ccthemovieman-1 James Stewart, Walter Brennan, John McIntire, Ruth Roman, Jay C. Flippen, Corinne Calvet, Steve Brodie, Harry Morgan, Robert Wilke, Jack Elam, Kathleen Freeman - lots of familiar names and faces in this western.It was my first look at THE FAR COUNTRY (1954) and I was very impressed. The story was terrific, acting solid and the scenery excellent (on location in Alberta, Canada). It was great story-telling. with the twist or two to surprise you. The ending featured a couple of more surprises. It didn't hurt that Anthony Mann was directing, too. He and Stewart worked a number of movies together.Here's an interesting tidbit: the horse in this movie was the same one that Stewart used in 16 other movies!!!!! He and this horse were great pals and the horse was an excellent actor. Really.....that's what I read, and I thought that was kinda cool. In fact, there is an example of it in the final dramatic scene in this film.

Cristi_Ciopron This being the northern I enjoyed most, it doesn't prompt me to analyze it (which remains a trustworthy criterion for an accomplished work, because its accomplishment and exquisiteness make needless the explanations and generalities, one doesn't analyze works this good). However, it requires thought; the 1st experience has been awesome. Made by the best director of westerns, written by B. Chase, a lavish work, lovingly and exquisitely crafted, it has a dependable cast: Brennan, Flippen, even Elam in a bit role (none of them as convincing as the less famous guy who plays the villain), and exquisite northern landscapes; it certainly is unfair to deem it a genre movie, but it's an adventure movie.The man from Wyoming's tale has the bitterness that the director accustomed us to, with life in the west, or north, being rough; and thus while some things allude to the crushing burden of life, others belong to the tropes of a conventional tale, with altruism and respect, though those characters die or succumb or drown. The unpredictability of Stewart's character comes not from his being mysterious, but on the contrary, from being ordinary, unglamorous; he's not written as a mysterious guy, but as an ordinary, shrewd and grumpy cowboy from Wyoming. But it also comes from Stewart's style, which allowed him to set a chilling undertone, and to give his '50s roles a chilling romanticism. Stewart's acting gets moments of eeriness, and others of lyrical emotion (as when discussing with the freckled girl); the result being an ordinary guy, played as a striking one, with a chilling, uncanny glamor, so that ordinary actions get a lyrical twist, reminding us of Hopkins' words about Brando playing a cowboy …. None of the characters is a hypocrite. Even the scary ones have a plainness and thoroughness.

classicsoncall Well I have to say, the little bell on Jeff Webster's (Jimmy Stewart) saddle kept distracting me each time I heard it, thinking some new angel in heaven just got his wings. Of course that picture came out almost eight years earlier so I had to wonder if there was some subliminal homage being paid here to "It's a Wonderful Life". Not the worst idea but it might have been more effective if not so repetitive.The idea of Jimmy Stewart playing an unlikeable saddle tramp doesn't seem to be a lot of viewers' favorite idea but I think he made it work in the story. I like it when an actor plays against type and shows that it can be done effectively. It works to advance the theme expressed by Corinne Calvet's French teenage character Renee more than once, that if you don't like people they won't like you. Not that Webster had any problems with people not liking him, it was just his way, take it or leave it.The other aspect of Webster's character that satisfied this viewer was his resolve to go back to Skagway and retrieve his stolen cattle from town villain Gannon (John McIntire). At this point, Webster was still in it for the money and wasn't going to let anyone bully him out of his hard earned trail payload. In fact, money talks throughout the picture as we see once Webster's trail crew makes it into Dawson and a two dollar per pound on the hoof bid ekes out the fair folk of the Dawson Hash House.Though the true sentiment of Webster's character is never in doubt if you've seen enough of these older Westerns, it's interesting the way the story gets you there. Jeff saves his pal Rube (Jay C. Flippen) from facing off against Gannon henchman Madden (Robert J. Wilke), but in so doing causes him to lose face with the town folk. With sidekick Ben (Walter Brennan) already taken out by the bad guys, Webster's inner voice lets him know it was time to take it to the outlaw bunch, with a town full of citizens finally finding the courage to back him up once and for all. It was a defining moment for the town of Dawson, guided by the spirit of their better angels.

dougdoepke No need to recap the plot. The movie's an excellent western, maybe too complex for many folk's liking, but still it has all the necessary scenic and dramatic ingredients. I take Jeff's (Stewart) grouchy self-reliance as a commentary on the limits of rugged individualism. It's clear that his uncompromising trust only in himself has made him a successful cattleman. But it's also put him in a position to lose it all to the crooked Gannon who, unlike Jeff, has plenty of help even if it is hired. Jeff's problem is he's stood by uninvolved while his potential allies were subordinated by Gannon. So now Jeff risks fighting a loner's losing fight against much bigger odds unless he changes his ways.Mann's westerns are a long way from Ford's classical mythology of the old west. But Mann's characters are both more realistic and interesting. For example, note how Ford's expert pictorial eye uses beautifully composed landscapes mainly as an aesthetic backdrop, whereas Mann integrates his pictorial eye into heightening the dramatic scenes. It's the difference between an aesthete and a dramatist. Anyway, Mann's westerns need no lengthy rationalizing. They speak for themselves. And frankly, to those who complain of Mann's (the writers') apparent disdain for historical or geographical accuracy, I, for one, don't go to movies to collect facts. For facts, I go to books instead.