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1. The Furies. 1950 1h 49m Approved. 7.3 (3.9K) Rate. A firebrand heiress clashes with her tyrannical father, a cattle rancher who fancies himself a Napoleon, but their relationship turns ugly only when he finds himself a new woman. Director Anthony Mann Stars Barbara Stanwyck Wendell Corey Walter Huston. 2.
- Overview
- The 1950s: westerns of Anthony Mann
- The 1960s: epics
Mann’s first western was Devil’s Doorway (1950), which cast matinee idol Robert Taylor against type as a Shoshone who returns to his tribe after serving in the Civil War, only to find that he must fight against white farmers who want his tribe’s land. The Universal production Winchester ’73 (1950) signaled the beginning of a new phase in both his career and that of its star James Stewart, who did eight films with Mann. The plot was simple but sturdy: Lin McAdam (Stewart) must hunt down his brother, who has killed their father and stolen Lin’s hard-won rifle. Winchester ’73 was one of the first of the more psychologically complex westerns that emerged in the 1950s, and Stewart in that same decade began playing flawed, obsessive characters, particularly in his films with Mann and with Alfred Hitchcock. The Furies (1950) was a Freudian western that starred Barbara Stanwyck as Vance, who struggles with the complex legacy of her father (Walter Huston), whose vast ranch she will inherit. The film was not a commercial success but has since come to be considered one of Mann’s greatest westerns.
The Tall Target (1951) was a suspenseful tale set in 1861 on a train carrying President-elect Abraham Lincoln, with Dick Powell as the detective who must stop an assassination plot. Mann and Stewart teamed again in Bend of the River (1952), with Stewart as the leader of a wagon train traveling to Oregon that is about to be robbed by his former outlaw partner (Arthur Kennedy). The Naked Spur (1953), often considered the very best of Mann’s westerns, starred Stewart as a bounty hunter escorting a killer (Robert Ryan) through the Rockies. The strong supporting cast included Janet Leigh and Ralph Meeker, but the film’s special resonance can be credited to Stewart’s obsessive, emotionally repressed protagonist. Mann’s westerns were also noted for their pictorial emphasis on landscape, and The Naked Spur is a prime example, with the beauty of the Rocky Mountains providing a stark contrast to the conflicts among the main characters.
Mann and Stewart deviated from their standard Wild West venue for Thunder Bay (1953), a contemporary adventure starring Stewart and Dan Duryea as oil drillers who understandably upset the local shrimp fishermen when they start blasting off the Louisiana coast. The biopic The Glenn Miller Story (1954) was a well-mounted production that dramatized the late bandleader’s life and music. Gene Krupa and Louis Armstrong were among the musicians who appeared in the film, which was an enormous moneymaker. Stewart and Mann returned to the western with The Far Country (1954), a tale of two cattlemen (Stewart and Walter Brennan) who drive their herd to an Alaskan gold-rush town, only to have it seized by a despotic sheriff (John Mclntire). Stewart’s performance was particularly effective as his character transforms from a good-natured cowboy to a man thirsting for vengeance after the sheriff kills his partner.
Strategic Air Command (1955) was about a ballplayer (Stewart) who is recalled to active service in the air force to fly bombers; the film was one of Paramount’s biggest moneymakers that year. Mann collaborated a final time with Stewart on The Man from Laramie (1955), another fine tale of retribution, with Stewart as a cavalry officer going incognito as a wagon driver to search for the men who indirectly caused his brother’s death. The Last Frontier (1955) starred Victor Mature as a mountain man who becomes a U.S. Army scout. Serenade (1956) represented a major departure, but Mann’s adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel was a critical and commercial failure.
Mann’s first western was Devil’s Doorway (1950), which cast matinee idol Robert Taylor against type as a Shoshone who returns to his tribe after serving in the Civil War, only to find that he must fight against white farmers who want his tribe’s land. The Universal production Winchester ’73 (1950) signaled the beginning of a new phase in both his career and that of its star James Stewart, who did eight films with Mann. The plot was simple but sturdy: Lin McAdam (Stewart) must hunt down his brother, who has killed their father and stolen Lin’s hard-won rifle. Winchester ’73 was one of the first of the more psychologically complex westerns that emerged in the 1950s, and Stewart in that same decade began playing flawed, obsessive characters, particularly in his films with Mann and with Alfred Hitchcock. The Furies (1950) was a Freudian western that starred Barbara Stanwyck as Vance, who struggles with the complex legacy of her father (Walter Huston), whose vast ranch she will inherit. The film was not a commercial success but has since come to be considered one of Mann’s greatest westerns.
The Tall Target (1951) was a suspenseful tale set in 1861 on a train carrying President-elect Abraham Lincoln, with Dick Powell as the detective who must stop an assassination plot. Mann and Stewart teamed again in Bend of the River (1952), with Stewart as the leader of a wagon train traveling to Oregon that is about to be robbed by his former outlaw partner (Arthur Kennedy). The Naked Spur (1953), often considered the very best of Mann’s westerns, starred Stewart as a bounty hunter escorting a killer (Robert Ryan) through the Rockies. The strong supporting cast included Janet Leigh and Ralph Meeker, but the film’s special resonance can be credited to Stewart’s obsessive, emotionally repressed protagonist. Mann’s westerns were also noted for their pictorial emphasis on landscape, and The Naked Spur is a prime example, with the beauty of the Rocky Mountains providing a stark contrast to the conflicts among the main characters.
Mann and Stewart deviated from their standard Wild West venue for Thunder Bay (1953), a contemporary adventure starring Stewart and Dan Duryea as oil drillers who understandably upset the local shrimp fishermen when they start blasting off the Louisiana coast. The biopic The Glenn Miller Story (1954) was a well-mounted production that dramatized the late bandleader’s life and music. Gene Krupa and Louis Armstrong were among the musicians who appeared in the film, which was an enormous moneymaker. Stewart and Mann returned to the western with The Far Country (1954), a tale of two cattlemen (Stewart and Walter Brennan) who drive their herd to an Alaskan gold-rush town, only to have it seized by a despotic sheriff (John Mclntire). Stewart’s performance was particularly effective as his character transforms from a good-natured cowboy to a man thirsting for vengeance after the sheriff kills his partner.
Strategic Air Command (1955) was about a ballplayer (Stewart) who is recalled to active service in the air force to fly bombers; the film was one of Paramount’s biggest moneymakers that year. Mann collaborated a final time with Stewart on The Man from Laramie (1955), another fine tale of retribution, with Stewart as a cavalry officer going incognito as a wagon driver to search for the men who indirectly caused his brother’s death. The Last Frontier (1955) starred Victor Mature as a mountain man who becomes a U.S. Army scout. Serenade (1956) represented a major departure, but Mann’s adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel was a critical and commercial failure.
Cimarron (1960) was a remake of the 1931 Academy Award-winning western epic based on Edna Ferber’s novel. Mann left the project toward the end of filming after a dispute with the producer. He was replaced but credited as director on the finished film.
Spartacus (1960) was to be his next project, but Mann fell out with producer-star Kirk Douglas and was replaced by Stanley Kubrick. Instead, he made El Cid (1961), which starred Charlton Heston in one of his best roles, as the liberator of 11th-century Spain, and Sophia Loren. That three-hour spectacle remains one of the best historical epics of that genre’s golden period. The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), set during the reign of the deranged Roman emperor Commodus (Christopher Plummer), had a fine cast that included Loren, James Mason, and Alec Guinness.
Top Ten Westerns - from Director Anthony Mann. One of my favorite directors of all-time, Mann developed into an excellent director starting with westerns, moving into film noir and finishing with huge, cinemascope epic movies. Here are my favorite western offerings listed in decinding IMBD order.
Anyone remotely interested in the Western genre has to watch Mann movies. Mann’s Westerns were released from 1950 to 1960. This was the golden age of the oater. No era has ever produced more, or better cowboy films. And if Anthony Mann could shine in this decade, he must have had something extra.
Mann directed a Western starring Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins titled The Tin Star (1957). Mann teamed with Philip Yordan to produce two movies starring Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray; the first being Men in War (1957) was about the Korean War. The film was the first of three Mann had directed for United Artists.
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Jun 9, 2023 · Darkness Visible: Anthony Mann and James Stewart’s Westerns. By K. Austin Collins. Features —. Jun 9, 2023. I t comes down to a moment. Late in Anthony Mann’s Winchester ’73 (1950), a man named Lin McAdam walks into a saloon and sees, first, a friendly face—the face of a woman he knows—before being drawn to another countenance, one ...
Sep 17, 2023 · Anthony Mann is one of the greatest directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age and, while he worked across several different genres in his career, he is best remembered for his Westerns, especially the five he made with star James Stewart.
