Man of the West

Director Anthony Mann and iconic actor Gary Cooper teamed up for this 1958 drama about three train passengers stranded in the desert following a railway holdup. Cooper stars as Link Jones, who brings his compatriots—sad-eyed prostitute Billie Ellis (Julie London) and garrulous but cowardly banker Sam Beasley (Arthur O'Connell)—into a veritable viper's nest in a desperate gamble. It turns out that Jones, now a respected town elder, was once a member of the outlaw band that robbed them, and he's welcomed back by old gang leader Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb) like the prodigal son. The other bandits are not so forgiving, but they humor the old man while plotting to unmask Cooper as a traitor in a battle of wits and wills. Mann's familiar themes of family and betrayal are given a dramatic twist, and he sets the conflict in a spare, desolate landscape featuring an endless horizon of empty track, a lone shack on the arid plains, and a ghost town where a planned bank heist turns out to be a pathetic fantasy. Author Reginald Rose (12 Angry Men) wrote the literate if sometimes overly symbolic script, which comes across like a morality play, and John Dehner, Jack Lord, and Royal Dano costar. This is not a conventional Western, but its stark style and dark themes have aged well, and it should be of interest to genre fans. Previously released on DVD, this has been newly remastered in HD for both DVD and a Blu-ray debut. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)