Review of Man of the West

Introduction

The relentless wheels of the MGM back-catalogue reissuing machine grind on eternally, and another batch of movies have been dusted off for the 21st Century. This particular disc provides a cheap and cheerful transfer of the 1958 Western, Man Of The West, starring Gary Cooper and directed by Anthony Mann.

Link Jones is a man with a past, who wishes for it to remain forgotten. He passes through a small town keeping to himself, on his way to catch a train to Fort Worth, where he hopes to hire a schoolteacher. The train journey isn`t without incident though, as it is waylaid by a band of outlaws. The raid is bungled, but Link is knocked out in the scuffle and left behind, his precious money stolen. Also stranded are a cowardly conman and Billie Ellis, a woman with a chequered past on her way to make a new life. They trek to a farmhouse that Link remembers to find some shelter, but waiting for them are the very gang that held up the train. Worse, leading the gang is Dock Tobin, the leader of the same gang that Link used to ride with before he reformed. Now Link must keep his companions safe, while appearing to go along with the gang`s plan to hit the big bank in the mining town of Lassoo.

Video

The picture is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. The image is a little soft from time to time, and moiré and shimmer rear their ugly heads on fine detail. More problematic is the state of the print, which is definitely showing its age. It`s quite washed out, and the edges of the frame are prone to flicker in intensity. Grain is prevalent, as is some persistent print damage; most annoying are the vertical black lines that appear in the middle of the frame.

Like most Westerns, there are plenty of wide-open spaces and expansive vistas to fill the frame. It`s just a shame that the picture quality doesn`t do them justice.

Audio

As with every other MGM back catalogue disc, there are a plethora of languages provided for the European market. There are English, French, German, Italian and Spanish soundtracks, all of them DD 2.0. In addition there are plenty of subtitle tracks. Listening to the English track, I was unimpressed. While the dialogue was clear throughout, and the generic Western music reproduced adequately in glorious mono, there was an undercurrent of hiss through the film that was particularly noticeable during quieter moments.

Features

MGM once again opt for the minimalist treatment that sees the menu screen, language neutral. There`s only an image from the film, below which are arranged the icons for the chapter select, the subtitle and soundtrack menus, and an icon to play the film. Both this rushed design and the unimpressive transfer does little to excite a potential purchaser.

Conclusion

Man Of The West is one of those reliable Westerns from the fifties and sixties. There`s always a man with a hidden past, and that past is bound to come back to haunt him. Man Of The West differs slightly in that it takes a darker look at the subject. Link`s past is more sinister than most, and he is most definitely at a disadvantage when he ends up with his old gang. Also for its time, this film is quite brutal and pulls no punches. There`s very little humour, and it is at times quite bleak.

The theme is quite common in Westerns and you can see it in films like Unforgiven, that of the reluctant gunfighter forced to pick up his guns again. Gary Cooper`s Link Jones is quite similar to Eastwood`s William Munny, at first we are introduced to a pious, almost timid man, but as he gets drawn back into his own life, we see a resurgence of the darkness in his character. This being the 1950s, this aspect is understated somewhat, and while it is made clear in exposition that Link was a bandit in a former life, the performance, costuming and make-up all work together to keep a distance and delineation between the good guy and the bad guys. Dock Tobin`s gang remain unkempt through the film, wearing dark, and sporting stubble that George Michael would have envied back in the eighties. Meanwhile Link`s clothes remain light through the film, he stays neat and clean-shaven, and any bruises he may collect rapidly heal. It also doesn`t help that Gary Cooper is cast in the role, try as I might, I just can`t envision him as anything but whiter than white. Lee J. Cobb gives a dependable performance as Dock Tobin, more a patriarch than a gang leader that wants to trust Link despite his previous betrayal. Jack Lord gives a scenery chewing performance as Coaley, another member of the gang who definitely has a psychopathic streak.

I am used to seeing Anthony Mann work with Jimmy Stewart in most of his Westerns, and I`m surprised that he wasn`t cast in this film. I can`t help but wonder how much a deeper performance Stewart could have given as Link, he would have brought greater dimension to the character. As it is, while the darker characters and the arid denouement of Man Of The West would herald the era of the Spaghetti Western, the less shaded performance of Gary Cooper firmly dates this film to an earlier era. It`s worth a watch if you are a fan of the genre, though the disc`s presentation is strictly run of the mill.