The Naked Spur (1953)

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Sam Rolfe (written by) and
Harold Jack Bloom (written by)

Release Date:

3 August 1953 (Sweden)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Packed with Technicolor Thrills!

Plot:

A bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-trustworthy strangers.

Plot Keywords:

Bounty Hunter | Kansas | Prospector | Greed | Escape Attempt

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 21

12:00 PM

TCM

Cast

James Stewart	...	Howard Kemp
Janet Leigh	...	Lina Patch
Robert Ryan	...	Ben Vandergroat
Ralph Meeker	...	Roy Anderson
Millard Mitchell	...	Jesse Tate

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16067)

Filming Locations:

Durango, Colorado, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

In Germany all films get dubbed, and at that time even the titles were translated. Thus it happened that in the German dubbed version James Stewart's name is spelled wrong in the front credits, with a d in the end.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the cave face-off scene, after Stewart (Kemp) gives Ryan (Vandergroat) the pistol, in 5 subsequent scenes the pistol alternates from being inside his vest, to outside his vest, to inside, to outside, and finally to outside but leaning way over about to fall out of his pants. In the scene changes, Ryan supposedly didn't move except to lower his hands during the first sequence of the scene, but when the camera changed from Stewart to Ryan and back several times, each time the pistol position alternated from inside the vest to outside.

Quotes:

Ben Vandergroat: Money splits better two ways than it does with three.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) (TV)

Taut, rugged western...grinning Ryan steals the show...

I never realized what a scene-stealer ROBERT RYAN could be until I saw THE NAKED SPUR. Although JAMES STEWART is the nominal big name star, it's Ryan's charming, snake-like villain who dominates this rugged western despite strong performances from the entire cast. He obviously relishes his role and is a joy to watch.

This is more a character study of a group of desperate losers than your average shoot 'em up western and Anthony Mann has directed it with the focus on the strong clashes between each one of them. RALPH MEEKER does an outstanding job as a war deserter who is both a help and a hindrance to the group as they seek to return outlaw Ryan to Kansas so justice can prevail. Stewart's character is given strong motivation for his deeds but Janet Leigh, as the outlaw's girlfriend, has a role that is not plausibly explained.

Photographed in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, it's a rugged kind of technicolor western that gives all of the performers physically demanding roles--and all of them are more than up to it.

Stewart, Leigh, Mitchell and Meeker are all superb--but it's Robert Ryan's devious villain that will linger longest in the memory.