Comments on: Just a Western

By: TCM’s Classic Movie Blog

TCM’s Classic Movie Blog — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:12:21 +0000

[...] was more fully developed in Anthony Mann’s The Man From Laramie (1955), which I wrote about here in an earlier [...]

By: BLAKE

BLAKE — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:18:48 +0000

I’d like to see more attention paid to actors like Donald Crisp, who always made it look easy. I’ve only seen him in a few movies such as “How Green Was My Valley” but this article makes me want to see “The Man From Laramie”. Thanks for writing it.

By: ian

ian — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:12:38 +0000

I hope that the attention that this post shone on Anthony Mann’s films might lead to more of his fascinating dual-edged movies being broadcast on TCM. I would be particularly interested in seeing the recently restored, critically undervalued version of “El Cid” (1961) broadcast soon. The epic scale of the emotions and the landscape and the complexity of heroism has never been captured more eloquently than in Mann’s work. This was especially true in those Jimmy Stewart Westerns but “El Cid” also deserves more recognition. We rarely see such filmmaking now. This fine piece made me want to see “The Man From Laramie” again.

By: Suzi Doll

Suzi Doll — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:53:47 +0000

Jimmy Stewart was at his best in the 1950s, and Man from Laramie is a good example. Nice detail about Donald Crisp, an extraordinary actor who needs his own day of films in August on TCM. Loved this post.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:41:46 +0000

Moira:

You’ve written a grand article on one of my favorite westerns. What drew me to this one is the intensity. The fights, Stewart’s hand getting shot, the painfully slow growth in the relationships with Crisp, Kennedy and Stewart. All this built around an interesting story. Power and greed usually make pretty good stories.

By: 42nd Street Memories

42nd Street Memories — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:15:18 +0000

Night Passage surely lacked the Mann touch and it is a shame that he backed out of the production. The ingredients are all there including a great setting for the shootout finale, Duryea being Duryea and Audie Murphy in a somewhat villainous role as the Utica Kid (sidenote: Murphy, my childhood hero, was excellent in baby face heavy roles such as No Name On The Bullet, The Unforgiven and Night Passage). Director James Neilson was more of a TV talent and this plays like a Movie of the Week. The romantic and accordion interludes are brain numbingly bad. And Stewart looks like the role didn’t challenge him….and it didn’t. Mann was sorely missed in this one.

By: moirafinnie

moirafinnie — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:43:30 +0000

Hi RHS,
Thanks for the heads up about Capt. Apache. What an unfortunate trend it was to have a theme song in every commercial movie in the ’50s and ’60s, eh?

Have you seen The Last Frontier (1955) with Victor Mature? It is one of the non-Stewart Westerns made my Mann with Philip Yordan’s script that I enjoy. Mature’s unlikely “man with the bark on”is balanced by a terrific supporting cast led by Robert Preston, James Whitmore and Anne Bancroft.

Hi Patricia,
I agree about the impact of violence in this film. Stewart and particularly Mann never seemed to present violence in a wholly gratuitous fashion, but the actor excelled in portraying the physical and emotional anguish that accompanies real world violence. The Man From Laramie is probably one of the examples of a film that captures the corrosive effect of brutality on human beings.

Hi 42nd St. Memories,
It has always seemed remarkable to me that Stewart, who seemed so callow to me prior to WWII, became such a nuanced, and compelling actor in the post war world. It is almost as though he found a way to become transparent to the viewer.

Incidentally, what were the issues in the rift between Stewart and Mann.~Al Lowe

There is more than one version of what led to their “creative differences”, Al, but the tensions between the two apparently came to a head during pre-production of Night Passage. Stewart was eager to have Mann direct this late ’50s film, but Mann thought the script was inadequate. He believed that Night Passage gave Stewart the kind of things that actor loved to do, (and in the actor’s case this included playing the accordian in the movie, a skill that he had learned as a youngster), but the story never developed enough to make the project appealing to Mann.

Stewart and Mann reportedly became friendly again eventually, but they never teamed again creatively. Of course, during their work together, the two helped to transform the movie industry as they hopscotched from studio to studio and made star profit sharing a new way of adding clout to an actor’s dealmaking. Though I know that most people feel that Stewart’s work with Capra and Hitchcock were his most successful partnerships, I tend to favor the territory that Mann-Stewart explored.

Btw, I agree about The Man of the West.

Thanks to each of you for your comments. They make my day!
Moira

By: Al Lowe

Al Lowe — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:29:01 +0000

I slowly caught up with all the Stewart-Mann westerns. They’re all good. My favorite is the Naked Spur, with Robert Ryan and Janet Leigh also at their best.
However, I never understood the affection for and the overrating of Man of the West, starring Gary Cooper and directed by Mann. I first saw it when it came out. The trip to the movies to see it was a birthday present. I’ve seen it several times since then and I don’t get it. Any of the Stewart-Mann westerns is better. Its theme is usually praised. It’s about a former bandit who goes straight, meets up with his former colleagues and realizes he is no better than they are. So what? I don’t find this novel and shocking. Or terribly interesting. And, yes, I like Cooper.
Incidentally, what were the issues in the rift between Stewart and Mann?

By: 42nd Street Memories

42nd Street Memories — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:01:05 +0000

Two very special talents, Mr. Mann and Mr. Stewart. No other actor was able to reinvent himself as Stewart did in the 50s as he entered middle age. Arguably his body of work in the 50s,especially his westerns and his Hitchcocks, was the finest decade for any actor on film. His five westerns with Mann are among the finest of the genre. In addition to the five with Stewart, add Mann’s The Furies, The Tin Star and Man of the West and you have an underappreciated litany of “noir in the saddle”

By: JC Loophole

JC Loophole — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:12:12 +0000

This is a great film- very Shakespearian indeed. What a great article on the film! Thanks!