The Far Country (1954)

Directed by Anthony Mann. Starring James Stewart, Corinne Calvet, John McIntire, Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan, Jay C. Flippen, Robert J. Wilke, Steve Brodie, Harry Morgan, Connie Gilchrist, Royal Dano, Chubby Johnson, Jack Elam, Eugene Borden, Eddy Waller.

Stewart plays another of his hardened horse opera heroes for Anthony Mann, the stubborn sort that prefers self-sufficiency, and needs to have his outer shell ground to dust before he finally does the right thing. He leads a cattle drive into Yukon Territory where he faces off against a corrupt judge (McIntire) who keeps stealing up gold claims under threat of hired guns. The crowded story is thin, but the pic follows the high trail toward a satisfying good-against-evil showdown. The triangular romance subplot is sabotaged by the decision to force Stewart’s hand by character elimination instead of choice. Jimmy’s gruff side was always believable in Mann’s hands, and although his adventurer’s change of heart is less dramatically rewarding than it could have been, he gets his licks in before donning the proverbial white hat. Solid supporting cast; although Brennan just goes through the soft-chinned motions, Calvet provides some spunk as a French-Canadian spitfire sweet on Stewart, and the likes of Flippen, Morgan, Dano and Elam are always welcome in these sorts of pictures. Story and script by Borden Chase; filming locations include the Athabasca Glacier in Alberta, Canada.

71/100