''Man of the West'' is a 1958 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

film starring

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

and directed by

Anthony Mann Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor. Mann initially started as a theatre actor appearing in numerous stage productions. In 1937, he moved to Hollywood where ...

, produced by

Walter Mirisch Walter Mortimer Mirisch (born November 8, 1921) is an American film producer. He is president and executive head of production of The Mirisch Corporation, an independent film production company, which he formed in 1957 with his brother Marvin ...

and distributed by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. The screenplay, written by

Reginald Rose Reginald Rose (December 10, 1920 – April 19, 2002) was an American screenwriter. He wrote about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach was particularly influential in the anthology programs of the 1950s. Rose w ...

, is based on the 1955 novel ''The Border Jumpers'', by Will C. Brown.

Julie London Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...

Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby; December 8, 1911February 11, 1976) was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage. He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectabl ...

Jack Lord John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name, Jack Lord, was an American television, film and Broadway actor, director and producer. He starred as Steve McGarrett in the CBS television progra ...

, and

Arthur O'Connell Arthur Joseph O'Connell (March 29, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an American stage, film and television actor, who achieved prominence in character roles in the 1950s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for both ''Pic ...

co-star with

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

Robert J. Wilke Robert Joseph Wilke (May 18, 1914 – March 28, 1989) was an American film and television actor noted primarily for his roles as villains, mostly in Westerns. Early years Wilke was a native of Cincinnati. Before going into acting, he h ...

, and

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic Li ...

in supporting roles. The film is one of Cooper's final Westerns. Former outlaw Link Jones (Cooper) travels from his small town to Crosscut Texas to catch a train to Fort Worth to hire the town's first schoolteacher. When his train stops for refuelling on the way, they are set upon by armed robbers but the train pulls away, leaving behind Jones, the fast-talking gambler Sam Beasley (O'Connell) and saloon singer Billie Ellis (London). They start walking and eventually reach a place that Link knows well: the farmhouse where he once lived. There he finds the men who robbed the train and their leader, his uncle, Dock Tobin (Cobb), who wants Link to return to his old criminal ways and rejoin the gang, which consists of some of Link's cousins. Link has no interest in doing so and has to find a way out for himself and his two companions, knowing the gang are untrustworthy killers. The film premiered on October 1, 1958. At the time of release, the film was largely panned by American critics, but it was praised by

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

, who, before he became a director, was a film critic. Godard claimed that ''Man of the West'' was the best film of the year. Decades after the film's release, it has gained a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

and greater acclaim, with film historian

Philip French Philip Neville French Order of the British Empire, OBE (28 August 1933 – 27 October 2015) was an English film critic and radio producer. French began his career in journalism in the late 1950s, before eventually becoming a BBC Radio prod ...

claiming the film to be Anthony Mann's masterpiece, containing Cooper's finest performance.

Plot

Link Jones (

) rides into Crosscut, Texas to have a bite to eat, then catch a train to

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, where he intends to use the savings of his community of Good Hope to hire a schoolteacher. On the train platform Sam Beasley (

) speaks briefly with Link, rousing the suspicions of the town marshal, Sam being a known gambler and con man. When the lawman remarks that Link looks familiar, he gives a false name, Henry Wright. Aboard the train Sam joins Link, learns of his mission in Fort Worth and claims he can be of help. Sam introduces him to the Crosscut saloon singer, Billie Ellis (

), insisting she could make an ideal teacher. Their conversation is overheard by Alcutt, a shady-looking passenger. When the train stops to pick up wood for additional fuel, male passengers help load it on to the train but Alcutt remains on board, feigning sleep. From a window he signals to three horsemen, Coaley Tobin (

), Trout (

) and Ponch (

), who attempt to rob the train. The armed guard on the train thwarts the attempt. Link tries to intervene and is knocked unconscious. The train departs, with Alcutt riding off with Link's bag containing Good Hope's money. Alcutt is wounded as he and the three other robbers flee. Link revives to discover that he, Sam and Billie have been left behind, many miles from the nearest town. Link leads them on foot to a ramshackle farm, admitting that he lived there years earlier. Link sends the others to wait in the barn, giving Billie his coat to wear. Link enters the rundown house and finds the train robbers hiding inside. Coaley is suspicious of Link's claim that he simply wants to rest for the night. They are interrupted by ageing outlaw Dock Tobin (

), who is startled to see Link, his nephew, whom he raised to be a killer and a thief. More than a dozen years earlier, in order to go straight, Link abandoned Tobin, and the old man laments that nothing has been the same since. He introduces Link to the others, including Link's cousin, Coaley. Disturbed by the revelation of Link's true identity, Coaley demonstrates his toughness by

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

Alcutt, who is near death from his wound. Realising the danger of his situation, Link brings Sam and Billie in from the barn and lies to Tobin, telling him that Billie is his woman and also that he purposely set out to find Dock after being left behind by the train. Tobin reveals his long-held ambition to rob the bank in the town of Lassoo and asserts that Link's return to the gang makes that possible and will breathe new life into them all. To protect the lives of his companions Link agrees to participate in the holdup. After Link and Sam are sent outside to dig a grave and bury Alcutt, an increasingly drunken Coaley decides to force Billie to strip. Her cries alert Link and, when he returns to the cabin, Coaley holds a knife to his throat while continuing to demand Billie remove her clothes. When she is nearly undressed, Tobin steps in and ends the situation. He tells everyone to go to sleep and sends Link and Billie to sleep in the barn. Claude Tobin (

), another cousin, arrives the next morning and is displeased at finding Link there. Tobin rejects the suggestion of Claude and Coaley that it would be best to kill Link and the others. They all depart on the four-day trip to Lassoo in three wagons and two on horseback. When they make camp on the trail, Link seeks revenge for the brutal treatment of Billie at the ranch and goads the brutal Coaley into a fistfight. Link beats his cousin severely, then forcibly strips him of his clothes. Deeply humiliated, Coaley attempts to shoot the unarmed Link, but Sam interferes and is shot instead. Tobin then shoots Coaley for disobeying him. During the trip Billie bemoans the fact that Link is a man worth loving but that she cannot have him. He says he has a wife and two children in Good Hope. Gary Cooper in Man of the West 1958

With the town of Lassoo in sight, Link volunteers to go in and do the holdup job, secretly hoping that in town he can seek help. Tobin insists that he be accompanied by the mute Trout. It turns out that Lassoo is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

, its bank deserted except for a frightened Mexican woman who has the two at gunpoint when Trout coldly shoots her. Link uses the woman’s gun to kill Trout. He then awaits the arrival of Claude and Ponch. In a drawn-out gun battle, Link kills Ponch first, then eventually and with some regret - because as children the two of them had been fairly close - Claude. Returning to camp, Link discovers to his horror that Billie has been raped and beaten. He goes in search of Tobin, who is on a cliff nearby. Link calls out to his uncle that he, like Lassoo, is a ghost and is finished. Tobin starts ranting and firing his gun, and Link finally shoots him and reclaims the bag of Good Hope's money. Riding back to civilisation, Billie tells Link she loves him but, knowing that he intends to return to his home and his family, she is resigned to the fact that she must resume her singing career and proceed alone.

Cast

{{div col *

as Link Jones *

as Billie Ellis *

as Dock Tobin *

as Sam Beasley *

as Coaley *

as Trout *

as Claude *

as Ponch * J. Williams as Alcutt *

Emory Parnell Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career. Early years Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...

as Henry *

Chief Tahachee Chief Tahachee (born Jeff Davis "Tahchee" Cypert, March 4, 1904 – June 9, 1978) was a writer, a stage actor, a film extra, and a vaudeville performer. He claimed to be a descendant of the Old Settler Cherokees. Chief Tahachee wrote four bo ...

as Pio {{div col end *

Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1906 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was the younger of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottish ...

• as Crosscut Marshal (uncredited) *

Tom London Tom London (born Leonard T. Clapman; August 24, 1889 – December 5, 1963) was an American actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to ''The Guinness Book of Movie Records'', London is credited with appearing in the most films in ...

as Tom (uncredited) The film reunited Gary Cooper and Robert J. Wilke, who were adversaries in ''

High Noon ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense of ...

''.

Production

Development

The script of the film, which was written by

(best known for writing ''

12 Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a ...

'' (1957)), was based on the 1955 novel ''The Border Jumpers'' by Will C. Brown. The title of the film had nothing to do with the novel entitled ''Man of the West'', which was written by screenwriter

Philip Yordan Philip Yordan (April 1, 1914 – March 24, 2003) was an American screenwriter of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s who produced several films. He acted as a front for blacklisted writers although his use of surrogate screenwriters predates the McCarth ...

. Yordan's novel had been adapted into a film called ''

Gun Glory ''Gun Glory'' is a 1957 American Metrocolor Western film directed by Roy Rowland starring Stewart Granger and Rhonda Fleming. Plot Tom Early rides into a Wyoming town where he once lived with his wife and son. In the general store, owner Wainsc ...

'', which starred

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

in the lead role. The producer of the film,

(whose company produced the Academy Award-nominated films: ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...

'' (1960), ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' (1961), '' The Great Escape'' (1963) and '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967)), assigned director

to direct an adaptation of the novel.

Casting

was originally considered for the lead role.

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

, who had worked with director

in eight movies, five of them westerns: ''

Winchester '73 ''Winchester '73'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea and Stephen McNally. Written by Borden Chase and Robert L. Richards, the film is about the journey of a prized ...

'' (1950), ''

Bend of the River ''Bend of the River'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, and Rock Hudson. Based on the 1950 novel ''Bend of the Snake'' by Bill Gulick, the film is about a tough c ...

'' (1952), '' The Naked Spur'' (1953), ''

The Far Country ''The Far Country'' is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan, John McIntire and Corinne Calvet. Written by Borden Chase, the film is about a self-minded advent ...

'' (1954) and ''

The Man from Laramie ''The Man from Laramie'' is a 1955 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, and Cathy O'Donnell. Written by Philip Yordan and Frank Burt, the film is about a stranger who defies ...

'' (1955), eagerly wanted the role. Supposedly, Stewart was extremely upset when Mann didn't give him the script for the film, felt betrayed, and had no interest in working with him ever again, although Mann thought that Stewart would be unfit for the role. Another probable reason why Mann didn't give Stewart the script was that Mann and Stewart had a falling out during the shooting of '' Night Passage'' (1957). While Mann and Stewart felt that the script of the film needed some rewrites, Mann wanted a darker edge for the main character of the film and dropped out because Stewart softened up the character and sang a few songs in the final film, as a showcase for his own accordion playing. With Mann out of the picture, James Neilson took over his position as director of ''Night Passage''. For ''Man of the West'',

was eventually cast in the lead role of Link Jones, a former outlaw who is forced to relive his past. This was Cooper's first true Western since 1954's '' Vera Cruz'' with

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

. He initially felt that he was miscast in the role of the former outlaw because he was twenty years older than the character; Cooper was 56 at the time of filming, the lead character being 36. However, in an interview at the 2008 Cinecon in Hollywood, Mirisch claimed that having just wrapped ''Love in the Afternoon'', he promptly signed Cooper for another picture, which ended up being this one. He stated that they hadn't even considered a director yet, so Stewart was never a factor. According to biographer Jeffrey Meyers, Cooper, who struggled with moral conflicts in his personal life, "understood the anguish of a character striving to retain his integrity ... ndbrought authentic feeling to the role of a tempted and tormented, yet essentially decent man."

(who had starred in ''12 Angry Men'' as one of the twelve jurors) played the role of Dock Tobin, the uncle of Link, who wants his nephew to return to his old ways and rejoin his gang. Despite playing the uncle of the main character, Cobb was ten years younger than Cooper. Make-up was applied in an attempt to make Cobb look older than Cooper. The main villain of the film, Tobin wants his nephew to return to his old ways and rejoin his gang. The age difference was also obvious with

, who played a key role as Link's cousin and childhood friend, Claude. Dehner was fourteen years younger than Cooper and it was readily apparent.

played Sam Beasley, a fast-talking gambler, and saloon singer Billie Ellis was played by

. London said this was her favorite movie. Tobin's henchmen Coaley, Trout and Ponch (who rob the train) were played by

and

respectively. J. Williams played Alcutt, one of the passengers on the train, and

was cast as Pio. Joe Dominguez,

Dick Elliott Richard Damon Elliott (April 30, 1886 – December 22, 1961) was an American character actor who played in over 240 films from the 1930s until the time of his death. Early years Elliott was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Career Elliott p ...

, Herman and Signe Hack, Anne Kunde,

, Tina Menard,

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

's stuntmen

Chuck Roberson Charles Hugh Roberson (May 10, 1919 – June 8, 1988) was an American actor and stuntman. Biography Roberson was born near Shannon, Texas, the son of farmer Ollie W. Roberson and Jannie Hamm Roberson. Raised on cattle ranches in Shannon, ...

, Glen Walters and Glen Wilkerson play minor roles in the film and are uncredited.

Filming

Principal photography of ''Man of the West'' started and ended in 1958, with a budget of $1.5 million. The film was shot on the widescreen

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

process (which was introduced in 1953) by cinematographer

Ernest Haller Ernest Jacob Haller (May 31, 1896 – October 21, 1970), sometimes known as Ernie J. Haller, was an American cinematographer. He was most notable for his involvement in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), and his close professional relationships with ...

, who is best known for his

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning work in ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

''. Although the film takes place in Texas, most of the film was shot in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The train scenes were shot on the

Sierra Railroad The Sierra Railroad Corporation is a privately owned common carrier. Its Sierra Northern Railway freight division handles all freight operations for all branches owned by the Sierra Railroad. The company's Mendocino Railway group operates the ...

Jamestown, California Jamestown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tuolumne County, California, United States. The population was 3,433 at the 2010 census, up from 3,017 at the 2000 census. Formerly a California Gold Rush town, Jamestown is now a California Hist ...

. The Red Rock Canyon State Park,

Santa Clarita Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17t ...

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...

, Newhall and the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

all served as filming locations for the film. Two ranches located on Newhall and Thousand Oaks respectively were used as sets which were designed by art director Hilyard M. Brown, best known for his work in ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

'' (for which he won an

Academy Award for Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in art director#In film, film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. Th ...

), ''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'' and '' The Night of the Hunter''. Gary Cooper did his own horse-riding scenes despite physical pain that he suffered from a car accident years earlier. Chuck Roberson, Jack Williams and Jack N. Young were the stunt performers for the film. During a snow storm, Mann observed Cooper's eyes, which fascinated him: "It's all in the eyes. The heroes, all the stars the public loves, have very light blue eyes or green eyes....The eyes reflect the inner flame that animates the heroes. The guys with dark eyes play supporting roles or become character actors."

Themes

Canadian film critic Robin Wood noted that ''Man of the West'' is director Anthony Mann's version of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'', whose elements appeared in ''

The Furies The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes ...

'' with

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ;According to the Province of Ontario. ''Ontario, C ...

, ''The Naked Spur'' and ''The Man From Laramie'', with its sense of emotional whirlwind, and an older order crumbling. ''Man of the West'', like most Mann films, is a tale of redemption. We are asked to consider the essential monstrousness of the hero, and whether redemption is a tenable idea. The noble frontiersman is made the Other, and one not very deserving of sympathy, a savage whose past ghoulishness seems unimaginable. Wood also noted that the film looks down the road to the contemporary horror film: ''

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, ...

'' (

Tobe Hooper Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influenti ...

, 1974) and ''

The Hills Have Eyes ''The Hills Have Eyes'' is an American horror franchise that consists of four horror films, as well as a graphic novel and merchandise. The first film was released in 1977, '' The Hills Have Eyes''; the series was rebooted in a 2006 remake. T ...

'' (

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

, 1977), with their savage clans and desiccated American wasteland.

Reception

When first released, the film was largely ignored by American critics, though renowned French critic

regarded it as the best film released that year. Howard Thompson, in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', gave it one of the few raves in the mainstream press. In the decades since the film's release, it has garnered a

as well as considerably greater acclaim. Some, such as ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

Derek Malcolm Derek Elliston Michael Malcolm (born 12 May 1932) is an English film critic. Son of J. Douglas Malcolm (died 1967) and Dorothy Vera (died 1964; née Elliston-Taylor), Malcolm was educated at Eton College and Merton College, Oxford. As a child he ...

consider the film Mann's best{{cite news, last=Malcolm, first=Derek, title=Anthony Mann: Man of the West, url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2000/mar/23/artsfeatures1, accessdate=21 February 2013, newspaper=The Guardian, date=23 March 2000 and a landmark in the western genre's canon. Malcolm included the film in his 2000 list ''The Century of Film''. Critic and film historian

cites ''Man of the West'' as Anthony Mann's masterpiece, containing Gary Cooper's greatest performance.{{cite news, last=French, first=Philip, title=Anthony Mann and Man Of The West, url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/apr/05/man-of-west-review-philip-french-classic-dvd-anthony-mann-western-masterpiece, accessdate=28 April 2015, newspaper=The Guardian, date=5 April 2015 ''Man of the West'' maintains a 94% approval rating on the

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

film website, based on reviews from 17 critics.

"Morally objectionable"

The trade publication ''

Motion Picture Daily ''Motion Picture Daily'' was an American daily magazine focusing on the film industry. It was published by Quigley Publishing Company, which also published the ''Motion Picture Herald''. The magazine was formed by the merging of three existing Qui ...

'' reported in 1958 that the

National Legion of Decency The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was a Catholic group founded in 1934 by Archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, as an organization dedicated to identifying objectionable content in motion pictu ...

objected to the content of ''Man of the West''. In its October 3 issue, just two days after the film's release, the daily magazine provides a few examples of the Legion's classification system for judging a Hollywood production's level of "decency":{{blockquote, Two pictures were placed in Class B, as morally objectionable in part for all by the Legion of Decency, which reviewed seven films this week. In the B category are "Man of the West" and "

Queen of Outer Space ''Queen of Outer Space'' is a 1958 American science fiction feature film shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Produced by Ben Schwalb and directed by Edward Bernds, it stars Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eric Fleming, and Laurie Mitchell. The screenplay by C ...

." Objection to the first was explained thusly, "the highly moral nature of this story is substantially marred by excessive brutality and unnecessary suggestiveness." Of "Queen," the group said it contains "suggestive costuming.""Legion Gives 'Man' and 'Queen' B Ratings"
''Motion Picture Daily'' (New York, N.Y.), October 3, 1958, p. 5.

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

, San Francisco. Retrieved October 25, 2019.

References

{{reflist

External links

{{wikiquote * {{IMDb title, id=0051899, title=Man of the West * {{AllMovie title, id=31206 * {{tcmdb title, id=19289 * {{AFI film, id=52655, title=Man of the West
Trailer for ''Man of the West'' at Internet Archive
{{Anthony Mann {{DEFAULTSORT:Man Of The West 1958 films 1950s English-language films United Artists films CinemaScope films Films based on American novels Films based on Western (genre) novels Films directed by Anthony Mann Films produced by Walter Mirisch Films set in ghost towns American Western (genre) films 1958 Western (genre) films Films with screenplays by Reginald Rose Films scored by Leigh Harline Films shot in California Films shot in the Mojave Desert Color film noir Revisionist Western (genre) films 1950s American films