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Good Day for a Hanging

1959 · 85 min

A slow-burning, talky Western that turns a moral dilemma into quiet, small-town tension.

Directed by
Nathan Juran
Genres
Western, Action
Tagline
HANGING'S TOO GOOD FOR A RAT LIKE THIS!
Overview
When the local sheriff is killed after a bank robbery, ex-lawman Ben Cutler collars the apparent killer, Eddie Campbell. Because of his background as a local youth who spent time living with the Cutlers, Eddie gets the benefit of the doubt from Ben's daughter and his wife-to-be. Ben is firm that Eddie is guilty, and as the matter is debated in a divisive court battle, it will soon become clear whether he's right.

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Directed by
Nathan Juran
Genres
Western, Action
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 1 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • justice
  • family
  • morality
  • betrayal
  • guilt
Places
  • small town
  • countryside
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • single location
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language none
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror1
Humour2
Realism7
Romance2
Tension6
Darkness5
Complexity4
Emotional weight6

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Cast

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Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
western, action
Directed by
Nathan Juran
Written by
Daniel B. Ullman, Maurice Zimm
Starring
Fred MacMurray, Margaret Hayes, Robert Vaughn, Joan Blackman, James Drury, Wendell Holmes, Edmon Ryan, Stacy Harris
Cinematography
Henry Freulich
Runtime
85 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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