The Naked Spur (1953)

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Sam Rolfe (written by) and
Harold Jack Bloom (written by)

Release Date:

3 August 1953 (Sweden)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Packed with Technicolor Thrills!

Plot:

A bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-trustworthy strangers.

Plot Keywords:

Bounty Hunter | Kansas | Prospector | Greed | Escape Attempt

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 21

12:00 PM

TCM

Cast

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

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16067)

Filming Locations:

Durango, Colorado, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

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.

Goofs:

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.

Quotes:

Ben Vandergroat: Money splits better two ways than it does with three.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) (TV)

a western with a conscience.

This western achieves something remarkable, it brings back your sensitivity. From the start of the film, any scene that shows either human beings or even an animal being shot, you feel the bitter taste of it. The bounty hunter which in so many movies was the hero, is shown here with all his indignity. It was not an easy role for James Stewart and he comes out beautifully. Janet Leigh is excellent as a tomboy. As for the scenery of the Rocky Mountains with the predominance of the green of the trees with the snowy mountains on the background, it is on the same level with everything else on this film which can be rated as one of the best westerns ever made.