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The Man from Laramie (1955) More at IMDbPro »

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45 comments in total

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32 out of 35 people found the following comment useful :-
A tale of anguish and vengeance..., 10 February 2001

Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

Some of the best Westerns of the fifties were those directed by Anthony Mann and John Ford, straightforward and unpretentious, but each with an interesting approach to the requirements of the genre... Mann's films were the more prestigious, usually featuring James Stewart who, with John Wayne, was the fifties' biggest box-office draw... "The Man From Laramie" best known because of the Frankie Laine theme strong which accompanied it, is notable for (among other things) Alex Nicol's extraordinary projection of sadism, an element which dominated the best of Mann's movies... The motion picture was to be the last of the Mann-Stewart Westerns...

Stewart is cast as a wagon handler from Laramie, Wyoming, but is, really, an army officer out to avenge the death of his younger brother, a U.S. Cavalryman, massacred by the Apaches who were buying guns from unknown persons... It is these persons that Stewart is looking for..

Soon Stewart gets involved in an area of New Mexico which is ruled by the iron hand of a cattle baron Donald Crisp, a strong authoritarian "who can't live with a lie"... Crisp's one weakness is his love and care for his spoiled son, Alex Nicol...

Wild but feeble, yet vicious, Nicol - with extraordinary projection of sadism - accosts Stewart in several confrontations in which (among other outrages) Stewart is dragged through fire by horses, and has his hand held tight while Alex puts a bullet through it... Mann proceeds in this mood throughout the movie, growing even more sadistic...

Arthur Kennedy, a hard-working heavy, plays the adopted son of Crisp... He is a son in disguise, jealous of Alex, pretending to be his brother's ally and protector...

A lot of good supporting actors are cast including Cathy O'Donnell, the fragile beauty who has little to do but await patiently for an opportunity; Aline MacMahon, the fine 'ugly' woman who never leaves the old man, and Jack Elam who tries to knife James Stewart in the back...

Anthony Mann adopted an altogether tougher approach to Western mythology than John Ford... His obsessive, neurotic characters and his emphasis on violence foretell the work of Peckinpah, Leone and Eastwood...

Filmed in Technicolor, "The Man From Laramie" is a Western with new touches of brutality touching off the wide screen spectacle...

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21 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
A Spectacular Stereo Western Drama, 8 May 2000
Author: mackjay from Out there in the dark

This has got to be one of the best western plots ever filmed. Unlike so many others in the genre, "The Man From Laramie" has a complex and interesting conflict as its center. Many have compared it to "King Lear" and the main story line does resemble the subplot of Gloucester and his two sons. Whether the Shakespeare connection is intentional or not, it works extremely well.

Partly responsible for the film´s success are its stars: James Stewart is good as usual, while Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp and Aline McMahon really stand out in their characterizations. Anthony Mann´s directing is tight and uncompromising. The picture never lags once and there are many strongly dramatic moments, some even a bit shocking for 1955.

The film was photographed with artistry, and the DVD issue does it justice. Several scenes are beautifully balanced and dramatically expressive. There is a wonderful wide-screen, panoramic look that comes across quite well. The real surprise is the audio. This 1955 movie has a full-bodied stereo soundtrack! The musical score may not be one the all-time greats, but it is often very effective, and on this disc it fills the viewing space with excitement. Highly recommended, even to Western non-fans.

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15 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Mann-Stewart Combo Does It Again!, 2 December 2005

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Director Anthony Mann and actor James Stewart combined to make several westerns and they were all very good. Make that "excellent." This is one of them and it gets high marks for an involving story.

It also features what I call "realistic dialog," along with interesting characters and a film noir feel to it. That's no surprise since Mann directed a few film noirs. Along that noir theme, be warned this is not an upbeat story, a feel-good Jimmy Stewart film that most people remember him by. In here, he's a vengeful guy here (but, yeah, still a good man at heart). Donald Crisp also demonstrates an overt double-edged sword, so to speak, being a very gruff but fair land owner.

Some of the best lines in the movie are delivered by Ailine MacMahon, an older woman friend who helps Stewart. Cathy O'Donnell plays the female romantic lead but is a bit on the bland side, frankly.

Good story.....solid western.....deserves to be better known. Buy the DVD. It''s cheap. You won't be sorry.

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13 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
The only Mann-Stewart film in Cinemascope, 5 October 2002

Author: tmwest from S. Paulo, Brazil

Each association of Mann and Stewart had excellent results, this being the last of the series that began with "Winchester 73" in 1950. Here the scenery is also one of the most important factors, specially that it was filmed in Cinemascope. The french critic Andre Bazin was worried that the process could affect Mann's style. In my opinion the result is absolutely great and I am sure "Bend of the River","The Naked Spur" and "The Far Country" would have benefited from it. Nowadays with the LCD, Plasma and Widescreen TVs we can definitely agree that time proved that the widescreen was there to stay. Like the green colors were predominant in "The Naked Spur" in this film it is the different shades of browns of the landscape of New Mexico, the adobe houses and even the jackets of James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy and Alex Nicol. Stewart is the man that comes looking for the person responsible for the killing of his brother. His quest is going to bother many people and he is in for a lot of violence, very similar to "The Violent Men" made in the same year and also in Cinemascope. Mann wanted to make a western about King Lear (which he never did) but it was not this one, although you can feel he was toying with the idea.

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12 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
One of Truly Great Films, 24 July 1999

Author: humble-2 from Los Angeles, Ca.

Saw this film on its initial release, when I was just a kid. It has always stuck with me. I thought it was the scene (very controversial for its violence, at the time), where James Stewart is dragged through fire. Saw it a couple of years ago in full Cinemascope and realized why it had, literally, haunted me. This is a film that is driven (although it develops slowly) by themes from "Oedipus Rex" and "King Lear." But, it isn't pretentious. Mann was just a genius at fusing these elements into what at first seems like an expertly made western. James Stewart proves here that he had an acting range that is staggering. As a revenge-obsessed "good guy," he falls into the lives of a group of people enveloped by fates that are pure tragedy. Donald Meek is superb as a patriarch betrayed by his haywire son and trusted foreman (beautifully played by Arthur Kennedy). I just watched the video with some trepidation, fearing it would be really hurt by scan-and-pan. But the actors are all usually in camera range and the camera set-ups are unintrusive, but always right for the situation.

This is a film for anyone who is a fan of great filmmaking.

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Another great James Stewart western, 23 February 2003

Author: NewEnglandPat from Virginia

James Stewart rides the vengeance trail as he comes to a dusty New Mexico town in search of a gun runner whose wares were used by raiding Indians that led to his brother's death. Stewart is grim and determined in this beautifully filmed western to square matters with his unknown quarry and meets with hostility and indifference at every turn. The film has touches of extreme violence which was unusual for its time. The story is packed with suspense and tension as Stewart's Will Lockhart seeks his personal retribution. Along the way, Lockhart is befriended by a pretty girl and a strong-willed female rancher who are sympathetic to Lockhart's quest. Another sub plot has a cattle baron, his neurotic son, and a ranch foreman riding rough-shod over other ranchers and townspeople. Arthur Kennedy and Donald Crisp head a great cast of veteran western character actors, and a nod goes to Aline MacMahon for her portrayal of the plucky ranch woman.

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
The Mann from Laramie., 11 February 2004

Author: dbdumonteil

Another solid western by a man who gave some of the best works of the whole genre (the naked spur, cimarron,etc).This is the story of a double search:Stewart is looking for the man who's responsible for his brother 's death.Crisp is afraid of a man who might possibly kill his son:he has a recurrent dream which frightens him .Little by little the two stories converge and make one in one of the most brilliant western screenplays of the fifties.The dreamlike touch gives a movie another dimension,which only great directors can conjure :Walsh,Ford ,Daves,or of course Mann.

The characters are more complex than we thought at first sight,and the cliché of the old wealthy man with a son -black-sheep-of-the-family and an almost- adoptive- son-good-boy is avoided.Alex Nicol and Arthur Kennedy give strong nervous tortured portrayals which almost outshine star Stewart.Crisp is equally effective in the part of a man who tries not to face the truth -which may be the meaning of his premonitory dream-,and will finally see it when he is blind.The lead female part is the weakest link of the movie ,but Aline MacMahon's colorful Kate more than makes up for Cathy O'Donnell's blandness.

I had seen this movie for the first time when I was 13.I saw it again yesterday.It has not aged a bit.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Western, 7 November 2005

Author: panamint from United States

In the western genre, this movie is a "9". A good tale of the old west (Westerns seem to be better if they are plotted strongly, but not over-plotted). Many a western has been ruined by too much plot. Not this one.

The cinematography of New Mexico is perfect, wide-screen and sweeping. It captures the bigness of the western landscape which is a plus in this film based on ranching. Other westerns (Eastwood's mining-based film "Pale Rider" for example) really don't need vast sweeping landscapes.

The acting, direction, production values are all very good. The musical score is dated and not great, but at least it has a western theme.

There is one oddity you might notice about the female characters. The contrast between how the Aline McMahon and the Cathy O'Donnell parts are developed is extreme. McMahon is fortunate to have a great role, but O'Donnell's role is under-developed and kind of empty. Not O'Donnell's fault but it's just how the role is written. I wonder how the same writer can create an interesting, well-written female role but leave the other one so bland?

Action-packed but also the psychological aspects keep you really interested in the story.

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8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Really is a western classic, 8 September 2004
Author: jlon from Dublin

The last in the Mann/Stewart western series. DVD review.

A decent trader travels to a small town to find out who sold repeating rifles to the Apache.

What a great movie. Everything about The Man From Laramie is memorable: the wide-screen shots, lack of close-ups, Donald Crisp (in a great role), the flawed son, the title song, Arthur Kennedy as the guardian, the violent Apache (who appear at the end), the story (with its many twists), Stewart's great dialogue, the killing of the mules and the splendid photography. Some minor drawbacks: the phony day-for-night scenes (a real '50s trademark), O'Donnell (she's not very pretty) and some of the arguments between Stewart and his foes sound silly. A fine introduction to the western (the greatest of movie genres).

The Man From Laramie is a classic western and a great movie.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Not a Boring Western, 22 September 2005

Author: manfromlaramie-1 from North Carolina, United States

One of the series of westerns Anthony Mann made with James Stewart, see also Winchester 73, Bend of The River, Naked Spur, etc. Its also - along with Naked Spur - a superbly shot widescreen movie. Stewart's career has large chunks in which he repeatedly worked with the same directors, and all of them - though radically different in style - brought out fine performances from him: Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford and Mann. Mann really extracted the ability of Stewart to be both vulnerable, yet also tough and uncompromising. In this movie our hero tries to find the men who killed his brother, though during his quest he also learns a great deal about himself, and the lengths he will go to to reach the truth. So its a Shakespearean tale of revenge - a classic western theme - set amidst the arid desert and the burning sun. As with all Mann films, the violence when it occurs is sudden and brutal. In this he was years ahead of Tarentino.

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