The last of Anthony Mann’s Westerns starring Jimmy Stewart, “The Man from Laramie” (1955) brings to a close one of the genre’s most fruitful collaborations, as important in its own way as John Ford’s legendary work with John Wayne. In “The Man from Laramie,” Mann presents his lanky, weathered hero against a starkly grand landscape enhanced by both Technicolor and CinemaScope. The result is a beautiful, thoughtful picture that unfolds its tales of revenge and misplaced love at a measured pace, allowing the audience to absorb fully both the characters and their setting.
Stewart plays Will Lockhart, whose arrival in Coronado stirs up consternation among the wary residents when he promptly tangles with the local ruling family. Despite the sadistic attacks of ranch heir Dave Waggoman (Alex Nicol), Will pursues his investigation into shady dealings that resulted in the massacre of his brother’s cavalry regiment. Meanwhile, the Waggoman patriarch (Donald Crisp) struggles to transform his violent, spoiled son into a man capable of running the extensive ranch empire.
At 47, Stewart makes a far more careworn Western hero than he had been back in 1939, when he made his first starring appearance in the genre in “Destry Rides Again.” The stance of his lean figure, the casual wave of his long, dismissive hand, and the characteristic delivery of his lines all remain familiar, but Will Lockhart looks like a man who has been places and seen things. In some ways the role is more like those played by Stewart’s good friend, Henry Fonda, in films like “The Ox-Bow Incident” (1943) and “My Darling Clementine” (1946). Stewart’s character suffers quite a lot, particularly in two memorable scenes that show him dragged by a horse and shot point-blank in the hand.
The picture has distinctly Shakespearean undertones, especially in the Waggoman plot, although Donald Crisp’s Alec Waggoman is more Gloucester than Lear, and his faith in both of his eager heirs is sadly misplaced. Neither Vic (Arthur Kennedy) nor Dave deserves the old man’s confidence. Lockhart arrives in Coronado intent on playing a Hamlet role, hoping to avenge the untimely death of his young brother at the hands of Apaches equipped with ill-gotten rifles. Unlike the doomed Dane, however, Lockhart has good counsel in the guise of Charley O’Leary (Wallace Ford), a crusty old timer who warns him early on that “Hate is unbecoming on some men, Mr. Lockhart. On some men it shows.” Fortunately, his eventual confrontations with Dave, Alec, and Vic reveal Lockhart to be a man whose reason and restraint are more powerful than his hatred. The performances of the supporting actors in these key roles help to sell the tale, with Crisp, Nicol, and Kennedy all particularly strong. Joining them is Aline MacMahon as the strong-willed Kate Canady, a no-nonsense matron of the type so often played by Jane Darwell. The older Canady proves a far more interesting female presence than Barbara Waggoman (Cathy O’Donnell), a weakly delineated Cordelia/Ophelia character who does little to advance the plot.
Don’t miss familiar Western character actor Jack Elam in a small role as Chris Boldt. For more of the Mann and Stewart films, see “Winchester ‘73” (1950), “The Naked Spur” (1953), and “The Far Country” (1954). Stewart’s other Westerns include “Broken Arrow” (1950), “Night Passage” (1957), “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962), and “The Shootist” (1976). Donald Crisp won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “How Green was My Valley” (1941); see more of him in “Broken Blossoms” (1919), “Brother Orchid” (1940), “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1941), and “National Velvet” (1944). Arthur Kennedy earned five Oscar nominations for appearances in pictures like “Champion” (1949), “Bright Victory” (1951), and “Peyton Place” (1957).
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