Choosin’ a way to die? What’s the difference? Choosin’ a way to live – that’s the hard part. – Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan)
Director Anthony Mann made several movies with Jimmy Stewart, including 1953’s The Naked Spur. Usually lauded for its cinematography and reliance on a five member cast, The Naked Spur is the story of a landless rancher (Jimmy Stewart as Howard Kemp) on the hunt for wanted murderer Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan).
Stewart captures Ryan early on in the film, but not before getting a few new ‘friends’ into the act. On the trail he meets ornery prospector Jesse Tate (Millard Mitchell in one of his final roles) and dishonorably discharged cavalryman Roy Anderson (Ralph Meeker). Ben’s traveling partner and would be girlfriend Lina Patch (Janet Leigh) also joins the group on Ben’s capture.
That’s were things begin to get interesting – and this commentary will differ from most which are almost universally positive regarding the film. Howard is bent on getting Ben back to claim the reward and regain his ranch while Ben is equally devoted to playing his three captors against each other to gain his freedom.
Ben’s goading and needling them is effective, but feels artificial and a bit over the top. It really doesn’t seem necessary as even from the beginning we can tell this group is an unholy alliance ready to dissolve at the earliest convenient moment. Robert Ryan, though second billed, takes over the picture with a powerful performance full of sly looks, grimaces, and lines full of multiple meanings.
If anything, Ryan’s character of Ben is perhaps the most likable of the small cast. In a rarity, all of the characters are pretty well fleshed out (except perhaps for Janet Leigh’s Lina). This deep level of characterization only serves to tell us that none of these chaps are worth rooting for, as their flaws are highlighted without any real positives coming to the surface. Kemp himself is a bitter and seemingly remote individual, torn over loosing his ranch to a former wife and being alone. Meeker’s Roy Anderson has been discharged for moral instability and basic lack of character. Jesse is a failed prospector driven by greed and envy to hit the big time.
Stewart himself is perhaps too effective against type as the bitter and soulless pursuer. Sadly the romance with Lina doesn’t really ever click, making the love story somewhat stillborn.
That leaves us only with Lina, but she’s the only character who lacks any development. Seemingly lost it’s hard to say she’s the hero but perhaps she is in a weird sense, as she is the only one who sticks to her guns. And she does get Howard to change his plan at the film’s finale.
At the end of the day, the moral undertones of The Naked Spur are not only what sets it apart from other Westerns but also to a great degree what undermine its effectiveness. Rather than work this aspect lightly or sporadically throughout the picture, director Mann nearly bludgeons us with it non-stop for the duration.
The Naked Spur is a great picture visually to look at. Without a single set set the entire picture is filmed outdoors which features almost as a star itself. Coupled with a moody and atmospheric Bronislau Kaper score it’s easy to at times get lost in the mountains of Colorado.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbpjpGYYUvQ[/embedyt]