The Man from Laramie (1955)

Directed by Anthony Mann - starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Alex Nicol, Cathy O'Donnell and Aline MacMahon as 'Kate Canady'

**SPOILERS ABOUND**

Stewart plays 'Will Lockhart', an ex-soldier seeking revenge for the death of his brother who was killed by Apaches using rifles. While trying to investigate who sold the Indians the guns, Lockhart runs afoul of powerful cattle baron Alec Waggoman (a superb Donald Crisp) and his spoiled brat of a son, Dave (Alex Nicol).

Alex Nicol is great as the whiney spoiled manchild, Dave. Throwing his weight around and showing off he picks on outsider Lockhart. He tosses a rope around him and drags him through a campfire, burns down his wagons and shoots his mules (off camera)! Dave is upsurped by Vic Hansbro (Arthur Kennedy) who runs the ranch himself and is like a son to Alec, possibly moreso than Dave.

Cathy O'Donnell plays 'Barbara Waggoman' caught between the love of Vic and Lockhart, the stranger, and a much older man. Cathy isn't given much to do but has a couple cute scenes with Stewart, one where they're drinking tea and carrying on.

Lockhart gets framed for knifing a wino (Jack Elam!) in a back alley and gets bailed out by Kate Canady (a spirited Aline MacMahon). She's an old love of Alec's and his only true competition in the country. She wants Lockhart to help her run the ranch. He wants nothing to do with it but needs her help so he agrees and begins looking over the cattle. What follows is one the most shocking sadistic scenes of violence in a pre-1960's mainstream picture, as if the poor mules weren't already enough. It's great.

THE MAN FROM LARAMIE is one of the best films of the genre, and possibly Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart's best film together. The relationships are grey and not everyone is as good or bad as they seem to be at first. Lots of ideas about fate, tragedy and love. Especially between the KING LEAR inspired good son/bad son. There's quite a bit of plot but it never gets bogged down and has a nice pace that is always moving and interesting. The New Mexico locations shot in CinemaScope are stunning, with expansive sweeping shots of the desert, the salt flats and the various ranches look beautiful. It's too bad Mann and Stewart didn't get to do more films together in Scope.

Six six-guns are pointed at James Stewart in this publicity still for the Columbia Pictures release,
The Man from Laramie (1955)

The Last Frontier (1955)

Directed by Anthony Mann - starring Victor Mature, Guy Madison, Robert Preston, James Whitmore and Anne Bancroft

Victor Mature plays 'Jed Cooper', a Baby Huey-like trapper born on the frontier living with his two friends, a fatherly James Whitmore as 'Gus' and their Indian pal 'Mungo' (Pat Hogan). Being told by the local Indian tribe that they aren't welcome anymore and must move, Jed decides to sign up as a scout at an army fort and his mountain men friends reluctantly agree to follow.

Captain Riordon (Guy Madison) takes a liking to Jed and promises him a soldiers uniform once the mountain men are ready to become 'civilized'. The camp is led by the bloodthirsty Col. Frank Marston, (played with a loony glee by Robert Preston). Col. Marston recently lost a thousand men in a battle he wrongly led and is crazed with revenge looking to redeem himself. Ann Bancroft plays his wife, the only woman living at the fort. She's disappointed with her husband but stands by him regardless, until she meets Jed. She's attracted to his ruggedness but put off by his lack of proper civilized manners.

The Indian threat grows closer and Jed fights to find if he can become civilized and live a stable life or if he's just the hopeless savage everyone says he is.

Shot in Mexico! But you'd never guess, it looks just like Oregon. **SPOILERS** This movie can be summed up as: Victor Mature gets drunk, gets laid and then it snows. Snow in any western is always a plus. The real reason to watch this movie is for Victor Mature's drunkenly brazen man-child performance. If you've only seen Mature as a film noir straight man you'll be surprised at how great he is here as the uncouth but lovable frontiersman. He drinks and he laughs and he goofs, like a big kid just enjoying life. There's great sexual tension, and a little bit of fear, when Mature drunkenly stumbles into Bancroft's room. We know he does whatever he feels but he hasn't shown himself to be mean-spirited or violent. Her husband the Col. only has lust for killing, with no real honor. He's a stiff and a stickler, just about the exact opposite of Jed.

Overshadowed by Anthony Mann's other westerns, THE LAST FRONTIER is every bit as good, full of adult themes but without the cowboy heroics. A funny-type of western for the savage thinking man.

The Far Country (1955)

Directed by Anthony Mann - starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Corinne Calvet, Walter Brennan, John McIntire, Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan, Chubby Johnson, Royal Dano and Jack Elam

Jimmy Stewart and Walter Brennan are partners rustling cattle up to the Yukon and get hoodwinked by a crooked border town lawman, Gannon (a devilish John McIntyre). They get rescued by saucy Ruth Roman and decide to stay in Canada staking a successful gold claim. But Jimmy has dreams of buying a ranch in Utah and must figure out a way to leave without going through Gannon's border town and getting hung.

Beautifully shot in Alberta, Canada, Jimmy plays a reluctant hero who watches a frontier town full of kind people get bullied and taken for a ride by John McIntyre and his gruesome henchmen full of mugs like Jack Elam, Henry Morgan and a scary Robert J Wilke. McIntyre seems to be having a ball just relishing in his villainy, always on the lookout for a good hangin'. He's gleeful as he steals everyone's gold claims through a technicality in the law. Stewart only looks out for himself, and his good-natured buddy Ben Tatum (a loveable Walter Brennan), and is indifferent to all the bullying. Corinne Calvet plays a cute tomboyish French girl who immediately takes a liking to Stewart who doesn't take her seriously and treats her like a kid much to her irritation. As Gannon works over the town Stewart is left with the choice to do something or sit idle. And eventually push comes to shove. The town is full of great character actors like Connie Gilchrist, Kathleen Freeman, Royal Dano, Chubby Johnson and JC Flippin. A lovable bunch that have a great warm sense of community. It makes me want to give up my life and move to the Yukon and eat bear stew at the Hash House.

A beautiful western directed by Anthony Mann with a great script by Borden Chase. The westerns Mann did with Jimmy Stewart are some of the best of the genre, equal only to the films Budd Boetticher did with Randolph Scott. WATCH OUT FOR THAT AVALANCHE-!!