Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Scarecrow-88 Exceptional western directed by Anthony Mann (one of the greatest western directors to ever live) with Jimmy Stewart—no surprise—terrific in the lead as a crusty cattle driver who loads his herd on a boat heading to Alaska through Canada when he comes across the morally bankrupt "law" of a frontier town that stands in his way, Judge Gannon (John McIntire) who runs it like a totalitarian government. Stewart is Jeff Webster, with old buddy, Ben (Walter Brennan, endearing and folksy as expected), ready to make some bread from his cattle, losing the herd to the shifty Gannon when he claims that they're unloading of the live beef interrupted his hanging session in the town for the day, criminal disorderly conduct the charge. This was just a way for Gannon to give off the beef to his "business partner", Ronda (Ruth Roman), with both of them supposedly scoring from the fruits of Jeff's labor. But Jeff and Ben takes them back in a cunning bit of late night thievery, with Gannon telling him that he'll be hung once the cattle is sold and he tries to cross back into the states. Ronda winds up buying the beef Jeff stole back from her (after she took it from him thanks to Gannon's chicanery and partnership with her) once they make it to Dawson, a mining town in need of cow steaks instead of bear stew. Jeff and Ben stay at Dawson, temporarily they first plan, with their lives becoming increasingly complicated thanks to a gunman named Madden (Robert Wilke), Gannon bursting into town to claim land rights that aren't his (from the miners, using hired guns as leverage), and gold fever. McIntire is every bit as pivotal in the value of this film as Stewart, not just some black hat that kills gleefully and is so reprehensible you can't somewhat find him appealing. His Judge is corrupt, no doubt, but his wit and candor can be rather amusing, as long as he's getting his way. Stewart is that monkey wrench the Judge doesn't expect to disrupt his typically harmonious control over the will and rights of people. They're climactic shootout at the end (it is sloppy, with a lot of dust kicked up, falling and bullets ricocheting off walls and ground, eventually both men suffering wounds; although I think you can guess who suffers the fatal wound) has plenty of tension and anger in it as most Mann westerns exhibit when two men are fed up with each other and need to resolve their issues violently. Gannon isn't above using his male resources to get an edge but Stewart is handy with a gun and knows how to use it. Corinne Calvet is a delight as "freckles" (as Stewart calls her), a young woman with an attraction towards Webster he meets in the Judge's town, all honestly open with her feelings for him, jealous of Ronda (Webster and Ronda fall in love, much to Renee's (Calvet) chagrin). As he was with The Duke and Bogie, Brennan has magnificent chemistry with Stewart (when Ben is shot in the back by Gannon and his bunch of cutthroats, there's real raw emotion that is palpable and adds dramatic weight to the final showdown at the end) and conversations about working a ranch together give their friendship extra spirit. Good use of Canadian locations to wrap around the plot, Stewart's halting of a buddy named Rube (Jay Flippen) from facing certain death when he attempts to get the gunbelt from stone-cold murderer Madden (shaming him in front of Dawson's citizens and earning a lecture from Brennan in the process) is aching to see (with Gannon's comments adding further pain to Rube's shame), and McIntire's rubbing his mining property takeover in the faces of those it rightfully belongs in Dawson gives his villain a certain sleazy quality that makes his demise most welcome. The magic happened when Mann, Stewart, and The Western joined forces; we as fans of the western benefit because of their talents.

Tweekums When this film starts Jeff Webster has already driven his heard of cattle from Wyoming to Seattle and has clearly had some trouble on the way as he is accused of murder just as the steamer is leaving for Skagway, Alaska. Luckily for him the ship has cast off and he manages to hide away till they reach their destination. Things go wrong here though as he has a run in with the corrupt self-appointed Judge Gannon. The judge confiscates his cattle on a trumped up charge forcing Webster to find work helping local business woman Ronda Castle move her supplies to Dawson in Canada's Yukon Territory. He doesn't go far before turning back and liberating his cattle and taking them over the border and out of Gannon's jurisdiction. Once they complete the difficult journey to Dawson he sells his cattle and buys a stake in the Klondike valley to try his hand at gold panning. After a number of prospectors have been murdered and robbed on the trail back to Skagway he decides to take an alternate route to Juneau; unfortunately his partner was less than discrete and the get bushwhacked by men working for Gannon, who has now moved to Dawson with the intention of stealing the prospectors' claims. As Webster recovers he has to make a decision; does he leave town or does he help the people stand up to Gannon and his hired guns? This was a fine western that quickly caught my interest as the hero wasn't the typical selfless character I had expected; indeed he frequently said he didn't see much point in helping others, more than once avoided a gunfight and at one point it looked as though he'd been killed. Inevitably by the end that changed after all you can only push a man so far! James Stewart put in a fine performance as Webster and was ably supported by Ruth Roman who played Ronda Castle and John McIntire who played Gannon. Fan's of the TV series M*A*S*H will no doubt be pleased to spot Harry 'Col Potter' Morgan who has a small role as one of Gannon's henchmen. A good western needs a good villain and this one is no exception; Gannon is both crooked and so bad he'd shoot a woman in the back! As well as a good story there are some good action scenes, including an avalanche and a thrilling final showdown. If you are a fan of Westerns or of James Stewart this film is definitely worth seeing and even if you aren't it passes the time well enough in some beautiful scenery.

secondtake The Far Country (1954)Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart made a few movies together, and one is a cool black and white affair, but this is one of his searing Technicolor productions. It almost has a comic flair even as the world is cut and splintered in the first twenty minutes until the real story begins--cattle driving in Alaska. Stewart of course plays a congenial sort, but his character Jeff Webster has a history of killing a couple men and having a little vengeance in his heart, and when he is coerced into this new job you know it isn't going to go smoothly.This is an odd story told with an odd tilt to it, and that's a good thing overall. And it's set in Alaska (near the Yukon), which gives it more of a frontier/prospecting feel than a standard Western. In addition to Walter Brennan who is his usual quirky best, the leading woman is Ruth Roman, who had a career something short of stardom, and she plays a tough but elegant frontier woman well. And there is a perky younger women (a French actress named Corinne Calvet), a kind of tomboy who has the hots for Webster. It doesn't quite work, but it's fun, and it's part of the series of conflicts all operating at the same time.There are some small flaws you have to overlook, like the day for night that is more day than night (which is only emphasized by some brilliant night filming at the end of the movie, night for night done to perfection). But there is a bigger tension that keeps things really interesting, too. Two extremes of women after one singular guy--that's enough for any movie. And there is the sheriff and judge and power-monger in town who is ruthless with a laugh and cackle, and he makes a great villain.I'm not interested in movies for their scenery, but it's worth noticing the amazing mountain country that is the setting here. There are also the standard moments that don't really add to the plot, but to the mood--some barroom singing, some riding through the scenery. But what really makes the movie is Stewart's role as an individualist, a man who is looking after himself first and last. Brennan acts as his conscience, reminding him to be a good guy, and Stewart, to his credit, listens.Heroics come slowly in a Mann Western. You suspect Webster is a good person deep down, but his goodness has a slow coming out. And in a way, even by the end, the ambiguity is there--it's the good townspeople who rise up and get their justice. A good movie, a very good Western.

MBunge If the classic Western myth is the rugged individual battling the threats of Man and Nature, The Far Country is a film that subtly undermines that myth in both form and function. It doesn't seek to demolish the Western archetype, but it clearly suggests that people distinguish between the fantasy and reality.Set in Seattle and the wilds of Alaska in the mid to late 1890s, this movie focuses on a couple of cowboys. Jeff Webster (James Stewart) prides himself on not needing anything from anyone, except his old trail buddy Ben Tatum (Walter Brennan). They're looking to drive some cattle up to a Canadian gold mining camp named Dawson to sell the beef for top dollar to hungry miners. Along the way, they run into trouble from Gannon (John McIntire), the sheriff who rules the Alaskan town that's the only gateway to the Canadian wilderness. Gannon seizes Jeff and Ben's cattle for himself, forcing the two to take jobs from Ronda Castle (Corinne Calvet). She's a local businesswoman who needs someone to lead a caravan up to Dawson so she can set up her own saloon there. After stealing their cattle back from Gannon, Jeff and Ben lead their whole company into Dawson, only to find the locals have no interest in letting Castle move in and take over their camp. And things get even worse when the smilingly evil Gannon arrives, looking to set himself up as the equivalent of a feudal lord and squash any dreams of Dawson becoming a real town. But unlike other Westerns where the story is all about the good guy riding into town and solving every problem with his quick draw and his six gun, The Far Country is all about the need of people to work together to face their challenges and make the world a better place.This is a pretty entertaining film, most notably for the performances of James Stewart and John McIntire and for the story's take on the closing of the frontier. Stewart and McIntire play characters with a remarkably modern sensibility, standing out from the somewhat corny and cheesy acting typical of the 1950s Western. Stewart appears to relish the misanthropic aspects of Jeff Webster and McIntire plays Gannon as the sort of bad man who's perfectly capable of doing something good as long as it amuses him. The movie is also effective at showing how the days of the Wild West are ending. Strong men like Jeff Webster can no longer make their way in the world alone, uncaring and uncompromising. The trappings of civilization have become too strong, even in little mining camps for that. It's men like Gannon, who cloak themselves in the law and authority, that are seizing control and it takes more than any one man to stand up to them.The Far Country is a Western grappling with the end of an era without wanting to demystify it. Throw in some great Canadian scenery, plenty of likable characters and a chance to see Walter Brennan in his classic fatherly sidekick role and you've got a good movie.