The Naked Spur (1953)

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  • THE NAKED SPUR


    DIRECTED BY ANTHONY MANN
    PRODUCED BY WLLIAM H. WRIGHT
    METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER


    Photo with the courtesy of lasbugas

    Information From IMDb


    Plot Summary
    Howard Kemp is a bounty hunter who's been after killer Ben Vandergroat for a long time.
    Along the way, Kemp is forced to take on a couple of partners,
    an old prospector named Jesse Tate and a dishonorably discharged Union soldier,
    Roy Anderson. When they learn that Vandergroat has a $5000 reward on his head,
    greed starts to take the better of them.
    Vandergroat takes every advantage of the situation sowing doubt between
    the two men at every opportunity finally convincing one of them to help him escape.
    Written by garykmcd


    Full Cast
    James Stewart ... Howard Kemp
    Janet Leigh ... Lina Patch
    Robert Ryan ... Ben Vandergroat
    Ralph Meeker ... Roy Anderson
    Millard Mitchell ... Jesse Tate


    Writing Credits
    Sam Rolfe
    Harold Jack Bloom


    Original Music
    Bronislau Kaper


    Cinematography
    William C. Mellor


    Trivia
    In Germany all films get dubbed, and at that time even the titles were translated. Thus it happened that in the German dubbed version James Stewart's name is spelled wrong in the front credits, with a d in the end.


    When this film was released in Spain, its title was changed to "Colorado Jim" and the name of 'James Stewart' (I)'s character was also changed from "Howard Kemp" to "Colorado Jim", for unknown reasons.


    Goofs
    Continuity: Amount of dirt on Ben's hands when Kemp drags him through the cave.


    Crew or equipment visible: As Roy Anderson climbs a rope up the cliff side, the cable holding him safely in place is visible alongside the rope.


    Continuity: In the opening sequence when Jesse Tate turns to face Howard Kemp, in one shot (from behind him) his hands are low (behind him). In the next shot from behind Kemp, Jesse's hands are raised.


    Continuity: In the cave face-off scene, after Stewart (Kemp) gives Ryan (Vandergroat) the pistol, in 5 subsequent scenes the pistol alternates from being inside his vest, to outside his vest, to inside, to outside, and finally to outside but leaning way over about to fall out of his pants. In the scene changes, Ryan supposedly didn't move except to lower his hands during the first sequence of the scene, but when the camera changed from Stewart to Ryan and back several times, each time the pistol position alternated from inside the vest to outside.


    Continuity: Right after Jesse offers to rub Ben's shoulder, he places his hand on Ben's left shoulder. In the next shot, Jesse is still holding his rifle with both hands.


    Continuity: When Jesse is shot, a short rock wall is seen right behind him. In all later shots of him laying dead, he's seen in the middle of a flat rocky area. Also, when he's shot, he begins to crouch forward but in later shots is seen lying on his back.


    Factual errors: When Howard and Jesse meet Lieutenant Roy Anderson for the first time, Howard asks for his discharge papers, which states he has a dishonorable discharge. Officers do not receive dishonorable discharges; an officer found guilty in a court martial receives a dismissal. Otherwise, they may retire or resign their commissions.


    Revealing mistakes: SPOILER: When Howard Kemp is talking to Lina at the end of the film, Ben moves his head and it is obvious that he is not dead. The camera quickly cuts away.


    Memorable Quotes


    Filming Locations
    Durango, Colorado, USA
    Lone Pine, California, USA
    Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
    San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited once, last by ethanedwards ().

  • The Naked Spur is a 1953 American western movie directed by Anthony Mann
    and starring James Stewart in their third collaboration.
    The screenplay was written by Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom,
    and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
    - a rare honor for a Western.
    The original music score was composed by Bronislau Kaper
    and the cinematography was by William C. Mellor.



    The film was shot just north of Durango, Colorado.
    Engineer Mountain can be seen in several shots.

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 2 times, last by ethanedwards ().

  • As Jimmy Stewart westerns are being discussed,
    perhaps a good time to bump these to the top


    Couldn't agree more!
    Another Jimmy Stewart Western I watched recently and it's a brilliant one!
    In my top 5 Jimmy Stewart Westerns perhaps even top 3.
    Gritty, good twists and turns with a Fantastically devious performance by Robert Ryan. Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart at their best.

    "Pour yourself some backbone and shut up!"

  • I love the cast, but this one never grabbed me. Woulda preferred Jimmy do Man of the West instead of this one.

  • We can probably all agree that Jimmy Stewart ran a close second to Duke in making Western movies. This was one of Jimmy's best, IMO.

    But even better, again IMO, was Janet Leigh as the female lead. Janet ranked near the top in my personal list of Hollywood women. She was one beautiful, sexy babe who reached out and grabbed my heart every time I saw her in a film (except, ironically enough, her pairing with the Duke in "Jet Pilot", which was a lousy movie that not even these two Hollywood giants could save.)

    De gustibus non est disputandum