This is sort of a crossroads film where some on the way up (Lord, Parker, Louise) cross paths with a Taylor whose career is winding down. As a western, it's not your usual "shoot 'em up."
Marshall Taylor, a man on a mission, arrives in town to arrest a murder suspect. The only problem is he doesn't know this man's identity. Enter Ms. Louise as the answer to his problem. Dangling a $500 reward for her identification of the suspected killer, he figures his problems are over. Only issue? They are just starting. With local sheriff Fess Parker and wanted man Jack Lord plus some other familiar faces in supporting roles, The Hangman is much more about dialog and character study than action. The ending was a bit awkward but the journey there an OK ride.
For me, the most interesting element of this film was Ms. Louise. I'd only seen her previously as the breathless Ginger Grant, trapped forever (or it seemed that way) on Gilligan's Island. She is definitely a head-turner in this, her third movie, and does a fine job as a somewhat down on one's luck widow who sees more to Taylor than he sees in himself. One never knows why some actors move up the food chain while others sort of stall out. Between this release and Gilligan's Island were a bunch of Italian movies and some rather nondescript US B-films so maybe getting type cast as Ginger wasn't as career crippling as one might presume. Personally, I'd love to know if her trajectory might have changed if she had avoided the Italian phase and been cast in some mid-level US films instead. She certainly didn't embarrass herself in The Hangman and while we might have had to do without Ginger, I'd like to have seen how she fared in more substantial roles.
