The Far Country (1954)

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Borden Chase (story)
Borden Chase (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 February 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Western

Tagline:

RENEE...the innocent...and the untamed...BEN...the gambler...and the loser...GANNON...the law...and the noose...RUBE...the friendless...and the afraid.

Plot:

A self-minded adventurer (Jeff Webster) locks horns with a crooked lawman (Mr. Gannon) while driving cattle to Dawson.

Plot Keywords:

Cattle | Gold | Klondike | Gold Rush | Corrupt Judge

Cast

James Stewart	...	Jeff Webster
Ruth Roman	...	Ronda Castle (owner, Skagway Castle & Dawson Castle saloons)
Corinne Calvet	...	Renee Vallon
Walter Brennan	...	Ben Tatum (Jeff's partner)
John McIntire	...	Skagway Sheriff Gannon
Jay C. Flippen	...	Dawson Marshal Rube Morris
Harry Morgan	...	Ketchum (Castle driver / miner) (as Henry Morgan)
Steve Brodie	...	Ives (Castle driver / miner)
Connie Gilchrist	...	Hominy (co-owner, Dawson Hash House)
Robert J. Wilke	...	Madden (Gannon gunman) (as Robert Wilke)
Chubby Johnson	...	Dusty (Dawson miner)
Royal Dano	...	Luke (Dawson miner)
Jack Elam	...	Frank Newberry (Gannon's deputy)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Grits (co-owner, Dawson Hash House)
Connie Van	...	Molasses (co-owner, Dawson Hash House)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | UK:U | West Germany:12 (nf) | South Korea:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #18975) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Athabasca Glacier, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

One of James Stewart's favorite stories of his film career concerned his horse, Pie, a sorrel stallion whom Stewart called, "One of the best co-stars I ever had." Pie appeared as Stewart's horse in 17 Westerns, and the actor developed a strong personal bond with the horse. Pie was very intelligent, Stewart recalled, and would often "act for the cameras when they were rolling. He was a ham of a horse." When shooting the climax of "The Far Country," the script called for Stewart's horse to walk down a dark street alone, with no rider in the saddle, to fool the bad guys who were waiting to ambush Stewart. Assistant Director John Sherwood asked Stewart if Pie would be able to do the scene. Stewart replied, "I'll talk to him." Just before the cameras rolled, Stewart took Pie aside and whispered to the horse for several minutes, giving him instructions for the scene. When Stewart let the horse go, Pie walked perfectly down the middle of the street, doing the scene in one take. When Pie died in 1970, Stewart arranged to have the horse buried at his California ranch.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The film takes place in 1896. Ronda Castle contracts Jeff Webster to drive her caravan until Dawson, Canada. Nevertheless, that Canadian miner town-site was named Dawson only in January 1897.

Quotes:

Dawson Marshal Rube Morris: He's got a real tough job, that constable. He patrols some ten, twenty thousand square miles full of nothing but hill and hollow. Sometimes he don't get home for two or three months at time, ridin' up in that far country.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in L'anglaise et le duc (2001)

Soundtrack:

PRETTY LITTLE PRIMROSE

Is there something you want, Mr. Gannon?

Cunningly interesting Western from a director who had few peers in the genre. Much like other Anthony Mann pictures, The Far Country blends a potent pot boiling story with an adroit knowing of impacting scenery. Both of which play out amongst some of Mann's peccadilloes like honour, integrity, betrayal and of course, death! The story sees fortune hunting partners Jeff Webster {James Stewart} and Ben Tatum {Walter Brennan} travel to Oregon Territory with a herd of cattle. Aware of the blossoming gold-boom, they plan to make a tidy profit selling the cattle in a Klondike town. Arriving in Skagway they find self-appointed judge Mr. Gannon {John McIntire} ready to meet out justice to Webster on account of Webster having fractured the law, all be it with honest cause, along the way. In punishment Gannon takes the partners herd from them, but they steal them back and head across the Canadian border to Dawson-with Gannon and his men in hot pursuit. Here beautiful women and a meek and lawless town will fill out the destinies of all involved.

Interesting from start to finish, The Far Country benefits greatly from James Stewart's bubbling {anti} hero in waiting portrayal and Mann's slick direction of the tight Borden Chase script. The cinematography from William H. Daniels is superlative, tho not done any favours by current DVD prints, and the film has a few surprises and a "will he wont he?" core reeling the viewers in. Paying dividends on re-watches for hardened genre fans, it still remains something of an essential viewing for first timers venturing into the wonderful, yet dark, Western world of Anthony Mann and James Stewart. 8/10