Jimmy Stewart and Director Anthony Mann made great movies together, including westerns like this. What was great was how we got to see the hard edge that Mann could apply to Stewart's performances.It was great to see how Stewart could expand his acting range like he did. With these Anthony Mann westerns, we got to see what an excellent actor Stewart was.In this film, we are introduced to a King Lear scenario. In Shakespeare's Lear, a king is late in his reign and divides his kingdom among his daughters. As in Shakespeare, tragedy follows. We do have elements of that here. With it, we have Stewart seeking vengeance for those who sold repeating rifles to Indians who killed Stewart's brother.The film is very well made, with an especially subtle score by George Duning, who scored many other westerns. The film has many good elements. But, it has the feel of having a script that was chipped together. There is a very good through line to the story, but we get a lot of Stewart refusing to leave town, but not telling anybody why. This gets repeated many times.But, when the film gets to focusing on the matters at hand, it works, and the conclusion is very satisfying.******* (7 Out of 10 Stars)

And I don't mean the NY state champagne with the same name. "The Man From Laramie" is vastly entertaining and one of the best of a normally clichéd genre. It lends added substance when the characters have motivation instead of just fighting and shooting, and Director Mann always makes sure his characters have that extra dimension.This is one of James Stewart's best westerns, which contains the right mix of action and drama. He has come to avenge his younger brother's death and can marshal very little help from the area's inhabitants, especially from the family that owns most everything in sight. The family is run by patriarch Alec Waggoman, played by Donald Crisp. His irresponsible son is played by Alex Nicol, and his foreman is played by Arthur Kennedy, one of Hollywood's best character actors. He lacked matinée idol looks but elevated every picture he was in with his superior acting skills. He doesn't disappoint here.Hard to find a flaw in this movie. Thought I saw it when I was 13, but I guess I missed one. Several reviewers mention inconsistencies and contrivances in the narrative and maybe they're right, but, c'mon folks. It's a western and the idea is to just go with it. James Stewart, Anthony Mann, a terrific support cast, lots of action and a good story - why spoil things with logic?

From Columbia Pictures , produced by William Goetz and screenplay by prestigious Philip Yordan , a Western plenty of emotion , action and shootouts ; being the last and the best of James Stewart's classic Western collaborations with Anthony Mann. From a story by Thomas Flynn for the Saturday Evening Post and its subsequent novel with the same title . A cowboy named Lockhart (James Stewart) defies the local cattle baron (Donald Crisp) and his sadistic son (Alex Nicol) by working for one of his oldest rivals (Aline MacMahon) . The obsessed cow-herder going through hell and high water to track down the stranger who sold Indians weapons which led to the death of his brother ; then excitement increases until a surprising final .This exciting Western contains tension-filled familial atmosphere , thrills , suspense and gun-play . Magnificent western from duo Anthony Mann/James Stewart and their final collaboration . Colour , music , scenarios , landscapes all marks well in this thrilling story about a cowboy who deals with a baron land who's going blind and worries which of his two sons he will leave the ranch to . The picture has been described as a western version of King Lear adding a tautly strung outdoor Wodunnit . It describes a family tragedy in which there are extreme characters combined with psychological observations and enriched by eventual ambiguity . By that time (1955) the picture was considered very strong , tough , surprisingly cruel and brutal ; today is deemed a classic film . And seems to be a great influence of wide range such as violence and scenarios , both of them influenced in Spaghetti Western as well as outdoors similar to Almeria landscapes . Filmed in Cinemascope with colorful cinematography by Charles Lang supported by assistant Henry Jaffa , Mann gets to take from nature the maximum impacts , as desert , river , mountains , being wonderfully photographed . Impressive background scenarios , dramatic close-up along with shading illuminations , all of them perfectly mingled with a tale full of violence , tension , intrigue and shoot'em up . The filming took place on location in New Mexico , there were built two ranch : Big Barb and Half Moon , next to Santa Fe . The technician and artist team was formed by numerous actors and 142 technicians . Producers hired 18 mules , 24 horses and 800 cows and building a great ranch of 32 miles length . Nedless to say , the main and secondary cast is first-class . Top-of-the-range acting by the great James Stewart as a lone avenger obsessed with hunting down the men who sold guns to the Indians that murdered his brother . There are top-notch acting from old-stagers as Donald Crisp playing an aging ranch baron and Aline MacMahon as an old spinster and special mention to Western usual secondary Jack Elam as a sinister gunslinger . Delicate Cathy O'Donnell (Ben Hur) was widely felt to be badly miscast as Barbara Waggoman and seems a little lost among the movie's many shots and brawls. Emotive as well as intriguing musical score by George Duning performed by Morris Stoloff , including a notorious theme tune .This top-drawer Western was stunningly realized by the master Anthony Mann , including his characteristic use of landscape which is visually memorable . Mann established his forte with magnificent Western almost always with James Stewart . In his beginnings he made ambitious but short-lived quality low-budget surroundings of Eagle-Lion production as ¨T-men¨ , ¨They walked by night¨ , ¨Raw deal¨ , ¨Railroaded¨ and ¨Desperate¨ . Later on , he made various Western , remarkably good , masterpieces such as ¨The furies¨ , ¨Devil's doorway¨ and ¨Man of the West¨ and several with his habitual star , James Stewart, as ¨Winchester 73¨ , ¨Bend the river¨ , ¨The far country¨ , ¨Man of the West ¨. They are characterized by roles whose determination to stick to their guns would take them to the limits of their endurance . Others in this throughly enjoyable series include ¨Tin star ¨ that is probably one of the best Western in the fifties and sixties . After the mid-50 , Mann's successes came less frequently , though directed another good Western with Victor Mature titled ¨The last frontier¨. And of course ¨The man from Laramie ¨ that turns out to be stylish , fast paced , solid , meticulous , with enjoyable look , and most powerful and well-considered . This well acted movie is gripping every step of the way . It results to be a splendid western and remains consistently agreeable . Rating : Above average . Well worth watching and it will appeal to James Stewart fans .

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.