The Hangman (1964) User Reviews

Maurice Ogden - Teacher

[tim-getchell · 11 November 2008]

I also saw this short as a child. Probably in about the 5th grade. It left an indelible impression on me and I continue to use this poem as an example for people when groups allow other groups to be ganged up on and have their rights taken away.

Even more remarkable is that while attending college at Cal Poly, I would take summer classes at the local community college to get credits and save money. Took 2nd Semester Freshman lit and guess who my teacher was...yes, Mr. Ogden himself. He is a remarkable man and I have total respect for the man.

He is still teaching I believe in Costa Mesa at the Coast Community College.

unforgettable short

[old_tv_guy · 10/10 · 12 June 2005]

Saw it a couple times forty years ago when I was kid and never forgot it. An eerie and disturbing little gem from Melrose Studios. Animation is excellent, of a photocollage style you hardly ever see: stark photo images and gaunt, jagged lines. It seems to be taking place in a backwater of infinity, or a nightmare world of pale colors and limitless space.

The hangman is an ogre who shows up out of nowhere and builds a gallows, which starts out about the size of a doorway. He says it's for the one who serves him most faithfully, and with each execution-- tests, he calls them-- it grows bigger.

The hangman takes a foreigner, then a critic, then a black man and a jew, and the townspeople fall into silence at his excuses, as he rounds them up one by one and the gallows comes to dominate the town's skyline...until he comes for the narrator. "'For who has served more faithfully? With your coward's hope.' said He."

The Hangman is one unusual picturesque short horror film of images

[tavm · 10/10 · 23 December 2008]

Just watched on the Trailers From Hell site this unusual horror short based on the poem of the same name by Maurice Ogden and directed by Les Goldman and Paul Julian who was also involved in the haunting UPA animated short The Tell Tale Heart which was based on an Edgar Allan Poe composition. Unusual because the painted images are mostly still while the narrator Herschel Bernardi talks and musician conductor Serge Hovey plays on the soundtrack. Only occasionally do some images appear to be moving and that's because of some dissolves involving a gallows contraption. The chilling message comes through loud and clear by the end and makes you think about what kind of society you're willing to tolerate to what means. So for that reason, I highly recommend The Hangman.