grantss A good character-driven western.While it has some decent action sequences, mostly straight out of the western playbook, The Naked Spur is a mostly a character-driven drama. It is a battle of wills between five people, all with different agendas, views and abilities. It is also a story of greed, which shapes many of the personal agendas. Feels a bit like Treasure of the Sierra Madre in that regard, though not anywhere near as great a movie.Plot is a bit basic, but that is mostly fine. It is the interplay between the five antagonists that matters most.Solid performance from James Stewart in the lead role (as you would expect). He does feel a bit miscast, as here, while the hero, he is not perfect and has a few character flaws. Hard to imagine James Stewart playing a character that was anything less than perfect.Good support from Janet Leigh, Robert Ryan and Millard Mitchell. Ralph Meeker, as the former Army officer, is a bit hammy.

JohnHowardReid The photography is a standout. In fact, "The Naked Spur" looks like a 3-D film, complete with lots of deep focus compositions and even objects thrown at the camera! The natural locations are surely mighty impressive, although location movie-making does have its disadvantages -- such as the necessity to post-sync dialogue. Millard Mitchell's timing is way out of sync, but fortunately his role is not all that large. Stewart delivers a characteristic performance in his tailor-made role; Robert Ryan excels as usual; Ralph Meeker and Janet Leigh are competent enough to get by. Anthony Mann's astute direction keeps his audience on a knife edge. His action scenes pack a wallop. The screenplay comes across as tautly suspenseful, characters are skilfully delineated and the plot builds to a stunning climax. Admittedly, I can think of a more powerful ending. The one we actually have is a bit too conventional. Kaper's music score is one of his best.

abcj-2 THE NAKED SPUR - (1953) - I remembered this film from my past for sure about the time Janet Leigh showed up. I saw it back in another western phase a year or two ago. It was definitely not my preferred kind of western. I prefer some moments of comic relief (not necessarily pure comedy) and a little less grit and grimace. Jimmy Stewart was so conflicted and angry that I didn't equate him as the hero. He was way too uptight. I found him annoying and unattractive. I didn't think he and Leigh had any chemistry, and that made her part really unnecessary. For that matter, she was quite annoying and seemed to hop from man to man and not making informed choices. However, as a female stranded out west, I think she made the smarter call. Meeker and Mitchell were good, but other than to rankle Stewart's composure, I'm not sure their presence added much other than to make a bigger crowd. The real reason to watch, however, was for the one clearcut bad guy. I'll be on the lookout for Robert Ryan again. He was pure screen magic and made the film. Yes, the Hays Code causes Mann to have to let Ryan get the shorter end of the proverbial stick, but he still had a presence that made it hard to pull completely against him. Thus the need for a more clearcut hero.I was a little hesitant about Anthony Mann if Stewart was going to keep playing the anti-hero type. I like a hero. Fortunately, "Winchester '73" put Mann and Stewart back on my radar. Now that is excellence at its peak. I think I'm more of a John Ford type gal, but I'm going to remain open-minded as I work through the Mann westerns. It appears that there are quite a few IMDb reviewers who also had some issues with Stewart. I may have to keep Stewart reserved for lighter fare as I adore him in The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, The Shop Aroundthe Corner, and many other comedies and romances. At least I have "Winchester '73" to add to my favorite westerns, but, unfortunately, not this Mann western.

writers_reign By the 1950s the Western was evolving from the simplistic John Ford/John Wayne fables to a more in-depth approach that would culminate in the 'psychological' westerns of the sixties. Henry King kick-started both the genre and the decade with The Gunfighter which removed the Roy Rogers glamorous wardrobe and guitar and showed a much more realistic West. Ironically Anthony Mann's The Naked Spur was released the same year as George Steven's all-time Great Shane which managed to combine the best of both worlds via Alan Ladd's light-coloured 'glamorous' shirt with the harshness of life on the open range. Naked Spur is definitely in the vanguard of 'psychological' Westerns and cunningly contrives a chamber piece - only five characters - set in wide open spaces to appear claustrophobic via the close-knit tensions between the five. Initially each one is out for himself with only the weakest link, Janet Leigh, ostensibly united with Robert Ryan but inevitably the balance shifts so that what began as Stewart, Mitchell, Meeker, three single units united uneasily against Ryan and Leigh, evolves into sole survivors Stewart and Leigh forming a new alliance. Ryan, of course, excelled in this kind of role which he could do standing on his head, Mitchell and Meeker lend sterling support and if Leigh is the weakest link it is Stewart who actually gets to extend his range, leaving behind the gauche, Gary Cooper-lite bashful nice guy and exploring a much darker side of his personality. On TV recently it held up well after 57 years.