The Naked Spur

The Naked Spur (1953)

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044953/]

The Gist:

This is the second Anthony Mann/James Stewart western I've watched, and I must say that I enjoyed it a great deal more than The Man From Laramie. While Laramie attempted to emasculate the archetypal Western character, The Naked Spur instead attempts to corrupt him. Stewart is the perfect choice for this role, to show how an honest ranch hand becomes a merciless bounty hunter in the West. His personality is already emblematic of the former role, and through his post-war reinterpretation of his own star persona he's able to find ways to create a darker impression of the character while still maintaining a strong thread of authenticity. In short, this is honestly what a character who was inherently good would look like after he sacrificed his integrity for wealth. Add to that a conniving outlaw that attempts to turn the band of impromptu bounty hunters against each other, a tightly wound plot that moves well, and an underlying commentary of greed that is strongly reminiscent of The Treasure of Sierra Madre, and you have one of the better westerns of the era.