The Naked Spur

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Matthew B The Naked Spur is the third of five morality westerns that director Anthony Mann made with actor James Stewart in the lead role. As with all other entries, the story revolves around a morally flawed hero who faces an ethical dilemma from which he must make the right choice. With The Naked Spur, Howard Kemp (Stewart) is still in the middle of making that choice, and it is far from certain that he will decide to take the high ground in the end. On this occasion, our hero is a bounty hunter, and he is seeking to bring in a man with whom he was once friendly, and with whom he played cards. He does not even care whether the man is guilty or not. He wants only the reward money. The Naked Spur is a chamber piece. There are only five speaking parts in the film. In spite of this, five seems too many to safely attain the purpose for which Howard has set out. The dynamics between the characters will create a tense atmosphere throughout the story, in which nobody can be trusted. Mann makes good use of the beautiful landscape of the Rocky Mountains, with its tall green trees and high hills. He benefits from a strong cast with no weak performances that let the film down. While Mann is often seen a man who was good at directing action scenes, he is comfortable filming the quieter moments too, and he manages to move all scenes along with a deft sense of pace and rhythm. There is no time for hidden depths. The motives and actions of his characters are all visible on the surface. This allows audiences to easily engage with the moral issues that underline all of Mann's stories. Mann may not be often named among the world's great directors, but he is certainly one of the most satisfying. I wrote a longer appreciation of The Naked Spur on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2019/08/27/the-naked-spur-1953/ Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/02/23 Full Review Jared Z It's admittedly a bit of a slow burn, but The Naked Spur is an absolute masterclass in suspense and character study, with James Stewart delivering yet another stellar performance in his third collaboration with director Anthony Mann. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/30/23 Full Review Steve D High end western with a wonderful lead. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Fantastic performances and a movie that has a little more to it than you think it would. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Anthony Mann continues to show me that he is my favorite director of American westerns. His more morally complex heroes, that especially of Mann's frequent collaborator James Stewart. The Naked Spur is my favorite of their western collaborations by far (haven't seen Winchester 73 yet). With its stunning locations that pop from the beautiful Techicolor helps it stand out. The story is simple story of a man after another man for money, but the cast of characters make it work. Lead by a great villain in Robert Ryan and of course the beautiful lady in between Ryan and Stewart, the beautiful Janet Leigh. This comes recommended. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review david f This Western is packed with gorgeous scenery but it's the psychological desperation and constriction of the Jimmy Stewart character - a rancher who has set out to capture a criminal with a bounty large enough to help him buy his ranch back - and the way his desperation interacts with a loopy miner character and a dishonourably discharged soldier who agree to help him take the captured criminal back to Abilene in return for part of the bounty that make this Western such an edge-of-your-seat thriller. On one level this is an entertainment, and as far as that goes it is great entertainment. The conflicts between the man with the bounty and the bounty hunter, the tensions between the three potential bounty collectors - these things keep the film very interesting. But it's also philosophical about things like justice and just what something like the American Dream is all about if it means you've got to capture someone and drag them back to face justice. It asks what that does to a man. This is really an all around great movie. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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