Review of The Naked Spur (1953) by Tomas T — 12 Sep 2011

The Naked Spur is another solid western from the fruitfull collaboration between the Director Anthony Mann and James Stewart. Like in their previous Westerns, The Naked Spur does not boast with overly complex storyline, instead it is driven by deep characters and good acting.

The movie starts easily enough storywise as Howard Kemp (James Stewart),a bounty hunter, is after a loose vigilante Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan), but the simple manhunt quickly gets more complicated as other characters are introduced into the equation. In the end the movie is a power struggle between five parties, the bounty hunter Howard Kemp by James Stewart, the ruthless and constantly sniggering Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan) and three others: Lina Patch (Janet Leigh) who is the fair lady of the show being controlled by the Ben Vandergroat. Jesse Tate, an elderly gold miner far too blue-eyed for his own good and a ex-military man Roy Anderson (Roy Meeker) on the run from Indians. What makes The Naked Spur so good is the fact that from these simple character settings the movie spuns deep characters interactions. From this an intriguing setting develops where every character has their own goals, all the while with Ben Vandergroat using every opportunity possible to turn the tide favorable for himself.

Acting is solid through the cast, though modern viewer might find the overly acted performances somewhat odd, but in the 50's the overacting was more of a norm and can be easily overlooked. Scenery is stunning and the story keeps interest up throught the movie. Thus The Nakes Spur is easily one of the best Mann/Stewart Westerns out there and should be considered by all interested in Westerns.