In this part of New Mexico territory, Alec Waggoman (Donald Crisp) is the big landowner and cattleman, having struggled with Apaches and driven out intruders. Now, getting old and going blind, he looks to pass off responsibility to his son Dave (Alex Nicol). Sadistic Dave, not understanding the changing nature of the West, thinks the only way to win his father's approval is by being as cold and brutal as he saw his father while growing up. Vic Hansboro (Arthur Kennedy), Alec's foreman and adopted son, is charged with the responsibility of taking care of Dave, but he has his own plans; he intends to claim a share in the ranch whether Alec approves of him or not. Kate Canady (Aline MacMahon) is the Waggomans' major competitor who refuses to give up or be driven out. She is Alec's former lover and she still holds the torch for him. Into all of this rides the man from Laramie, Will Lockhart (James Stewart). To all appearances, he is there to deliver some wagons of supplies, but he has a hidden agenda. His young brother was part of a cavalry patrol that was wiped out by Apaches with repeating rifles. When he finds the man responsible for selling them to the Indians, he intends to extract his revenge. Barbara Waggoman (Cathy O'Donnell) is the pretty shopkeeper who invites Lockhart to stay for tea, a rare thing for man who spends most of his time out on the trail; it looks as if romance looms on the horizon.
Well, that is the mix. How it all plays out is for you to see and enjoy.
Considered brutal when it appeared in the 1950's, "The Man from Laramie" is quite tame by today's standards. It seems that audiences then were unaccustomed to seeing such things as a man being dragged through fire or being shot at point blank range through the hand. The latter is never actually shown on screen and it is a testament to Stewart's skill as an actor that he could convey it all through the look on his face and the agony in his voice.
This was the final collaboration between the director Anthony Mann and his main leading man. Though perhaps not the best of the bunch ("The Naked Spur" and "Winchester '73" are both superior in my opinion), it is good enough. Stewart himself claimed it as his personal favorite of all his Westerns. (I have a letter from his secretary telling me so.) It also has special significance for me, as it was the first time, at a young age, to meet up with the man who played the man from Laramie. From then on I never missed anything in which he appeared at our local theater.
Well, that is the mix. How it all plays out is for you to see and enjoy.
Considered brutal when it appeared in the 1950's, "The Man from Laramie" is quite tame by today's standards. It seems that audiences then were unaccustomed to seeing such things as a man being dragged through fire or being shot at point blank range through the hand. The latter is never actually shown on screen and it is a testament to Stewart's skill as an actor that he could convey it all through the look on his face and the agony in his voice.
This was the final collaboration between the director Anthony Mann and his main leading man. Though perhaps not the best of the bunch ("The Naked Spur" and "Winchester '73" are both superior in my opinion), it is good enough. Stewart himself claimed it as his personal favorite of all his Westerns. (I have a letter from his secretary telling me so.) It also has special significance for me, as it was the first time, at a young age, to meet up with the man who played the man from Laramie. From then on I never missed anything in which he appeared at our local theater.