Man of the West

I am a big fan of Director Anthony Mann. When it comes to Westerns, he has to belong in the top directorial echelon - WINCHESTER '73, NAKED SPUR, THE MAN FROM LARAMIE, THE LAST FRONTIER, all deserve praise for their gritty realism and anti-hero approach.

MAN OF THE WEST stars Gary Cooper, often in Westerns but seldom working under Mann. I have no idea why, but Mann allows a few incongruencies to poison the script, easily the worst in any Mann movie I have seen: 1) Link Jones (Cooper) going on a train with money belonging to a village whose residents want him to bring back a schoolmarm - I find it hard to believe that a teacher would require a large sum of money to be contracted, and even harder that he would surrender that info to the inquisitive Beasley (O'Connell) who immediately finds the ideal schoolmarm (London) aboard the train. 2) Tobin (Lee J, Cobb) plays a much too loud outlaw leading men who would kill their own mother but bungle a train robbery, and look well fed enough that they must enjoy comfortable living... despite failing in their attacks on banks and trains. 3) Tobin's master plan to rob the bank in the town of Lassoo is ridiculous, seeing that it has become a ghost town ever since the local mine shut down.

To add to the need to suspend your disbelief, Tobin is supposed to be Jones' uncle, but Cobb clearly looks younger than Coop - and so he should, seeing that Cobb was born in 1911 and Coop in 1901.

Sultry beauty London tries valiantly to make the most of a rather irrelevant part. She was first and foremost a wonderful singer, and I can only lament that she did not sing a note here, even though the introductory credits announce a song composed by London's then husband Bobby Troup... but no song is heard at all.

Supporting actor O'Connell does not start off too badly as the nose poker of a passenger but then disappears for long whiles. Ultimately, his role is justified by the need to stop a bullet intended for Coop. Jack Lord looks like the most dangerous of Tobin's sidekicks but after a few threats he is just no match for Coop's fast hand.

As a curiosity, Coop underwent cosmetic facial surgery after completing this shoot, but unfortunately cancer would soon set in, so he had little time to enjoy his regained looks.

Forgettable Westerner, I doubt I will ever rewatch it. 6/10.

MAN OF THE WEST (C+): One of those Westerns that love to spend most of its time in talking scenes once it has unveiled the stakes of the plot. Gary Cooper plays a reformed outlaw who, along with two innocent souls on the train with him, winds up accidentally with his old outlaw gang headed by scene chewing Lee Cobb. He has to then trick them that he is into returning to the old life in order to protect the lives and honor of his innocent companions. The key theme here is whether or not Cooper can trick them and get away without re-igniting the old evil self in him. It's a nice concept, but I found the film a bit too plain and obvious. The train robbery and an extended fight sequence are interesting, but Cooper here is kind of boring and while the film engages, it's hard to buy Lee Cobb believing that Cooper is interested in returning and putting up with the chaos it causes his crew. Decent stuff here, not a bad watch, but not something that struck me as must see.

Tense , violent ,epic Western in which Gary Cooper , Lee J Cobb and Julie London stand out . Brilliant and taut Western with wonderful use of locations and top-of-the-range cast . Gary Cooper is the Man of the West , a reformed outlaw called Link Jones (Gary Cooper , he bravely did his own horse-riding scenes despite physical pain from a car accident years earlier though) becomes stranded after an aborted train robbery with two other passengers (Julie London , Arthur O'Connell) . Cooper is forced to rejoin his ex-colleague (Lee J Cobb) and ex-boss to save himself and other innocent people from the band's (Jack Lord , Robert J Wilke, Royal Dano) mistreatment .

Magnificent Western plenty of thrills , shootouts , violence , gorgeous landscapes and results to be pretty entertaining . This excellent Western deserves another look at 1958 , nowadays is better considered then the 50s when was dismissed . In spite of its violence that influenced in Spaghetti Western , ¨Man of the West¨ turns out to be an essential and indispensable Western for hardcore aficionados . Jean-Luc Godard, a film critic before he became a director, raved about the film saying it was the best film of that year ; because of his recommendation, the film has been reevaluated and is now considered a classic western . Gary Cooper is frankly well in the role that fits him like a gun fits a holster .Gary Cooper was, at 56, a decade older than Lee J. Cobb who played his "Uncle" Dock Tobin , in the film Cooper and John Dehner talk about being children together , Dehner was actually fourteen years younger than Cooper . However , Stewart Granger was originally announced for the lead role and James Stewart eagerly sought the role played by Gary Cooper, but since Stewart had fallen out with director Anthony Mann he did not get the part . Very good support cast formed by notorious secondaries such as Jack Lord , Royal Dano , Robert J Wilke , Arthur O'Connell , Frank Ferguson and special mention to Lee J Cobb . Colorful cinematography in CinemaScope by Ernest Haller . Powerful and thrilling musical score by Leigh Harline .

This top-drawer Western was stunningly realized by the master Anthony Mann , infusing the traditional Western with psychological confusion , including his characteristic use of landscape with marvelous use of outdoors which is visually memorable . Mann established his forte with magnificent Western almost always with James Stewart . In his beginnings he made ambitious but short-lived quality low-budget surroundings of Eagle-Lion production as ¨T-men¨ , ¨They walked by night¨ , ¨Raw deal¨ , ¨Railroaded¨ and ¨Desperate¨ . Later on , he made various Western , remarkably good , masterpieces such as ¨The furies¨ , and ¨Devil's doorway¨ and several with his habitual star , James Stewart, as ¨Winchester 73¨ , ¨Bend the river¨ and ¨The far country¨ . They are characterized by roles whose determination to stick to their guns would take them to the limits of their endurance . Others in this throughly enjoyable series include ¨Tin star ¨ and ¨Man of the West¨ is probably one of the best Western in the fifties and sixties . After the mid-50 , Mann's successes came less frequently , though directed another good Western with Victor Mature titled ¨The last frontier¨. And of course ¨Man of the West ¨ that turns out to be stylish , fast paced , solid , meticulous , with enjoyable look , and most powerful and well-considered . This well acted movie is gripping every step of the way . It results to be a splendid western and remains consistently agreeable . Rating : Above average , the result is a top-of-range Western . Well worth watching and it will appeal to Gary Cooper fans .

Stranded in the middle of nowhere after their train is robbed, a former outlaw, a schoolteacher and a gambler take refuge with the gang that the former outlaw once belonged to in this dark western drama. Taking refuge does not come easy to the once-outlaw, played by Gary Cooper, as he has to pretend to still be a tough lawbreaker despite reforming his ways, and there is a lot of tension in the air as the gang members are equally as uneasy about his return. The plot actually has a lot in common with David Cronenberg's 'A History of Violence' with Cooper having to face the violent past that he thought he left behind. Cooper never quite seems right in the role though; aside from being two decades older than his character, it is hard to ever imagine Cooper once being a hardened outlaw. As a character, he is not as well developed as Viggo Mortensen in 'A History of Violence' either with the train robbery happening before we even have a chance to know him. The film is also set back by a melodramatic music score from Leigh Harline that comes off as overbearing half the time. The film does have its moments though. The long distance shots of Cooper entering the supposedly abandoned cabin are great, capturing the eerie isolation of the place. The scene in which Julie London is told to strip at knife point is nail-bitingly intense too, and while he looks too young to really be Cooper's uncle, Lee J. Cobb is delightful in the role, radiating both danger and a sense of longing, wanting so much to reconnect with the outlaw nephew he thought he lost forever.

"Man of the West", being an Anthony Mann directed western, contains a good deal of violence. Usually starring James Stewart, this one stars Gary Cooper in one of the best roles of his career.

The story centers on Cooper as a reformed outlaw who boards a train with Julie London as a saloon girl and Arthur O'Connell as a fast talking gambler. Along the way, the train is held up and the three are left behind. They stumble upon a shack that turns out to be the hide out of the men who had held up the train. Led by a slightly mad Lee J. Cobb, the gang includes Jack Lord as Cobb's sadistic henchman and veteran western performers John Dehner, Robert J. Wilke and Royal Dano as the other gang members. Turns out that Cooper had once been a member of Cobb's gang.

There is a violent fight between Cooper and Lord that is the highlight of the film. There is also an graphic (for the time) shootout in a deserted town and the ultimate showdown between Cooper and Cobb at the end.

Cooper was a little long in the tooth at the time to be believable as Cobb's protege (Cobb was actually 10 years younger), but that can be overlooked due to the excellent performances by both actors. London has little to do but O'Connell is excellent as the gambler who finds his courage.

"Man of the West" is arguably one of Cooper's best.