Man of the West (1958)

Man of the West
Directed by Anthony Mann
Written by Reginald Rose from a novel by Will C. Brown
1958/USA
Ashton Productions/Walter Mirisch Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental
#346 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Link Jones: There’s a point where you either grow up and become a human being or you rot, like that bunch.[/box]

Here is something a little different in the Western department for 1958.

Link Jones (Gary Cooper) is a man of mystery.  His name and origins seem to change depending on whom he is talking to.  He arrives in town from a small settlement to catch the train to Fort Worth, where he says he plans to hire a school teacher.  His fellow passengers will include gambler and con artist Sam Beasley (Arthur O’Connor) and saloon singer Billie Ellis (Julie London).

During a robbery attempt, all three of these folks ended up stranded 100 miles from the nearest town when the train takes off abruptly.  The would-be robbers were from Dock Tobin’s (Lee J. Cobb) gang and the passengers quickly find themselves at their hide-out.  It is then we learn that Link was a member of the gang in his youth but has now reformed.

Dock is a dotty but intimidating old man and his associates are mean hombres.  Link’s loss was a blow to Dock and he wants him back, prompting distrust, jealousy and violence on the part of the gang members.  With Jack Lord as the meanest of the hombres.

This has many of the standard 50’s Western tropes but the villains are a bit different and it is more violent than many.  Cooper is good but he is looking increasingly tired.  Cobb is in his full-out bigger than life mode.  The film is strikingly shot by director Mann.

I’m sure I’m not the first to think of this, but it occurs to me that the Western was where film noir went in the Technicolor era.  We seem to be getting the same tortured men with a past as in the earlier films.  The femme fatale has gone by the wayside.

Trailer