Man of the West

Of all the western movies that I have seen in my time, I would definitely have to say that "Man of the West" is one of the best. Gary Cooper does an excellent job of portraying an ex con who must confront his past and deal with a gang who does not trust him but would like him to help them out. He acts just as though he did in many of his films, playing a quiet, easy going cowboy who knows how to act in tight situations. I also thought Cooper had a very supportive cast that included Jack Lord as a wild and rebellious killer, John Dehner as a cool but equally violent person, Lee J. Cobb as a filthy old man who was the leader of the gang and who surely was the example for the other gangmembers and Arthur O'Connell and Julie London as the innocent bystanders who Cooper must look out for. I also thought that the content and violence was very well done to help people get the feeling of what people could be like. All in all, "Man of the West" is not only one of Cooper's best but one of the best westerns ever.

Film critic Jean Luc Godard was right when he liked this film. Though the film has its weak spots, the good bits outweigh those. Gary Cooper is outstanding in the main role--a performance as creditable as his role in High Noon. The character of Beasley (Arthur O'Connel) is interesting to note when his role is only a sidebar plot in the main structure. Lee J Cobb is almost unrecognizable (recognizable by his voice) thanks to the beard and other make-up. Julie London is also notable. The cameo of the Mexican lady and then of her Mexican husband returning to a dead town called Lassoo are, for me, high points. But the concept of the ghost town having a bank with lots of money for the gang leader (Cobb) is a very interesting way to look at the way the Wild West was evolving. What does not add up is Cooper's character at the end. Does he eventually hire Billie (London) as the schoolteacher? Does he get married to her, after stating that he has two kids and a wife? An unusual western indeed.

Link Jones (Gary Cooper) is a former outlaw, coming from the west to hire a schoolteacher to his small town with the savings of the locals. A gang robs the train where Link is traveling, including his luggage with the money, the train successfully escapes from them, but the singer Billie Ellis (Julie London), Sam Beasley (Arthur O´Connell) and him are accidentally left behind, in an isolated place many miles far from any city. The next train will pass by the region only a week later, and they look for a shelter for the cold night. They find an abandoned ranch where Link used to live. However, the gang who stole the train is lodged there, and further, Link was a member of this gang. He introduces Billie as his wife, and says that he decided to return to the group. A tense, dramatic and violent relationship develops between Link and the group, with tragic consequences. This western is very different from the others, without action, but having dramatic psychological drama instead, including a claustrophobic situation in the house. Gary Cooper plays a protective good man who wants to forget his past; Julie London's role is a lonely woman, who does not love any man or anything, but who falls in love with Link; and the performances of the `bad guys' are fantastic. This movie is really a classic western. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `O Homem do Oeste' (`The Man of the West)

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.