Stewart captures a wanted outlaw,Ryan, and runs across several other despicable, dangerous and untrustworthy people. So what does he do? Of course, he invites them to tag along with him and Ryan and enjoy the great outdoors, camping out, having fun and adventures along the way and just engaging in some good old fashioned fellowship. I mean, who wouldn't want to be in the company of a group of thieves and murderers? So along the way, Jimmy-Boy gets sleepy. So does he tie up Ryan and the others? No, why would he? No, Jimmy, stumbling along, why does Jimmy always incur some type of injury in his films, listens as Ryan tells him he has to sleep sometime, and surprisingly without fail, little Jimmy does and the bad guys take him prisoner. Who could have seen that coming? Feel free to throw up at this point in the movie.Typical, silly, "Duh I'm too stupid to take care of myself", Jimmy Stewart movie. Add in "The Mountain Road", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence", "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and the list goes on and you get the picture.

One of Mann's notable collaborations with Jimmy Stewart that captures the attention of the audience with enough action and good acting by many famed stars of those days such as Janet Leigh or Robert Ryan and, I need not mention, James Stewart. The film delivers an unforgettable story that teaches us lessons that have to do with greed and pure meanness. I shan't say more, alas I am perturbed that I will reveal important facts of the plot. Moving along, the scenery is quite dazzling and powerful, the film takes place on the rocky mountains so expect beautiful hills and valleys and streams. (Here start some info that could be called spoilers!) None the less I am still inclined to point out some dismal characteristics of the film that I did not enjoy. The film had a rather abrupt ending, like there wasn't enough time to film a couple of scenes more. I believe that instead of suddenly showing the brutal nature of a character there should have been some kind of transition or slower progression to make the plot a little more believable. Although the sudden ending might actually add to the brilliance of this western. Summarizing, This western has enough action packed scenes, good acting by very famous actors such as James Stewart and Janet Leigh, beautiful scenery and classic Anthony Mann cinematography. As such I believe this film deserves a 7/10 which is, by my standards, quite excellent

This is the third of five westerns in director Anthony Mann's pairing with the legendary James Stewart, and it is simply a terrific film. Like with perhaps his most famous film, Winchester 73, Mann takes to the Western genre to tell stories of men struggling to maintain morality in a lawless region of the world. This theme continues here with this film. It is simple and straight-forward story-telling, but done very effectively. In The Naked Spur, Stewart's character, Howard Kemp, is a bounty hunter who is tracking down a wanted murderer, deep in the Colorado Rockies and wilderness. The film opens with an outstanding action set-piece -- Kemp, by the help of two men whom he stumbled across along the trail, attempt to capture the wanted killer who has himself held up atop a cliff. The sequence is remarkable in how effective it is in its simplicity, slowly building suspense and portraying a genuine feeling of danger, all with epic shots of the Colorado Rocky mountains in the background. It's one of the best scenes in any Western I have ever seen, and it is arguable that the film may actually peak at this point, but luckily the rest is a largely satisfying experience. Furthermore, upon capturing the wanted criminal -- played by the deliciously sleazy Roberty Ryan -- and his girlfriend Lina, Kemp now needs to transport the two out of the mountains. However, the two men who helped Kemp, a gold prospector and discharged military soldier, are not willing to leave so easily. And once they come into knowledge that Kemp is not a Sheriff but instead a bounty hunter and that there is a considerable reward for the criminal, then the real conflict of the story presents itself, as the two men demand that they come along to transport the wanted murderer and thus get a fair share of the reward. Trudging through the wilderness on horse-back, Ryan's character begins to manipulate the three men against each other so as to scheme and plan for his escape. The characters in the film all come with a troubled or dirty history. Ryan's character is of course a wanted killer (although it is not known if he is actually guilty). The gold prospector is an older man who has never had any luck, yet he also makes a living ripping off Indians in unfair trades. The military officer was discharged with dishonor for reasons that are initially unknown. Lina has never lived a good life, and she clings to Ryan's character, always denying any accusations of him being a murderer. Then finally there is Kemp. Stewart gives an effectively conflicted and distraught performance of a man who is on a determined quest for redemption of a tragic past life, but yet has to battle with the idea of profiting from another man's death, one whose guiltiness is questionable. There is an ambiguity to it all which I really dig. And as the story progresses and the men reach closer to their destination, the tension increases. It isn't merely greed which drives this tension, but something even more powerful -- fear. The three men, unable to trust each other as they each know their questionable pasts, continually get egged on and manipulated by Ryan's character. The ultimate struggle for these characters is to survive while trying to maintain some kind of moral integrity in such a lawless, unforgiving wilderness. And what a wilderness it is. Despite being a film which is largely built around character interactions, what makes The Naked Spur a unique film is that there is a large emphasis on landscape. The Technicolor is beautiful, and the on location, epic scenery of the Rock Mountains is at times staggering, which ultimately truly elevates the film as a whole. A landscape that is vast and menacing and lawless as it is beautiful. Order and sanity seems to hang by a thread. During the middle of the film, the group engages in a nasty fire-fight with a group of Native Americans. After the fight has subsided, there is a brief but subtly powerful shot of Stewart's character examining the carnage of the dead Indians lying on the ground, perhaps a simple, passing commentary on the violence against the Native Americans and just the barbarity of it all in the region. Overall, The Naked Spur isn't a perfect film. There are some clunky pieces of expository dialog, which are at times really unnecessary (although at other times effective). Additionally, some of the romantic bits I found a bit cheesy. That said, I liked the ending much more this time, and even found it surprisingly moving, with the film effectively coming full circle. It's by and large a truly great film. Great acting, great character interactions and development, effectively intense, some outstanding set-pieces, and tremendous scenery. This is a classic, and one of the best westerns I have seen.

THE NAKED SPUR - (1953) - I remembered this film from my past for sure about the time Janet Leigh showed up. I saw it back in another western phase a year or two ago. It was definitely not my preferred kind of western. I prefer some moments of comic relief (not necessarily pure comedy) and a little less grit and grimace. Jimmy Stewart was so conflicted and angry that I didn't equate him as the hero. He was way too uptight. I found him annoying and unattractive. I didn't think he and Leigh had any chemistry, and that made her part really unnecessary. For that matter, she was quite annoying and seemed to hop from man to man and not making informed choices. However, as a female stranded out west, I think she made the smarter call. Meeker and Mitchell were good, but other than to rankle Stewart's composure, I'm not sure their presence added much other than to make a bigger crowd. The real reason to watch, however, was for the one clearcut bad guy. I'll be on the lookout for Robert Ryan again. He was pure screen magic and made the film. Yes, the Hays Code causes Mann to have to let Ryan get the shorter end of the proverbial stick, but he still had a presence that made it hard to pull completely against him. Thus the need for a more clearcut hero.I was a little hesitant about Anthony Mann if Stewart was going to keep playing the anti-hero type. I like a hero. Fortunately, "Winchester '73" put Mann and Stewart back on my radar. Now that is excellence at its peak. I think I'm more of a John Ford type gal, but I'm going to remain open-minded as I work through the Mann westerns. It appears that there are quite a few IMDb reviewers who also had some issues with Stewart. I may have to keep Stewart reserved for lighter fare as I adore him in The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, The Shop Aroundthe Corner, and many other comedies and romances. At least I have "Winchester '73" to add to my favorite westerns, but, unfortunately, not this Mann western.