The Hangman
- Studio
- Melrose Productions Inc.
Synopsis
Illustrates Maurice Ogden's allegorical poem The Hangman, which concerns a coward who lets others die in order to protect himself, only to become the hangman's final victim. A hangman appears in a town and builds a gallows. He hangs a foreigner, and no one speaks a word. Then he hangs a critic, then a Jew, then a black. The gallows grows in size, and power, after each hanging. Finally, the only citizen left is the narrator. The message conveyed is that we are all responsible humans- and, one day, liable to answer for it.
Characters
Coward, Hangman
Credits
Directing
- Director
- Paul Julian
Producing
- Producer
- Les Goldman, Paul Julian
Writing
- Writer
- Maurice Ogden (Original Poem)
Voices
- Voice
- Herschel Bernardi (Narrator)
Music
- Music
- Serge Hovey
Animation
- Animator
- Margaret Julian
Editing
- Editor
- Sidney Levin
Crew
- Camera
- Ray Bloss
- Painting
- Avril Thompson
Production notes
The film consists mostly of storyboards, a panning camera, Herschel Bernardi's narration of the Maurice Ogden poem, and a sinister, weird music track. There is very limited animation.
Awards
Winner, Silver Sail for Short Film, 1964
Reviews
The Hangman
Paul Julian, who received design credit for the wonderfully imaginative rendering of Poe's "Tell-Tale Heart" at the UPA studio, creates another amazing design for this literate short. Maurice Ogden's evocative poem of a community invaded by an authority bent on dividing them through fear receives a very dark visual interpretation, reminiscent of Dali's surrealistic canvases. The style matches the troubling portent of the poem's message, and is a masterpiece of the short animated form. Excellent narration by Hershel Bernardi.