The Hangman (1959)
8/10
Looking for a Judas .
5 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
As an user pointed out,DR Kimble ,the fugitive ,might have been inspired by "the hangman"".As for me, I 'd rather think that Dudley Nichols -who took some of his inspiration for "stagecoach" from Maupassant's "Boule De Suif "- had thought of Javert and Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables"

Bovard (the name sounds a bit French)appears first a rather unsympathetic character;he places duty over everything (we learn the reason why later in the movie),and understanding and compassion are words unknown to him :isn't he called "the hangman"?Curtiz's movie is first a psychological western -not an action-packed movie full of shoot-outs -in which a man learns humanity.

Johnny unintentionally took part in a hold-up (in Hugo's novel,Valjean stole a loaf and was sent to the chain gang),he had to flee to another town where he was known as a good fellow,always ready to lend a helping man ."He made me a better man" says the sheriff Like in "it's a wonderful life" ,a man who's got friends is never lost.(Valjean became the mayor of another town and was considered a known and respected man,who helped the sick and the poor;but Javert was always on his heels)

A true friend does not betray :even if she is told that at 24,she looks like she 's 30!The thirty pieces of silver (here represented by 500 dollars)trick does not always work.

This is a very suspenseful film (notably the scenes with Tina Louise on the street),often moving,without a single real villain .With a nod to Alfred Hitchcock 's "the thirty-nine steps" (the handcuffs) at that.
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