Man of the West (1958)

A reformed outlaw becomes stranded after an aborted train robbery with two other passengers and is forced to rejoin his old outlaw band.

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Will C. Brown (novel), Reginald Rose (screenplay)

Stars:

Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gary Cooper	...	Link Jones
Julie London	...	Billie Ellis
Lee J. Cobb	...	Dock Tobin
Arthur O'Connell	...	Sam Beasley
Jack Lord	...	Coaley
John Dehner	...	Claude
Royal Dano	...	Trout
Robert J. Wilke	...	Ponch (as Robert Wilke)

Storyline

On his way to hire a schoolteacher, a homesteader is left a hundred miles from anywhere when the train he is on is robbed. With him are an attractive dancehall girl and an untrustworthy gambler and he decides to get shelter nearby from outlaw relatives he used to run with. They don't trust him and he loathes them but they decide he can help them with one last bank job.

---

Plot Keywords:

former outlaw | train robbery | hairy chest | bare chested male | male stripping | 

---

Taglines:

IN THE ROLE THAT FITS HIM LIKE A GUN FITS A HOLSTER! GARY COOPER as the MAN OF THE WEST (original print ad - all caps)

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | Western

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 1958 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Der Mann aus dem Westen

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ashton Productions,Walter Mirisch Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Warner Bros first announced this as a John Wayne vehicle in 1955.

---

Goofs

Early in the film, when Beasley, Billie Ellis, and Link Jones are left behind by the train after the robbery attempt, they stand on the railroad tracks debating what to do next. As they do so, the shadow of the boom mic is visible above their own shadows on the ground behind them.

---

Quotes

Coaley: [to Link] Do you talk?

---

Connections

Featured in Cineastas contra magnates (2005)

---

Soundtracks

Man of the West
By Bobby Troup

User Reviews

Tough gritty western that influenced the Spaghetti Western

There is a bit wrong with this film. Gary Cooper's age versus Lee Cobb's. The coincidental stranding of Julie London and Arthur O'Conell after the train robbery. The abrupt ending.

There is quite a bit not wrong also. The outdoor photography. The interior train scenes seem to have been entirely shot on a real train going down the tracks, not a set with rear projection. All the settings are real looking not Hollywood whitewash. Gary Cooper is low-key but builds his conflicted character well. The villains are among the nastiest one can see in pre-1960's westerns. They really lay the groundwork for the stock western psycho in later Spaghetti Westerns. Jack Lord plays a real maniac!

Mann's eye for visual composition really adds to the psychological atmosphere. You can see the influence on Leone and it seems like Leone imitated a couple of shots from this film. The set design for the town of Lasso could have been used in any Italian western.

A good, if depressing, alternate western.