The Naked Spur
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| The Naked Spur | |
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| Directed by | Anthony Mann |
| Produced by | William H. Wright |
| Written by | Sam Rolfe Harold Jack Bloom |
| Starring | James Stewart Janet Leigh Robert Ryan |
| Music by | Bronislau Kaper |
| Cinematography | William C. Mellor |
| Editing by | George White |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | February, 1953 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Naked Spur is a 1953 American western movie directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their third collaboration.
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[edit] Plot
Howard Kemp (James Stewart) tracks murderer Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan) for the $5000 reward. His ex-fiancée had sold his ranch while he was serving in the army and he is determined to buy it back. Grizzled old miner Jesse Tate (Millard Mitchell) and discharged Union soldier Roy Anderson (Ralph Meeker) join the hunt. Ben is caught along with a companion, Lina Patch (Janet Leigh), the daughter of one of his friends.
On the way back, Ben tries to turn his captors against each other. Meanwhile, Lina is torn between loyalty to Ben and a growing attraction to Howard. Ben convinces Jesse into sneaking off with him and Lina; Ben later gets the drop on the old man and kills him in cold blood, alienating the young woman.
The other two track him down and a shootout ensues. Ben is eventually shot by Roy and his body falls into the nearby river, where it becomes entangled in the roots of a tree. When Roy goes to retrieve it, he is crushed by another tree floating down the river. Lina pleads with Howard not to take blood money for bringing Ben in; his love for her makes him agree.
[edit] Reception
The film was a box office hit when first released, ensuring three more Stewart-Mann collaborations, including two more westerns. Screenwriters Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom were nominated for the 1954 Best Screenplay Academy Award. In the years since its release, the film has achieved continued success, gaining more critical acclaim now than upon first release. The film was deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation by the federally funded United States National Film Registry in 1997.
Although the film generally receives credit for teaming James Stewart with Anthony Mann for several films, Robert Ryan also teamed with Mann in The Naked Spur, Men In War, and God's Little Acre. Leonard Maltin has lauded The Naked Spur as "one of the best westerns ever made."
[edit] James Stewart and Anthony Mann
James Stewart starred in five classic western movies by director Anthony Mann. In all five he plays a man that is haunted by the past. The films are famous for their groundbreaking use of the landscape to portray the characters' feelings.
- Winchester '73 (1950)
- Bend of the River (1952)
- The Naked Spur (1953)
- The Man from Laramie (1955)
- The Far Country (1955)
[edit] Cast
James Stewart as Howard Kemp
Janet Leigh as Lina Patch
Robert Ryan as Ben Vandergroat
Ralph Meeker as Roy Anderson
Millard Mitchell as Jesse Tate
