The Ride to Hangman's Tree

Ride to Hangman's Tree is directed by Alan Ratkin and collectively written by Luci Ward, Jack Natteford and William Bowers. It stars Jack Lord, James Farantino, Don Galloway, Melodie Johnson and Richard Anderson. Music is by Frank Skinner (Joseph Gershenson supervising) and cinematography by Gene Polito.

A remake of Black Bart, Highwayman (1948), Ride to Hangman's Tree is fun and unassuming if ultimately forgettable once the end credits have been and gone. The film opens up with the lead actors introducing themselves which straight away takes one out of the mindset of expecting drama to unfold, and so it proves. Picture has tongue in cheek and racks up the Western clichés with carefree abandon, but this never becomes dull once an acceptance of film's intent is reached. The cast are fine, with Johnson socko gorgeous to boot, while the music and scenic photography are decent. 6/10