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Rating:  -
This under-rated classic along with "The Hanging Tree" which came out a year later, was one of the last westerns that Gary Cooper made. Unfortunately, it was dismissed upon its first release but the French, particularly Francois Truffaut lauded praise on it and it is now one of the many classic westerns that Anthony Mann has made. It's plot really foreshadows that of Eastwood's "The Unforgiven" in many ways though I do lean more to Clint's western classic than this one. But don't let that deter you from checking this out. Mann was a master at using the natural landscape/terrain to convey the tensions in his characters and this is no exception. Like Coop, this was to be Mann's last western before he directed the big spectacles like "El Cid" and "The Fall of the Roman Empire". One example of Mann's use of the environment is the shootout scene between Coop and John Dehner (cousin Claude). The brilliant tension that Mann achieved in this particular scene was exceptional and not even Eastwood could equal this as much as I like him but of course, Clint's particular strength was more in the psychology of his characters whereas Mann's strength as a director was using the natural environment to convey tensions in his characters. Anyway, I will renting this film from Blockbuster and if it holds up well, perhaps I will buy it. But do see this film for Cooper and Anthony Mann's brilliant direction plus the screenplay by Reginald Rose.
Rating:  -
Just to let you know, the new DVD is anamorphic widescreen. On top of that it has been remastered and cleaned up quite a bit. Its a great transfer of a great film.
Its a shame there isn't any special features about this landmark western, however regardless of that fact, this DVD is a must own for any fan of the genre.
Rating: -
This Western stands far above 95% of the other films in this genre. Why? Great direction, flawed and therefore interesting characters, quirks, twists, classic conflicts, Julie London at the height of her mythic beauty, memorable dialogue, enigmatic situations, wonderful actors and performances. This is most definitely not a formulaic picture. When is the last time you saw a fight in a western where one guy rips the clothes off of another, just for humiliation sake?
Gary Cooper is topnotch as usual, here toward the end of his long and glorious career, but taking some chances by playing a once-super nasty hombre who's now gone straight. My friends and I memorized long passages of the dialogue, particularly the lines spat out by gang leader Doc Tobin, played magnificently by Lee J. Cobb. Here's Doc waxing nostalgic, upon first recognizing Link after many years : "Uvalde.....Saltillo.....Black Fork! Remember them times?? We killed that bank guard together. You held him and I took the top of his head off?" Later Link complains that Doc makes him stay in a room with the creepy mute Trout, played by one of filmdom's alltime great psychos, Royal Dano. Doc again: "Being with Trout is like being alone!" If you don't know about Royal Dano, think of Crispin Glover to get an idea. The two are probably related somehow.
What a great supporting cast as well, featuring, besides Dano, some of the dirtiest and most lowdown badguys ever: the frightening John Dehner as Cousin Claude, and that unsung antihero of countless westerns, snarling Robert J. Wilke. And we would be remiss if we did not mention the guy who got his pants ripped off and ends up shedding tears of humiliation: Jack Lord!
Rating: -
A classic western and one of Mann's greatest films [film noir or western, and perhaps best thought of as a film noir stuffed into the mold of the western]. Great script, wide open scenery, widescreen Cinemascope photography, great soundtrack, a 'narly Gary Cooper (as "Link"), and assorted nasty character actors. View it not only as a straight ahead western narrative, but also as a metaphor for any man seeking redemption from a twisted past.
The Tobin gang is Link's "family" [he is literally the link between evil (his past with them) and good (his current domesticated life and hoped for future)], and the story is that of his attempted escape and redemption as he rebels against this family's history of violence and criminality. A redemption that eventually involves the extermination of this family involving multiple fratricides, and for the finale, partricide.
The penultimate shoot out with his "cousin" Claude is is one of the great scenes in the Western film genre. Simply reflect on the classic line after Claude is shot by Link (delivered in a moan dripping with regret): "...it could have been so different...". Perhaps the ultimate statement regarding the individual's attempt to escape his/her past, fate, and, in this case, certainly, a monstrously dysfunctional family of range roving psychopaths.
The "rape" of mad dog "brother" Jack Lord (say it ain't so Dan-O!) is thrown in as a bizarre twist in this festival of Freudian bloodletting - I can only imagine the unsettling feeling that 50's audiences had when viewing the spectacle of this brother on brother trist. It's no wonder the film did not go down well at the time of its release - it is easily the darkest Western made up to this point in time.
Doc Tobin's last line before he shuffles off to big sky country sums up both the ending of the film and the beginning of the end of the Western genre. The Wild Bunch is just a decade away. For a darker vision of the Western World (no teaser here) one would have to go to Oakley Hall's "Warlock", or, Cormac McCarthy's, "Blood Meridian" - both novels, and both highly recommended.
Rating: -
Why was this film not liked by alot of people when it came out? Lee J. Cobb is one of the best leaders of a band of outlaws I have ever seen in movies. Gary Cooper is great, definitely not on par with his masterful perfomances in "FRIENDLY PERSUASION", "HIGH NOON", or "THE WESTERNER", but he is very good. The rest of the cast play their roles wonderfully. Royal Dano plays a mute, but he usually did portray either a very quiet character or a somewhat different character, so he is alright. John Dehner is also very quiet, calm, cool, and collected, but in his last scene, in his gunfight with Cooper, he becomes very nervous and worried, because he knows that Cooper is coming for him, but he does not know where Cooper is. Robert Wilke turns in a usual villainous role as Ponch, another member of the gang. His performance is definitely not as good as his small roles in his earlier part of an adversary against Gary Cooper, as one of the bad-guys from High Noon, his earlier work with director of this movie, Anthony Mann, in "THE FAR COUNTRY", his later work as "Wallace", the braggart competing against James Coburn, in "THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN", or the first mate of the Nautilus in one of my other favorites, the Disney version of "TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA". Julie London is good, but I cannot compare her to anything else because I have never seen her in anything else but this movie. Arthur O'Connell fits his role like a glove. A role of a person who is talkative, nosy, and very nervous under pressure. Enough with the okay-but-not-perfect performances. On to the ones who should have won some awards for their portrayals. These people would be Lee J. Cobb and Jack Lord. Lee J. Cobb is a particular standout with his deep, cackling, cracked voice of an old man. He is also the only one out of the entire cast, except for London and O'Connell, that actually likes Cooper's character, Link Jones. He is obviously very surprised when Link kills him, because of the soft spot that he has held for Link ever since their good old days of being outlaws. Anthony Mann required Cobb to ham up his voice from just a deep, resonant, booming presence into the voice of an old, old man that has seen better days, both physically and metaphorically, has apparently lost his mind, is usually drunk, and still harbors feelings of a type of father-son relationship for Link. This father-son relationship is what was a big factor towards Dock Tobin's demise. But, unfortunately, it also gives Link an edge against Dock so he can surprise him by drawing his gun to kill him before Tobin can draw his. Jack Lord is absolutely superb as Coaley. He has a particular characteristic in this movie. This characteristic would be the sneer that he has- very cruel, unforgiving, evil, and nasty all at the same time. Another standout from Lord's performance is one of his last scenes, which is his fight with Link, that ranges from in the middle of the small circle of wagons, to a tree a little distance away, and back again. The last part of the fight is definitely the best part of the fight. The reason for this is because Link tears Coaley's clothes off, down to his undershirt, in exchange for what Coaley forced London's character, Billie Ellis, to do, earlier in the movie, back at the gang's hideout shack. Then, Coaley pulls his gun on Dock, but who he really wants to kill is Link. He fires at Link, but somebody else is killed, because they jumped in front of the gun to save Link's life. Dock then kills Coaley. All through this fight, ever since Link gained the upper hand, that is, Coaley was crying. He was still crying when Dock shoots him. This is when we realize that Coaley was a coward, and had, ever since Link "joined" with them again, been jealous of Dock's preference of Link above the rest of them. Coaley just obviously could not stand it. There are two other performances that deserve praise. These would be the one-of-a-kind relationship between Billie and Link, which is very hard to put into words. They cannot get married, but if Link was single, we all know that she would marry him in a heartbeat. When you think about it, Link and Billie do not really need to get married, because the audience would not know what to expect if they were. Cooper and London are perfect for their roles just the way they are. The last, but certainly not the least performance is the great scenery. Sure, its not nearly as good as the scenery in Mann's colloborations with James Stewart, but the scenery in MAN OF THE WEST is not Oregon or Canada/Alaska, such as in "BEND OF THE RIVER", Stewart and Mann's second Western, or in The Far Country, Stewart and Mann's fourth Western. However, the scenery in Man of the West is quite superb. But all these great performances make up an even greater movie. Man of the West would not be what it is, a great Western, if it did not have the performances of Cooper, Cobb, Lord, and all the rest.
Also Recommended: "THE WESTERNER" (1940), "HIGH NOON" (1952), "THE FAR COUNTRY" (1954), "FRIENDLY PERSUASION" (1957), "THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN" (1960)
THIS REVIEW IS DEDICATED TO ANYONE, LIVING OR DEAD, INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF "MAN OF THE WEST".
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