Tense , violent ,epic Western in which Gary Cooper , Lee J Cobb and Julie London stand out . Brilliant and taut Western with wonderful use of locations and top-of-the-range cast . Gary Cooper is the Man of the West , a reformed outlaw called Link Jones (Gary Cooper , he bravely did his own horse-riding scenes despite physical pain from a car accident years earlier though) becomes stranded after an aborted train robbery with two other passengers (Julie London , Arthur O'Connell) . Cooper is forced to rejoin his ex-colleague (Lee J Cobb) and ex-boss to save himself and other innocent people from the band's (Jack Lord , Robert J Wilke, Royal Dano) mistreatment .

Magnificent Western plenty of thrills , shootouts , violence , gorgeous landscapes and results to be pretty entertaining . This excellent Western deserves another look at 1958 , nowadays is better considered then the 50s when was dismissed . In spite of its violence that influenced in Spaghetti Western , ¨Man of the West¨ turns out to be an essential and indispensable Western for hardcore aficionados . Jean-Luc Godard, a film critic before he became a director, raved about the film saying it was the best film of that year ; because of his recommendation, the film has been reevaluated and is now considered a classic western . Gary Cooper is frankly well in the role that fits him like a gun fits a holster .Gary Cooper was, at 56, a decade older than Lee J. Cobb who played his "Uncle" Dock Tobin , in the film Cooper and John Dehner talk about being children together , Dehner was actually fourteen years younger than Cooper . However , Stewart Granger was originally announced for the lead role and James Stewart eagerly sought the role played by Gary Cooper, but since Stewart had fallen out with director Anthony Mann he did not get the part . Very good support cast formed by notorious secondaries such as Jack Lord , Royal Dano , Robert J Wilke , Arthur O'Connell , Frank Ferguson and special mention to Lee J Cobb . Colorful cinematography in CinemaScope by Ernest Haller . Powerful and thrilling musical score by Leigh Harline .

This top-drawer Western was stunningly realized by the master Anthony Mann , infusing the traditional Western with psychological confusion , including his characteristic use of landscape with marvelous use of outdoors which is visually memorable . Mann established his forte with magnificent Western almost always with James Stewart . In his beginnings he made ambitious but short-lived quality low-budget surroundings of Eagle-Lion production as ¨T-men¨ , ¨They walked by night¨ , ¨Raw deal¨ , ¨Railroaded¨ and ¨Desperate¨ . Later on , he made various Western , remarkably good , masterpieces such as ¨The furies¨ , and ¨Devil's doorway¨ and several with his habitual star , James Stewart, as ¨Winchester 73¨ , ¨Bend the river¨ and ¨The far country¨ . They are characterized by roles whose determination to stick to their guns would take them to the limits of their endurance . Others in this throughly enjoyable series include ¨Tin star ¨ and ¨Man of the West¨ is probably one of the best Western in the fifties and sixties . After the mid-50 , Mann's successes came less frequently , though directed another good Western with Victor Mature titled ¨The last frontier¨. And of course ¨Man of the West ¨ that turns out to be stylish , fast paced , solid , meticulous , with enjoyable look , and most powerful and well-considered . This well acted movie is gripping every step of the way . It results to be a splendid western and remains consistently agreeable . Rating : Above average , the result is a top-of-range Western . Well worth watching and it will appeal to Gary Cooper fans .

The film begins with Gary Cooper traveling far from home in order to try to find a school teacher for his village. This is pretty believable but what isn't is after there's a train robbery--then things get a bit hard to buy into. It seems he and two others were separated from the train in the middle of nowhere. One of them is a lady...who happens to be a school teacher. But this isn't the crazy part, after the trio walk just a little ways, they come upon a house that used to be a hideout for Cooper in his outlaw days! Think of the odds! Unfortunately, the train robbers return and it happens that the gang is the same one that Cooper left long ago. He's since turned over a new leaf and is an honest man--but he knows he must pretend to be there to rejoin his old gang for the sake of the school teacher and gambler with him---otherwise they'll be killed. There's MUCH more to the film than this--but I'll leave it up to you to find out what happens.

Fortunately, despite a plot filled with long odds, the film still works due to excellent direction from Anthony Mann as well as very good acting. Sure, Cooper is too old for his part, but he's still quite good--as are the rest. Not a great western but solid and enjoyable--with a very strong ending as well as a grittiness that is rather reminiscent of a noir film, believe it or not.

Link Jones (Gary Cooper) rides into Crosscut, Texas after a five days ride. He steals a gun and boards a train to Fort Worth. He gives a lawman a fake name. He's a retired outlaw trying to start a new life and it's his first time on a train. The train gets ambushed by three bandits with an insider accomplice. They ride away with Link's money bag and he gets left behind by the train. He is joined Sam Beasley (Arthur O'Connell) and saloon singer Billie Ellis (Julie London). He leads them to his old hideout where they're taken by a gang led by his old boss Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb).

It's a darker western. It's as brutal as times would allow. Gary Cooper has his nice guy persona but the movie is able to undercut early on with a few sly scenes. I like his character and his conflicts. It may not be for everyone but I find this very intriguing. It's comparable to some of the best darker westerns.