The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I found Good Day to be a really entertaining B movie for weekend afternoon viewing. Like many B movies, it has a fairly simple plot (pretty similar to an episode of Bonanza or Big Valley but that's good enough for me). No major spoilers in this review but hit a few plot points.The plot involves a group of bank robbers that hold up the local bank and kill the sheriff as they escape. Fred MacMurray reluctantly assumes the role of sheriff and captures a young former resident who was a friend of his daughter and arranges for him to be hanged.The cast is a solid one. Besides MacMurray, there is Robert Vaughan in a pre- Man from UNCLE role. Others notable costars include popular western star James Drury,Denver Pyle, Bing Russell and Howard McNair (Floyd from Andy Griffith). Like many B movies, this strong cast overcomes any drawbacks from a fairly routine Western plot.The mood of the townspeople plays a protagonist against MacMurray. They want blood at first, but then sour on the idea of hanging a former resident.I always liked Fred MacMurray's more serious roles form 40s and 50s before his Absent Minded Prof roles and My 3 Sons. He is excellent in this movie.It's not as complex as a John Ford, Mann or Sturges "A Western", but it is a B Western that most Western fans should enjoy.

The western "Good Day for a Hanging" isn't one of the better westerns to come out of the 1950s, but western fans should find it an okay viewing provided they are prepared for some flaws, particularly some familiar elements. The biggest problem with the movie is that the story for the most part feels straight out of a episode of a western television show from the same period. Yes, there's color and better production values, and it runs longer than an hour, but until near the end this story has echoes of TV westerns.I will admit that towards the end of the movie, there are some interesting and unpredictable elements that make the story end on an unexpected note. And while the movie up to that point may be predictable at times, it all the same remains buoyant. The plot thread of the townspeople slowly losing their taste for the upcoming hanging is interesting. Fred MacMurray does make a good lead, possessing a likability even when events start to turn against his character... and change his character. And Robert Vaughn does well as the accused prisoner, showing a sympathetic side while simultaneously suggesting he might be hiding something... or is he? Not a perfect western, as I earlier pointed out, but it is serviceable.

Basic flaw of the townsfolk: that "just a boy" is incapable of being a hardened criminal. Since when? There are a lot of hardened young criminals. Maybe the producers were trying to distort the Billy the Kid legend?And if you listen carefully you will hear this "just a boy" repeated over and over. As late as minute number 59 on the DVD it is said again by the Marshal's fiancé. Even later almost at the end a group of citizens take up a petition to the governor for clemency (based ultimately back to the "he's just a boy so he..." idea). This simple theme dominates the movie. Was the scriptwriter on a hard focused crusade or something?Nevertheless, MacMurray is great and demonstrates why he kept coming back decade after decade in excellent dramatic roles. Joan Blackman had beauty, charisma, fine acting, was in some quality movies; why did she have such a short starring career? Young method actor Robert Vaughn demonstrates a lot of technique and you can tell how serious he was in those days.The paint of the trim INSIDE the courtroom is literally black, obviously a clumsy attempt to convey injustice. Once again, we are hit with a sledgehammer to drive home the single-minded crusade theme of this movie.But overall the very good acting by all participants keeps this movie interesting and overcomes the deeply flawed concept.

This film starts out with a typical bank robbery which has been cleverly planned until a bank employee shoots at one of the robbers and the city Marshall is killed by a young guy named Eddie, (The Kid). Ben Cutler, ( Fred MacMurray) shoots some of the robbers and half of the money is returned. Ben Cutler claims that the Kid killed the city Marshall and he intends to bring him up on trial and a death sentence. The results of the trial change the direction of the film and it takes on in another direction which makes this a very interesting film. Fred MacMurray was able to show his great acting ability as a Western Marshall and he gave an outstanding performance.