The Far Country (1954)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Well I have to say, the little bell on Jeff Webster's (Jimmy Stewart) saddle kept distracting me each time I heard it, thinking some new angel in heaven just got his wings. Of course that picture came out almost eight years earlier so I had to wonder if there was some subliminal homage being paid here to "It's a Wonderful Life". Not the worst idea but it might have been more effective if not so repetitive.The idea of Jimmy Stewart playing an unlikeable saddle tramp doesn't seem to be a lot of viewers' favorite idea but I think he made it work in the story. I like it when an actor plays against type and shows that it can be done effectively. It works to advance the theme expressed by Corinne Calvet's French teenage character Renee more than once, that if you don't like people they won't like you. Not that Webster had any problems with people not liking him, it was just his way, take it or leave it.The other aspect of Webster's character that satisfied this viewer was his resolve to go back to Skagway and retrieve his stolen cattle from town villain Gannon (John McIntire). At this point, Webster was still in it for the money and wasn't going to let anyone bully him out of his hard earned trail payload. In fact, money talks throughout the picture as we see once Webster's trail crew makes it into Dawson and a two dollar per pound on the hoof bid ekes out the fair folk of the Dawson Hash House.Though the true sentiment of Webster's character is never in doubt if you've seen enough of these older Westerns, it's interesting the way the story gets you there. Jeff saves his pal Rube (Jay C. Flippen) from facing off against Gannon henchman Madden (Robert J. Wilke), but in so doing causes him to lose face with the town folk. With sidekick Ben (Walter Brennan) already taken out by the bad guys, Webster's inner voice lets him know it was time to take it to the outlaw bunch, with a town full of citizens finally finding the courage to back him up once and for all. It was a defining moment for the town of Dawson, guided by the spirit of their better angels.

Jimmy Stewart plays Jeff Webster, a loner and bachelor who, along with his sidekick/business partner Ben Tatum(played by Walter Brennan) takes a herd of cattle by ship from Wyoming to Seattle. He encounters crooked lawman named Gannon(played by John McIntire) but still proceeds through with his route to the Klondike region, where he hopes to sell his beef for a sizable profit, though, when he does arrive, decides to prospect for gold himself. The nearby town of Dawson has an increasing amount of lawlessness, which doesn't bother Jeff until it hits him personally...Disappointing western can't measure up to either of the previous films with director Anthony Mann and star Jimmy Stewart. Result is a predictable and routine film of little interest, though everyone involved does try at least, and film isn't bad, but is unmemorable.

No need to recap the plot. The movie's an excellent western, maybe too complex for many folk's liking, but still it has all the necessary scenic and dramatic ingredients. I take Jeff's (Stewart) grouchy self-reliance as a commentary on the limits of rugged individualism. It's clear that his uncompromising trust only in himself has made him a successful cattleman. But it's also put him in a position to lose it all to the crooked Gannon who, unlike Jeff, has plenty of help even if it is hired. Jeff's problem is he's stood by uninvolved while his potential allies were subordinated by Gannon. So now Jeff risks fighting a loner's losing fight against much bigger odds unless he changes his ways.Mann's westerns are a long way from Ford's classical mythology of the old west. But Mann's characters are both more realistic and interesting. For example, note how Ford's expert pictorial eye uses beautifully composed landscapes mainly as an aesthetic backdrop, whereas Mann integrates his pictorial eye into heightening the dramatic scenes. It's the difference between an aesthete and a dramatist. Anyway, Mann's westerns need no lengthy rationalizing. They speak for themselves. And frankly, to those who complain of Mann's (the writers') apparent disdain for historical or geographical accuracy, I, for one, don't go to movies to collect facts. For facts, I go to books instead.

While I cannot honestly say it is among my favorites in Westerns, it is worth seeing, mainly because the Yukon is so beautiful, with all the mountains covered with thick snow. I do believe the scenery is breathtaking. Of course, the cast was well-assembled, the actors fitting their individual roles very well. John McIntyre was a crooked judge whom you were glad to hate. Robert Wilke, as he was in the earlier classic western "High Noon", was someone no one could like, to state it very mildly. Harry Morgan's personality was in a similar vein. Walter Brennan was his same fussy-yet-likable character, J.C. Flippen was laughable as the sorry drunk, and Ruth Roman was the best that Universal-International could find as the tempting lady who was on the crooked side. James Stewart went against type as a bitter, apathetic cowboy who was anxious to avenge the crooked judge and his crooked thugs for stealing horses, and he was willing to go all the way from Seattle to Dawson, Yukon to recover them and, again, settle a score with the crooked judge. Again, the extremely beautiful scenery was worth it all. See it.