no other actor in Hollywood history played more flawless heroes than Gary Cooper, which makes his character in the Western drama The Hanging Tree an interesting one.

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Ian Kane

Epoch Times

12/31/2023

4/5

“The Hanging Tree” asks us to visit a place we think we’ve been before in past Westerns, but ends up bucking many of the genre conventions.

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George Bourke

Miami Herald

09/02/2020

Daves directed in a fashion to give Coop full leash in playing his grim but sympathetic lend role.

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

08/26/2020

3.5/5

Maria Schell and Karl Malden add some nice shades of color, but for something a bit more salacious concerning mankind's wayward nature filtered through the Gold Rush, check out Erich von Stroheim's Greed.

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Nathanael Hood

Unseen Films

06/16/2020

8/10

The microcosm Delmer Daves creates here would make Billy Wilder pause, and the final five minutes are a masterstroke of nihilism.

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Lanfranco C

@Lanfrancobz Jan 7

Gold turns People crazy

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C T

@RT89813516 07/24/2024

This film had a modern edge to it. There were no heroes. Even Cooper was more of a villian than good guy. Everyone was greedy for gold, money, and power. But that took away from the entertainment value. There was no good guy or person to root for. Overall the acting was good. The cinematography was decent. Finding the gold in the tree roots was creative. Cooper may have gone good at the end. He rescued the lady. Cheers.

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07/16/2023

Really good western here highly recommend this James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas July 15, 2023

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deke p

@RT96675217 03/18/2021

1959. Interesting Gold 'mining town' yarn. GARY COOPER! (one of his last) as strangely gruff Doctor FRAIL. KARL MALDEN as is iconic 'bad self'. Maria Schell alluring as 'strong woman'. GEORGE C. SCOTT was in it somewhere. It kinda went off the rails at the end. Nobody wd leave their gold unattended, tell everyone, then give it all away just to save someone's life when there cd have been a better way. Finally saw it on late nite MOVIE CHANNEL 3.17.2021

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08/07/2018

Doc Joe is one cool customer.

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11/20/2016

Interesting western with the gold rush as its background. Gary Cooper gives us a characterful frontier doctor.

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Delmer Daves

Director

Gary Cooper

Dr. Joseph "Doc" Frail

Maria Schell

Elizabeth Mahler

Karl Malden

Frenchy Plante

Ben Piazza

Rune

George C. Scott

Dr. George Grubb

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Synopsis

Joseph "Doc" Frail (Gary Cooper) is a doctor with a past he's trying to outrun. While in Montana, he comes across a mining camp with a hanging tree and rescues a man named Rune (Ben Piazza) from the noose. With Rune as his servant, Frail decides to settle down, and he takes over as town doctor. He meets Elizabeth (Maria Schell), who is suffering from shock, and the two soon fall in love. But when Elizabeth is attacked, Frail's attempt to help her land them both in trouble.

Director: Delmer Daves
Producer: Martin Jurow, Richard Shepherd
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 11, 1959, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 3, 2017
Runtime: 1h 46m

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