...hypothetical question time: What makes a good western, a great western?? Is it the sweeping, spansive view of the prairie, stretching out almost endlessly across the dusty frontier?? Not necessarily; one can find that in just about any well-shot oater. How about the prerequisite conflict between the dedicated lawful, and the self-serving, greedy & corrupt...invariably culminating in the ol' cliché of meeting in the middle of town, at sun-up, for the prerequisite gun-slinging showdown?? Naw...call such things, a dime-a-dozen, in the common western film tradition. The fleeting, hero versus villain, horse-galloping pursuit, with guns a-blazin'?? The free-for-all, barroom brawl, instigated by too many aces in the deck, during a 'friendly' little game?? The grizzled ol' drunken geezer, 'teched' in the head by too much sun, and too many crazed illusions of tapping into that ever-evasive gold vein?? Same old, same old, for those who are ardently devoted to the flicker of the celluloid western film fervor...
...so what exactly makes for a superior western epic, as opposed to something more generic, routine and derivative?? Depth and complexity of character, perhaps?? Motivation of said character, hiding a much more determined, albeit underlining purpose?? Both suppressed and exposed levels of strengths, weaknesses, jealousies and insecurities?? Basically, knowing what makes such characters, tick?? 1955's "The Man from Laramie"...one of Twilight Time's most recent limited edition releases, and the fifth & final western-themed collaboration between actor James Stewert, and director Anthony Mann...brilliantly balances a more psychologically inclined study of it's varied characters, amidst the backdrop and routine staples of high western drama, culminating in a somewhat unconventional and much more compelling approach to the genre, than typically rendered...
...driven across the vast prairie, in search of how the resident warring Apache tribes managed to get hold of weapons, which aided in a massacre of an Army regiment...which his brother was part of...Will Lockhart (James Stewart), under the guise of delivering supplies from Laramie, to a shanty, tucked-away little town called Coronado, finds himself at odds with the local cattle ranch family, the Waggoman's. Accused of thievery, while balancing his supplies' delivery with a load of salt from a nearby mine, which he was initially given free reign of, Lockhart finds himself at odds with Dave Waggoman (Alex Nicol)...the son of cattle baron, Alex Waggoman (Donald Crisp)...and the ranch's foreman, Vic Hansbro (Arthur Kennedy), who respond to the stranger's 'unjustified' intrusion, by burning Lockhart's wagons, tying him up, dragging him through the fire, and killing his mules...
...with his priorities temporarily diverted, Lockhart decides to stick around town, looking for opportunity to retaliate, as the result of his loss. A re-encounter, and subsequent hand-to-hand thrashing of both the arrogant young Waggoman, and then Hansbro, comes to the attention of the senior Waggoman, who in suggesting that perhaps his son and foreman acted hastily, offers full monetary restitution for Lockhart's wagons and mules. In addition, Waggoman takes his son aside, and scolds him for not being more responsible, adding that one day, Dave would be burdened with inheriting the ranch, and that it had to be run a certain way...something that the young Waggoman seems hardly interested in doing. The elderly Waggoman also sternly counsels his foreman, Hansbro, suggesting that the incident with Lockhart was his fault, and that being much more responsible and reliable, he needed to have kept a close watch on his son...reining him in, when he behaves and acts recklessly...
...observing that his boss, Waggoman appears to be ailing, health-wise, and later told by Waggoman himself, that he's slowly going blind, Hansbro takes off after Dave, on suspician that he was conducting an unscrupulous weapons transaction, and stumbles upon the young Waggoman, attempting to contact the area's mountain-dwelling Apache tribe, in order to sell them a cache of rifles; a scuffle between the two, results in Hansbro inadvertently shooting Waggoman...a fatal act, which out of convenience, is transmitted to the elderly Waggoman, by Hansbro, as having been perpetrated by Lockhart...
...enraged, and bent upon revenge over the death of his son, Alex Waggoman come across a suspicious bill of sale, involving some of the ranch's building supplies...suspicious enough to make him wonder if his son was indeed involved in selling guns to the Indians. In the meantime, Lockhart temporarily seeks asylum and hire with the Waggoman's rival rancher, Kate Canady, who sees opportunity in possible truce with her competitor, as the result of Lockhart, having stood up to the Waggoman family. As all of these elements come together, into an invariable clash of interests, as the result of the encompassing web of deception and power play, what is to become of the players in these compellingly woven-together proceedings??...
...those going into "The Man from Laramie", fully expecting a typical kind of western, known for circa early-to-mid '50's, or even before that particular time...the infallible hero of daring do...the dastardly, albeit flawed and arrogant nemesis of a villain...the helpless damsel-in-distress...the 'cowboys and indians' cross-fire shootouts...the sort of simple, almost vaudevillian fervor, done on an open range scope...the overall genre, engaged in transition and resurgence, even in light of the preponderance of genre films, which exploited fears and misuse of the atomic age. Though still far from being reflective of the well-documented, cruel and gritty reality, dictated by the history of the Old West, this new breed of western film still portrayed a dusty, spansive and dangerous way of life, ruled by a keen dominance of guns and hot lead, however lawful or lawless; however, the characters depicted in these films...well, they were...for lack of a better term...brought down to earth, and shown as being as 'human' as anyone bearing witness to such characters. These folks harbored flaws and insecurities, both hero and villain alike, which they made every effort to keep shrouded, but were sometimes unveiled, as the result of their actions and behavior. These actions and behaviors often masked underlining motivations, which might be seen as unsightly and unbecoming, especially with the assumed hero, in the juxstapositioned position of having to do something not so moral and heroic, in order to get what he wants, with the end result, justifying the means, in his eyes...the villain, much like the hero, wrestling with his conscience, over what is right, and what is necessary, but in a much more self-serving, sometimes greedy meld. Deftly written, with a flair not unlike that of something surprisingly Shakespearean in nature, such unconventional clash provides here, a distinct measure of psychological intrigue, depth and complexity of character...the amiably-reciprocative combination of which helped to forge and usher in the modern-day western, and which, at the time struck a compelling and attention-grabbing cord with movie audiences. And to the film's directorial and literary credit, this is exactly what "The Man from Laramie" does, with great exception...
...James Stewart is quite well fitted in the role, as William Lockhart...a driven sort of man, carrying an almost obsessed sense of justice, the motivation of which seems easily distracted, as evident when he, for the moment, lays aside his 'investigation' towards trying to find out who bartered guns to the Apaches, which subsequently, albeit indirectly result in his soldier brother's death, in favor of some personal justice, in the advent of having been unjustifyingly pummeled by, and his wagons & mules destroyed by the reigning ranch locals of the town of Coronado. So obsessed seems Lockhart's pursuit of justice, that even being roughed up, and having his belongings burned to the ground, hardly deters his relentless intent. And the fact that he is compelled to proceed under a shrouded identity...the feigned supply wagon, etc...an identity which proves all the more poignant and impacting, revealed right before the final credits roll, in reflecting the idea that this is a man who would exhaust any means possible, in order to achieve his driven intent...
...in contrast, there's the opposing triple threat, which makes up the Waggoman ranch clan: Alex Waggoman...a seasoned, middle-aged man, who assumes his own sense of justice, possessing a lot of pride in what he has built, and hopes to continue to build...his way. And as prideful as he is seen, in his accomplished endeavours, he is subsequently frustrated with his waning and progressive blindness...with his son, who though stands to inherit what he has built, expresses little-to-no interest in learning the business, has his own way of doing things, is measurably cruel, sadistic, reckless & irresponsible in his actions & behavior, and yet, arrogantly still expects the overflowing level of respect, claimed due him, as the result of his heritage. And there's Waggoman's much more responsible ranch foreman, who is underliningly favored by the aged Waggoman...though, not so underliningly, that the son doesn't take notice...and is torn, in the sense that he wants to maintain loyalty to the degradating old man, and yet, finds that loyalty placed in jeopardy, when he must convince him that his son is making underhanded bartering with a most dangerous adversary...
...though this viewer has not been privy to comparison on most of Twilight Time's now-quite-extensive, albeit limited edition library of films on DVD and Blu-Ray to date, regardless, it would not be out of place to say that "The Man from Laramie" might well be one of the best rendered films in their catalogue; despite the seemingly worn and color-faded look of the film...clearly, the result of Anthony Mann's visually keen direction and cinematography...this film, with it's spansive 2:55:1 widescreen ratio, is exquisitely rendered, with moments of striking color, to contrast the prerequistely dusty, Old West setting...
...wholly influential, exceptionally rich in character, and compelling in it's overall intrigue and literary engagement, "The Man from Laramie" is hardly the conventional western, which most ardent fans of the genre might have expected, for this particular time; fallible, though undeterred heroes (...or better, 'anti-heroes')...arrogant and reckless, sometimes conscience-driven villains (...and even the term 'villains' might be deemed vague and excessive, in description...think perhaps more of an ilk, not unlike that of 'ye of the opposite side of the coin, though with unscrupulous and self-serving motives')...pitted head-to-head against each other, and set in a backdrop of hot-leaded, steel-barreled, Old West lawlessness, deception, family loyalty and coerced, misdirected justice, "The Man from Laramie" is definitely one for the books....a classic western that most assuredly transcends the very term of what might be considered a 'classic western'. Highly Recommended.....
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