The Man from Laramie (1955)

What makes it different from others?

To me, this movie is perfection.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

THE MAN FROM LARAMIE is a pretty decent western teaming Jimmy Stewart with Anthony Mann for the last of their western collaborations throughout the 1950s. I've always loved Jimmy Stewart and he doesn't disappoint here either, playing a thoroughly likable trader who becomes involved with some dastardly landowners and stands alone against them through steadfast stubbornness.Stewart always brought a lightness of touch and warmth to his characters even when they weren't written as such and that's the case here. The plot is a typical one for a western but enlivened by some truly vicious scenes, particularly the early assault by Dave and his men which comes out of nowhere and is easily as gruelling as anything the modern-day likes of THE WALKING DEAD can care to throw at us.The film is well shot and pretty lively with always something of interest to keep you watching. Mann brings the isolated desert landscapes to life with decent cinematography and fills the screen with interesting performers including Arthur Kennedy playing a much more rounded character than you'd expect and Donald Crisp as the hard-headed patriarch. Mann even finds time to include Jack Elam in a small but memorable performance. THE MAN FROM LARAMIE isn't one of the best westerns out there but it's certainly an enjoyable one that ticks all of the right boxes.

In the course of trying to find the people who traded guns to the Apache (who used them to kill his kid brother), Will Lockhart falls foul of psycho Dave Waggoman and, by proxy, Dave's rich rancher father and kind of adoptive quasi-brother Vic.I somehow managed to never see this classic western until now. It features James Stewart in one of his iconic roles, and it looks great, with glorious widescreen colour locations. The story, which draws on King Lear, is relatively straightforward, albeit there are some threads which are never fully explored (Will and Barbara), some which are so obvious they might usefully have been avoided, and some - especially Dave's storyline - which get what, in my view, were lamer payoffs than they merited.I feel awful for criticising a classic western, but its strengths vastly outweigh its weaknesses, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rising Above the Landscape of the Incredible Proliferation of 1950's Westerns are the Films of Anthony Mann. Along with Budd Boetticher They Managed to Break Away from the Herd and Deliver Different, Adult, Complex Movies with Brutal Violence and Interesting Flesh and Blood Characters Roaming Around in the Western Environment.This is the Final of Five Westerns that Director Mann did with Jimmy Stewart and Interested People can Agree or Disagree about which One is the Best, but it Really Doesn't Matter. They are All Way Above Average and have Now Made Their Mark as Artistic and Essential Entertainment.This Film may have an Overbaked Plot with Many Motivational Intrigues that don't Quite Come Together. There is a Hot Headed, Spoiled Brat of a Central Villain that is Way Overacted and the Women are Country Corn. The Landowner Heavy is Drawn to be Very Nasty and Sympathetic at the Same Time and it Barely Works as Engaging.While the Script May have some Inconsistencies and Plods with some Confusion as to Purpose, the Cinemascope Scenery is Vintage Anthony Mann and is Used to Effect as More than just Pretty Pictures, and there is a Stereo Score. But the Highlights are the New Wave of Up Close and Personal Violence, and the Usual Spot On Portrayal of the Conflicted Hero by Stewart.

"The Man from Laramie" was the last of the five Westerns which James Stewart made with director Anthony Mann. There should have been a sixth, "Night Passage", but Mann withdrew from the project, reportedly because he was unhappy with the script and with the casting of Audie Murphy as Stewart's co-star, and the two never worked together again. (According to some versions of the story, they never spoke to one another again). Here Stewart plays Will Lockhart, the titular Man from Laramie, who leads a wagon train to the small town of Coronado, New Mexico. Lockhart, however, is not in town purely for business reasons. He also wants revenge for the death of his brother, an Army cavalry trooper, killed by the Apaches. He is seeking revenge not on the Indians themselves but on the white men who sold them rifles used in the attack. While in Coronado, Lockhart tangles with the Waggomans, powerful local ranchers. The film, in fact, is as much about this family as it is about Lockhart, and it explores their relationships in some detail. Alec Waggoman, the patriarch and an elderly widower, is an outwardly autocratic figure, but inwardly is haunted by mysterious nightmares and by the fact that he is gradually losing his eyesight. He is also troubled by the mutual dislike between his son Dave and his foreman Vic Hansbro, whom Alec regards virtually as an adopted second son. Two added complications are that Lockhart and Vic are both in love with the same woman, Alec's niece Barbara, and that Lockhart goes to work for Kate Canady, once Alec's lover and now his business rival.Two common features of the Mann-Stewart Westerns are striking photography of the Western scenery and a greater blurring of the moral boundaries between good and evil than was common in Westerns of the fifties, although this second feature was often found in other genres of the period, notable film noir. Both these features are to be found in "The Man from Laramie", which was one of the first Westerns to be filmed in CinemaScope to give a sense of the wide open New Mexico landscapes. Like all the Mann-Stewart collaborations except the first, "Winchester 73", it was shot in colour, part of a growing trend away from black-and- white in this particular genre. Dave Waggoman is an obvious villain- arrogant, hot-tempered and sadistic. Our first sight of him comes when, acting on very little provocation, he kills twelve mules and burns three wagons belonging to Lockhart. The other major characters, however, are more difficult to characterise as heroes or villains. Lockhart is the film's protagonist, and generally has right on his side, but he can also be angry, bitter and vindictive. Alec has a moral sense which Dave lacks, but can also be authoritarian with his workers and over-indulgent to his worthless son. In the confrontations between Dave and Vic he sides with his biological son over his adopted one, even though he is under no illusions about Dave's true character. Vic at first appears to be a rough diamond, lacking in social graces but with a sense of decency which sets him apart from the villainous Dave. We sympathise with him when he is treated unfairly by his adoptive father and he seems genuine in his love for Barbara. As the film progresses, however, Vic reveals himself to be as much of a villain as Dave, if not more so. The reviewer who drew parallels with the Gloucester subplot in "King Lear" should have recalled that in that play only one of Gloucester's sons, the illegitimate Edmund, proves to be a villain; his legitimate son Edgar is noble and magnanimous. Despite the unhappy ending to their relationship, James Stewart gave some of his best performances in his work with Mann, and he gives another good one here as the conflicted Lockhart, showing us the rough edges of his character but always holding our sympathy and our interest. There are also good supporting contributions from Donald Crisp as Alec, Alex Nicol as Dave and especially from Arthur Kennedy as Vic. (Kennedy was one of those gifted actors who never quite seemed to make the transition from supporting actor to leading man in his cinema career, even though he played many leading roles on stage). The fifties were a time when psychological Westerns, character-driven rather than action- driven, were increasing in popularity, and "The Man from Laramie" is an excellent example of this trend. 8/10