Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 05/13/2008 Run time: 83 minutes Rating: Nr
Western auteur Anthony Mann and aging Western icon Gary Cooper team up in this stark tale of a trio of train passengers stranded in the middle of the desert after a railway holdup. Taking responsibility for his helpless compatriots (Julie London as a sad-eyed prostitute and Arthur O'Connell as a garrulous but cowardly banker), craggy-faced Link Jones (Cooper) takes them into a veritable viper's nest in a desperate gamble. It turns out the respected town elder is a former member of the outlaw gang that robbed them, and he's welcomed back by patriarchal gang leader Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb) like the prodigal son. The other bandits are not so forgiving but humor the old man while plotting to unmask Cooper as a devious traitor in a battle of wits and wills. Mann returns to his favorite themes of family and betrayal with a dramatic twist and wrenches up the jagged conflict with the most spare imagery of his career: the trio hiking down an endless horizon of empty track, a lone ramshackle shack on the arid plains, the desolate ghost town where Tobin's planned bank heist turns out to be a pathetic fantasy. Mann's taut direction creates a tension that hangs in the air like the sword of Damocles over the stranded travelers and explodes in cruel, raw violence. Reginald Rose (12 Angry Men) wrote the literate if sometimes overly symbolic script, and John Dehner, Jack Lord, and Royal Dano costar as Tobin's angry gang members. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Man of the west:
Coop fans will enjoy this gritty western,directed by Anthony Mann.The throw down between our hero and Jack Lord is not to be missed!Above average plot with strong support.
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Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake Gary Cooper stars in MAN OF THE WEST(1958), directed by Anthony Mann who also directed such classic James Stewart westerns as WINCHESTER. 73., BEND OF THE RIVER and THE NAKED SPUR. This was one of Cooper's last films and, frankly, he seems a bit old for the role, even though the movie itself is an... more info
"Gary Cooper Series ... Man of the West (1958) ... United Artists":
United Artists presents "MAN OF THE WEST" (1 October 1958) (99 mins/Color) (Dolby digitally remastered) -- Our story line and plot, On his way to hire a schoolteacher, a homesteader (Gary Cooper) is left a hundred miles from anywhere when the train he is on is robbed --- With him are an attractive dancehall girl (Julie London) and an untrustworthy gambler (Arthur O'Connell) and he decides to get shelter nearby from outlaw relatives (Lee J. Cobb) he used to run with --- They don't trust him and he loathes... more info
badbones:
Not as good as I remember when I watched it as a teenager. I would put this movie in the middle of Gary's over all westerns. My favorite is Vera Cruz with him and Burt Lancaster.
