MisterWhiplash Man of the West, the film that Jean-Luc Godard called the best one of 1958 when he was at Cashiers du cinema, is both brutal and sad in how it places its characters into states of being no one can really get out of. One may call it fate or just bad luck when Link Jones finds himself off the train taking him back to his home and finds the one place he'd rather not go to is the only one close by (and happens to have his Uncle Dock Tobin and his cousins), but much of it comes back to the domination of MEN in this world; the 'Man' of the title is meant to be Gary Cooper, and yet it could be any of the men in here. What does it mean to be a man here? For those people wanting someone with honor and integrity, one might look to Cooper's character.What's fascinating is how much of an inner struggle he is having as he comes back to his former home, where his uncle taught him to be a "man" along with his cousins and it was in the ways of being a robber and a killer. He tried to leave that life behind, but somehow, some way, he's pulled back in to it (not that his face possibly tipping off an old-time marshall won't get the old wanted posters out again). So when he happens along to his former criminal, gunslinging, bank-robbing kin when off of this train with a good woman (Julie London as Billie) and Arthur O'Connell as a man who seems like a possible annoyance at first (and who isn't so much once the drama really unfolds), it creates an instant conflict.This is Mann's territory, of the dysfunctional families out in the west (see also Winchester 73 with the brothers who have gone down very different roads of killing, or The Furies with its father-daughter power struggles), and he mines it for some rich dramatic terrain. it's amazing so much of this movie works even when knowing what isn't quite right about it - the age disparity is hard not to see, with Cooper trying to play younger (and, to be fair, not doing a terrible job), and Lee J. Cobb as his *uncle* with a gray wig and some make-up that isn't wholly convincing, certainly on first glance, not to mention his character was a "kid" with one actor half his age - because the acting sells every tension-packed moment. And few moments are more tense and sad and almost tough to watch as when the men demand that Billie take off her clothes in front of them (it takes a knife to Cooper's throat to convince her to start doing it).That, by the way, has the feel of a rape scene because it is (later, off-screen, there is another, and Mann shows us enough of the aftermath and London is heartbreaking in every moment that Billie is put through the wringer), and yet the only thing that stops that violation of her agency to go further is that "Uncle Dock" says it's time for bed. Man of the West is the kind of film that gains in uneasiness and violence, including a fight scene midway through the movie that does not look fun like many, more possible hacky directors (or just more "commercial" minded) might have done. At one point it's Cooper vs one of this gang and it goes on and on, feeling not unlike something out of the fight scene from They Live only without the sense of over the top spectacle. This is rough and ragged and there's a point where the "movie" ness of it goes away and it's just watching two bedraggled men duking it out - including, ultimately, a "humiliation" that Link does that seems to set off this guy more than a simple shot to the head might do.What on the surface may seem like a straightforward thriller turns into a moral tale about the implicit terror that masculinity brings to people in the old west - not unlike Winchester 73 a subtle commentary on the form while getting to be it, in the 1950's of course - and Cobb makes this uncle an imposing presence over everyone (how could he not, after all, he's Lee J friggin Cobb!) Cooper brings a sad dignity to the man, someone who no longer wants to kill, and at the same time can spring into action if he's pushed into a corner, which, you know, is what this movie could also be called: Cornered in the West or something like that. Mann and his writers have here less a story that's meant to arouse excitement as much as contemplating what it fully means when someone gets shot, what that violence entails, or what happens when a woman is stripped away down to what she's "made" for (when she Billie says to Link that he's the first man she can remember in a long time, if ever, to not look at her as something to be "had" or defiled, we believe it). And yet London as an actress gives her a ton of screen presence and little moments that don't make her one dimensional.It may fall short of being a "best of 1958" like Mr. Godard said, but I can see his love for the movie: it's more concerned with ideas and notions of the old west than having it be just empty action and gunfights, and exploring the psychology, to be pretentious about it, of the west itself, of what an outlaw family entails and then what it means to be a *good* person in a world where it's so easy to get a gun and go out and shoot for cash and gold. 8.5/10

jarrodmcdonald-1 Maybe someone can explain the purpose of the other male hostage from the train. He is basically there to step in front of Cooper and take a bullet for him, but why do the outlaws let him stay alive so long? What purpose does he really serve them? It is easy to see they would want the girl, but why keep a guy around that they have to feed?. Let's look at the female hostage (Julie London). After she is forced to strip, there is a classic moment when Gary Cooper's character humiliates Jack Lord's character to get even for what had been done to her. That is probably one of the high points of the entire film (especially if you're a feminist).The scenes in town toward the end of the picture conveniently manage to get by without having to show a lot of extras or townspeople in the background. As a result, it gives the story and our man of the west a more isolated feel.There are many excellent things about this motion picture. It is so good that we can overlook the flaws, especially the miscasting of Lee J. Cobb as a father figure to the long-in-the-tooth Gary Cooper.

Jackson Booth-Millard From director Anthony Mann (Winchester '73, The Naked Spur, The Man from Laramie, El Cid), I only knew the leading actor in classic western High Noon, I wouldn't have known he starred in many others, this was another one in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Basically Link Jones (Gary Cooper) is a reformed outlaw travelling to Crosscut, Texas to hire a schoolteacher, conman Sam Beasley (Arthur O'Connell) briefly speaks to him, and this rouses the suspicions of the town marshal who thinks he looks familiar, and on the train Sam introduces him Crosscut saloon singer Billie Ellis (Julie London) who is keen to be a teacher. Thieves Coaley Tobin (Jack Lord), Trout (Royal Dano) and Ponch (Robert J. Wilke) attempt to rob the train, and Link is knocked unconscious trying to intervene, and after recovering and helping Sam and Billie he finds the thieves hiding out in a rundown house. Aging outlaw Dock Tobin (The Exorcist's Lee J. Cobb) comes in and is shocked to see his nephew Link, he abandoned him years ago allowing him to go straight, he says things have not been the same since he left, he is introduced to the roughnecks, including Coaley, his cousin. He realises he and his friends are in danger when Coaley kills the wounded and near death Alcutt (Jack Williams), he lies to his uncle to get away, but he wants him to remain with the gang to rob a bank in the town of Lassoo, he only agrees to protect Billie. There is a point when Billie is threatened to strip by Coaley, and Tobin takes his time to stop it, they are soon joined by another cousin, Claude Tobin (John Dehner), and set on the four day ride to Lassoo, on the journey Link and Coaley get into a brutal fistfight, Sam tries to intervene and is shot, after being humiliated by Link and attempting to kill him Coaley is shot by Tobin. Billie has affectionate feelings for Link, but back in his home town Good Hope he is already married with a child, he volunteers to lead the robbery, he is joined by mute Trout (Royal Dano) but the town turns to be a ghost town, so Link kills Trout, and in gun battle he kills Ponch and with regret also Claude. He returns to Billie and is shocked to find her raped and beaten, so he searches for Tobin who is above on the cliffs, after some taunting he does get shot and the bag of money is stole is taken back, with the day saved Billie says she will return to singing, while Link rides back to Good Hope to his family. Also starring Guy Wilkerson as Train Conductor, Chuck Roberson as Rifleman-Guard on Train, Frank Ferguson as Crosscut Marshal, Emory Parnell as Henry, Tina Menard as Juanita and Joe Dominguez as Mexican Man. Cooper gives a good performance full of gravitas and intensity, London is interesting as the leading female, and Cobb is chosen well as the villain, I will confess that I found the story difficult to follow at times, but there enough controversial moments, such as the rape scene, and of course the showdown style gun fight near the end is really engaging, so all in all it is a watchable western. Very good!

doug-balch There's a lot to like about this excellent Anthony Mann Western.Great "passing of the West" theme.Great tension and dramatic plot developmentReally good supporting acting. Lee J. Cobb gives a bravura performance. Jack Lord is tremendous as the henchman. Great work by John Dehner as Link's cousin. It's hard to take Dehner seriously, because he appeared so many "B" pictures and TV westerns. But here he comes across as a legit "A" list supporting actor. Julie London is surprisingly effective and Arthur O'Connell provides solid support as well.However, there were a number of things that prevented this movie from being better:Gary Cooper's just way too old for this role. The logic of the its own plot says he should be 40 or so, while he looks like he's 60. That also hurts in the creepy romantic subplot with Julie London, a woman nearly 30 years his junior.As is typical in many Anthony Mann movies, there are gaping plot holes. Mainly the preposterous coincidence that Link gets left by the train within short walking distance of his old hideout - and his whole gang is sitting right there, even though he hasn't been anywhere near the place in over a decade.Another plot hole, how could Tobin possibly not have known that Lassoo was a ghost town. He seemed to know a ton about the gold kept there. Also, it also wasn't much of a town, what, 10 buildings in total. How much money was in that bank? Another case of Mann deciding he wanted a climactic shoot out in a small ghost town and not ensuring that the plot sets it up properly.I thought the rape scenes - graphic for their time - were gratuitous.I didn't see the point of killing the Mexican woman in Lassoo. Mann seems sadistic at times.At the end Link and Billie ride off into the sunset, but isn't the whole territory out looking for Link now? Claude said the telegraph wires were "burning" that the sheriff had identified him. What about his horse back in Crosscut? Also, he told everyone where he was from. Won't they hunt him down in his home town now?It may sound like I'm nitpicking, but all these things add up and most of them aren't necessary. Mann was just very sloppy with plot details. I like to give credit to directors who went to the trouble to preserve the integrity of their stories.