THE MAN FROM LARAMIE is one pretty good western drama. The stranger comes to a small town. He begins to question citizens about the murder of a group of soldiers by Apaches. In the meantime, he clashes with the son of a powerful rancher....The life of the main character is uncertain and tense. This situation has been caused by his mysterious motivations. The story and themes are typical for westerns of that period. A lone hero bravely confronts the powerful tyrant in a small town. Standing conflicts and unknown past of the main character makes this film lively and interesting. This movie is actually a search for the main villain. Frankly, I am pleased that the Apaches are not presented in an extremely negative way, they are a kind of a "cruel court" at the end of the film.The story is quite tense, but predictable in certain segments. The scenery is quite impressive. Mr. Mann has, creating nature in which the story takes place, painted the individual characters.James Stewart as Will Lockhart is again (as always) dominant. The actor who gives a different dimension to the heroic roles. His character has a direct impact on the atmosphere in the film. His performance is always complemented by a strong and sympathetic female character.

James Stewart came back from his time in the Air Force (during World War 2) and found he couldn't play the same roles he had been playing pre-war. Stewart was being introduced to a new audience. Anthony Mann helped him do that with a string of successful westerns, starting with Winchester '73 in 1950. This new persona stuck and Stewart generally acted in edgier roles going forward.The Man from Laramie is about a mysterious cowboy who rides in from Laramie with three wagons full of supplies for the local general store. We're eventually introduced to the real reason Will Lockhart, the man from Laramie, is here. He wants justice, maybe just revenge, for his late brother.Stewart and Arthur Kennedy headline an above average cast here. The acting is strong throughout and there are few true villains in this one. Each character is two dimensional with their own positives and negatives as we all are.

This tale of revenge and family dynamics in the Southwest is lifted above the routine by a couple of elements. The location shooting in New Mexico is nicely done. There are a couple of stand-out scenes. And most of the important performances are splendidly executed.Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart made a number of Westerns in the post-war period that were unusual in that they revealed a sort of neurotic rage in Jimmy Stewart, previously best known for being a simple nice guy on the screen. A startling intensity began showing through his performances beginning with "It's A Wonderful Life (1946)." Whether his experiences during the war had anything to do with it or whether he was making a career move to break out of stereotyped roles, we don't know. Maybe both.In any case Anthony Mann's direction seemed to provide a channel for Stewart's rage. This is a brutal movie. More than that, it was shocking at the time of its release. It was unnerving to see someone shoot a dozen mules on the screen, for instance, and Stewart's reaction to the slaughter underlines the horror. Later there is a prolonged and graphic fist fight between Stewart on the one hand and Alex Nicol and Arthur Kennedy on the other. And, most terrible of all, a scene in which Nicol deliberately and at close range shoots a hole through captive Stewart's outstretched palm. With each outrage, Stewart is as adept at registering pain as fury.I'm going to skip over the family dynamics because they're a little complicated, though accessible to adults, and a little overdrawn. There are some women involved but they're dispensable. Everyone gets what's more or less coming to him.Alex Nicol does a fine job as the spoiled, power-hungry, narcissistic son of Donald Crisp, the old rancher who "owns this country." The problem with Nicol's role is that it's one dimensional. He has no redeeming qualities whatever, and we know from the moment he plugs Stewart's hand that he's dead meat, no matter what else happens.The same can't be said for Arthur Kennedy as the devoted surrogate "son" whose position as heir to the ranch is very fragile. But Kennedy's forte is projecting indignation -- as in "Why are you DOING this to me?", and he does it superbly, better than anyone else active on the screen during this period. And he makes his filial loyalty, his love, for Old Man Crisp believable, even touching in its abjectness.This was the last film Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart made together. Stewart opted out partly because he felt he was moving from one stereotype (the nice guy) into another (the neurotic cowboy). He made another movie along similar lines, "Night Passage" (1957), but it seemed an imitation of what Mann and Stewart had been doing together earlier.

The fifth of five western collaborations between actor James Stewart and director Anthony Mann is certainly one of their finest. Plot involves Army Captain from Laramie doing business in the small town of Coronado, but in reality seeking revenge for the killing of his brother by Apache Indians using rifles purchased from wealthy local ranchers. Adapted from a magazine serial by Thomas T. Flynn (later published in book-form), this no-nonsense outdoor adventure is surprisingly gripping, with no-holds-barred violent action and a solid supporting cast. Stewart gives yet another first-rate performance in a genre that was especially good for him, however Cathy O'Donnell was an odd choice for a (subtle) love-interest. Charles Lang's splendid cinematography needs to be seen in the widescreen format to capture its grandeur (this was one of the very first westerns shot in CinemaScope). An entertaining film, and capped with a nifty theme song. **1/2 from ****