The Man from Laramie (1955)

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Philip Yordan (screenplay) &
Frank Burt (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

31 August 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Western

Tagline:

THE MAN You'll Never Forget!

Plot:

A stranger defies the local cattle baron and his sadistic son by working for one of his oldest rivals.

Plot Keywords:

American Southwest | Oedipus Complex | Salt | Smoke Signal | Fall From Horse

Cast

James Stewart	...	Will Lockhart
Arthur Kennedy	...	Vic Hansbro
Donald Crisp	...	Alec Waggoman
Cathy O'Donnell	...	Barbara Waggoman
Alex Nicol	...	Dave Waggoman
Aline MacMahon	...	Kate Canady
Wallace Ford	...	Charley O'Leary
Jack Elam	...	Chris Boldt
John War Eagle	...	Frank Darrah
James Millican	...	Tom Quigby
Gregg Barton	...	Fritz
Boyd Stockman	...	Spud Oxton
Frank DeKova	...	Padre

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Hungary:14 | West Germany:12 (nf) | Norway:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #17217)

Filming Locations:

Bonanza Creek Ranch - 15 Bonanza Creek Lane, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

William Goetz Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: When Will Lockhart and Barbara Waggoman walk together in town, Will Lockhart stops close to a pole but doesn't lean against it; however, he is seen leaning against the pole in the next shot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Will Lockhart: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa. We'll camp here for the night.
Charley O'Leary: We can go a coupla more miles 'fore sundown.
Will Lockhart: We'll camp here!
Charley O'Leary: You're the boss.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of the Hollywood Western (1994) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Man From Laramie

The only Mann-Stewart film in Cinemascope

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.