If there's anything to be bitchy about, it's gotta be the pretty weak ending. Other than that, what a cast of characters. The ever-shifting dynamics will make it a great viewing for fans of Sierra Madre or the TV show Survivor.
I didn't expect a 1950s western to be as dark and dirty as The Naked Spur is, but it's essentially The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with the gold mine replaced with a wanted man. Jimmy Stewart's bounty hunter is a broken and anguished man who's lost his way trying to reclaim his life, ostensibly by getting the bounty on Robert Ryan's manipulative outlaw. Things get complicated early on when Stewart needs help from an old prospector (Millard Mitchell), and even more complicated when a dishonorably discharged soldier (Ralph Meeker) shows up and lends a hand, hoping for a piece of the pie. Oh, and then there's Janet Leigh as a woman who believes the outlaw is innocent. And that's it. No other actors have lines, even the most modest human settlement is absent. In the Wilderness, Man is allowed to revert to his bestial nature. This very compact five-hander provides plenty of conflict, and opportunities for Ryan to exploit. In the end, I wish Leigh's character were a little more than a symbol, but everything she does is for one man or another, and the engine for a moral twist that fits a fable better than the grotty realism built up to that point.
I'm not really a Western fan and I find it very hard to see Jimmy Stewart as anything other than the honest boy next door. But there were fewer American Indians killed in this one than others I've seen so I guess it was pretty good.
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Ebbywebby
God, enough with the nagging "Beautiful Dreamer" quotes already.Forzelius
If there's anything to be bitchy about, it's gotta be the pretty weak ending. Other than that, what a cast of characters. The ever-shifting dynamics will make it a great viewing for fans of Sierra Madre or the TV show Survivor.Siskoid
I didn't expect a 1950s western to be as dark and dirty as The Naked Spur is, but it's essentially The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with the gold mine replaced with a wanted man. Jimmy Stewart's bounty hunter is a broken and anguished man who's lost his way trying to reclaim his life, ostensibly by getting the bounty on Robert Ryan's manipulative outlaw. Things get complicated early on when Stewart needs help from an old prospector (Millard Mitchell), and even more complicated when a dishonorably discharged soldier (Ralph Meeker) shows up and lends a hand, hoping for a piece of the pie. Oh, and then there's Janet Leigh as a woman who believes the outlaw is innocent. And that's it. No other actors have lines, even the most modest human settlement is absent. In the Wilderness, Man is allowed to revert to his bestial nature. This very compact five-hander provides plenty of conflict, and opportunities for Ryan to exploit. In the end, I wish Leigh's character were a little more than a symbol, but everything she does is for one man or another, and the engine for a moral twist that fits a fable better than the grotty realism built up to that point.Camille Deadpan
I feel sorry for Robert Ryan's donkey. It's quite obvious it was in pain and that RR can't ride for the life of him.senorroboto
A rapist; a manipulator; an indifferent, bossy old man; and a mostly nice guy, what a rough spot for a lady.ClassicLady
I'm not really a Western fan and I find it very hard to see Jimmy Stewart as anything other than the honest boy next door. But there were fewer American Indians killed in this one than others I've seen so I guess it was pretty good.george4mon
the ending bugged me a bit but overall great western.Dieguito
Nice movie. What a landscape!nicolaskrizan
such characters!http://1001movies.posterous.com/850
Ibetolis
Oh my word, that was sensational.George Bailey
Looved it!