User Reviews

Stewart is a Wyoming cattleman who dreams to make enough money to buy a small ranch in Utah ranch… His only real companion is his sidekick Ben Tatum, the great Walter Brennan… To accomplish that, they drive the cattle clear to Alaska and on to Dawson, in Canadian territory, where they sell them...

Along the way they meet the man who runs the gold-crazy town behind a dishonest lawman John McIntire... He attempts to steal them the herd... Later, in Dawson, McIntire and his gang reappear, this time interfering with Stewart's gold claim...

Captured by Mann's camera in the wonderful scenery of the Canadian Rockies, Stewart is a thoughtful loner forced into violence by his need to get rid of the treacherous actions of a corrupt entrepreneur robbing local miners of their claims…

In this entertaining, beautiful Western, Stewart has two leading ladies to struggle with: Ruth Roman, a bit too valuable to describe as a sexy woman resisting the worst vicissitudes of the territory and the more docile, the French Canadian girl Corinne Calvet who does create a nice portrait of a likable girl with the ability to form a judgment... In spontaneous manner, Stewart is lost between the ostentatious saloon owner and the wife-candidate...

Cunning Western from a director who had few peers in the genre. Much like other Anthony Mann pictures, The Far Country blends a potent pot boiling story with an adroit knowing of impacting scenery. Both of which play out amongst some of Mann's peccadilloes like honour, integrity, betrayal and of course, death!

The story sees fortune hunting partners Jeff Webster (James Stewart) and Ben Tatum (Walter Brennan) travel to Oregon Territory with a herd of cattle. Aware of the blossoming gold-boom, they plan to make a tidy profit selling the cattle in a Klondike town. Arriving in Skagway they find self-appointed judge Mr. Gannon (John McIntire) ready to meet out justice to Webster on account of Webster having fractured the law, all be it with honest cause, along the way. In punishment Gannon takes the partners herd from them, but they steal them back and head across the Canadian border to Dawson - with Gannon and his men in hot pursuit. Here beautiful women and a meek and lawless town will fill out the destinies of all involved.

Interesting from start to finish, The Far Country benefits greatly from James Stewart's bubbling (anti) hero in waiting portrayal and Mann's slick direction of the tight Borden Chase script. The cinematography from William H. Daniels is superlative, though not done any favours by current DVD prints, and the film has a few surprises and a "will he wont he?" core that's reeling the viewers in.

Paying dividends on re-watches for hardened genre fans, it still remains something of an essential viewing for first timers venturing into the wonderful, yet dark, Western world of Anthony Mann and James Stewart. 8/10

RELEASED IN 1954 and directed by Anthony Mann, "The Far Country" stars Jimmy Stewart as a self-centered cattleman, Jeff Webster, who conflicts with a crooked, self-appointed lawman (John McIntire) while driving cattle through Skagway, Alaska, to Dawson during the 1896 Klondike gold rush. Ruth Roman plays a formidable woman he meets on the steamship, who unfortunately works for Gannon (McIntire). Walter Brennan plays Jeff's best friend while Corinne Calvet plays a tough foreign settler with romantic inclinations.

This was the fourth of five Westerns Mann did with Stewart. These were uncompromisingly harsh, psychological Westerns featuring themes of revenge, obsession, rage and redemption. They were spectacularly shot on location, rather than in the studio, providing a backdrop of authentic rugged beauty. This one was shot in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada, with one episode involving Athabasca Glacier.

The opening sequence on the steamship is memorable for the way Jeff (Stewart) escapes ship authorities with the assistance of Ruth Roman's character. Roman is stalwart, stunning and surprisingly vivacious (for her role as a woman in the rough NW wilderness). Gannon (McIntire) is an interesting antagonist due to the way he joyfully basks in his power and overt corruption.

THE MOVIE RUNS 97 minutes. WRITER: Borden Chase. ADDITIONAL CAST: Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan and Jack Elam.

GRADE: B

The Far Country (1954)

Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart made a few movies together, and one is a cool black and white affair, but this is one of his searing Technicolor productions. It almost has a comic flair even as the world is cut and splintered in the first twenty minutes until the real story begins--cattle driving in Alaska. Stewart of course plays a congenial sort, but his character Jeff Webster has a history of killing a couple men and having a little vengeance in his heart, and when he is coerced into this new job you know it isn't going to go smoothly.

This is an odd story told with an odd tilt to it, and that's a good thing overall. And it's set in Alaska (near the Yukon), which gives it more of a frontier/prospecting feel than a standard Western. In addition to Walter Brennan who is his usual quirky best, the leading woman is Ruth Roman, who had a career something short of stardom, and she plays a tough but elegant frontier woman well. And there is a perky younger women (a French actress named Corinne Calvet), a kind of tomboy who has the hots for Webster. It doesn't quite work, but it's fun, and it's part of the series of conflicts all operating at the same time.

There are some small flaws you have to overlook, like the day for night that is more day than night (which is only emphasized by some brilliant night filming at the end of the movie, night for night done to perfection). But there is a bigger tension that keeps things really interesting, too. Two extremes of women after one singular guy--that's enough for any movie. And there is the sheriff and judge and power-monger in town who is ruthless with a laugh and cackle, and he makes a great villain.

I'm not interested in movies for their scenery, but it's worth noticing the amazing mountain country that is the setting here. There are also the standard moments that don't really add to the plot, but to the mood--some barroom singing, some riding through the scenery. But what really makes the movie is Stewart's role as an individualist, a man who is looking after himself first and last. Brennan acts as his conscience, reminding him to be a good guy, and Stewart, to his credit, listens.

Heroics come slowly in a Mann Western. You suspect Webster is a good person deep down, but his goodness has a slow coming out. And in a way, even by the end, the ambiguity is there--it's the good townspeople who rise up and get their justice.

A good movie, a very good Western.

After losing his cattle herd to a dishonest lawman, a trail boss winds up in the Yukon gold fields with a bad reputation and small chances of being able to return to the states. While there his fortunes take a turn for the best until a bad luck specter from the past comes calling. Good western with many favorite old faces in the lineup.

Cowboys James Stewart and Walter Brennan take their herd from Seattle to Alaska and on into Canada to stake a claim. Once there, they have to contend with seductive, shifty businesswoman Ruth Roman and ice-cold, happy-go-lucky villain James McIntire.

John Wayne may get talked about more, but his good pal Stewart made some excellent, hard-edged westerns too, some with the great director Anthony Mann. Frankly, I'd take this, with it's sturdy action sequences and fine melodrama, over North To Alaska any day!

The Far Country features some breathtaking scenery and cinematography that should definitely have been shot in widescreen.

Also, there's some strong support by the always reliable Brennan, Roman (who's great), the incredibly cute Corrine Calvet, and James McIntire, who plays one of my favorite types of bad guy, the kind that doesn't take himself too seriously.

This would make a great double-bill with another highly recommended Mann/Stewart northwest-set western, Bend Of The River.

This movie was just as good as some of the other westerns made by Anthony Mann and James Stewart like Winchester '73 and The Naked Spur, and much better than Thunder Bay and Bend Of The River. This film starts out like a run of the mill western but gets more complex as it goes along. It starts out with Jimmy Stewart and Walter Brennan arriving in Seattle and Stewart is charged with murder. He is found innocent but is cattle is stolen by a corrupt judge. Stewart then agrees to lead something but i forget what it is but Stewart only cares about getting his cattle back. As the movie goes along it's like Stewart only cares about himself just like his character in the Naked Spur. It gets much better at the halfway point after they arrive in Alaska. This is one of Stewart's better westerns.

Now, admittedly, I'm no ardent student of the genre. As a matter of fact, I've tended always to shy away from Westerns because, in spite of all their critical cachet as America's primal stories (or whatever), they seem to me to forever devolve into tiresome retreads of either "shoot up the Injuns," "the big gunfight," or "Hey, let's form a posse!" In other words, it always seemed to me a genre so rooted in and tied to convention, that it left precious little room for surprise or originality. (And yes, I HAVE seen at least some of the so-called "greats", and unapologetically lump them into this negative assessment - including Stagecoach, Rio Bravo, My Darling Clementine, and of course the infamous [but profoundly dull] Clint Eastwood-Sergio Leone teamups in the '60s.)

But when I saw this movie on TV - as part of a commemorative Jimmy Stewart weekend upon his death - I finally GOT IT: I understood, at least in theory, what the Western mythos has to offer as a serious thematic preoccupation (aside from just action and thrills). It is the push-pull between lawlessness and order; the American West represented freedom, but also the prospect of the wild, the untamed. Respectable folk could get hurt out there. Which, of course, meant that perhaps - just perhaps - it wasn't meant for respectable folk, and that the only residents should be the amoral and the shifty, those who dispensed justice strictly from the barrel of their revolvers, and where kill or be killed would ever be the law of the land. In such an environment, of course, the true heroes are the ones who are ornery and free-spirited enough to be out there in the first place (and so reject "society," at least as it manifested itself on the Eastern seaboard), and yet have enough sense of justice to believe that a society based on chaos and fear just IS NOT RIGHT. Catching and examining that disparity between law and disorder IN THE MAIN CHARACTER HIMSELF is, I believe (after seeing this movie), the highest and truest goal of any Western. Sadly, it is so often not the case, as the white hats are completely white, the black ones completely black (and let's not even get started talking about the Indians, ok) and there is precious little shades of gray in between.

Not in this one. Jimmy Stewart plays a blatant fortune hunter who follows the trail of miners before him into the Alaskan wilderness to prospect for gold. He is joined in this by his lifelong buddy, played by Walter Brennan (perhaps the Western cliché character to end them all - but nevertheless enjoyable here, as always) - and no one else. Pointedly, they are out for themselves, and while Stewart displays his patented charm (come on, we could never really dislike the guy, now could we?), we are left with little doubt that his is basically a self-centered, self-interested character: none of his "Gosh" or "Oh golly gee" humanism is allowed to come through. Or, rather, it has to be EARNED, by the end of the picture, in the way I described above. He must confront the lawlessness in himself, and weigh it against the need for order and justice which are so blatantly lacking in the border town which serves as the miners' starting point on their gold dust trail. This town is ruled tightly by its wicked sheriff, Mr. Gannon, played by John McIntire in one of the best "bad guy" performances I've ever seen. He comes on with so much charm and humor, and has such a relaxed and interesting rapport with Stewart, that it actually takes awhile to recognize that he *is* the bad guy - so that when it finally sinks in, it does so with double force. Further, by establishing a type of breezy (if necessarily guarded) camaraderie between McIntire and Stewart, the film plays up the notion of how close in temperament they really are - and so how far a moral distance Stewart must walk by the end of the film.

I won't go through all the twists and turns the plot takes - see those for yourself (as well as the rugged and gorgeous Alaskan scenery - filmed on location, mind you, not cheap painted stills that the studio made up). What's key here is how much this story focuses upon character, with great dialogue and character interaction substituting for gunplay much of the time - although the film has just enough action and adventure to prevent it from ever being static (read: "talky"). Definitely one of the greatest performances I've seen from Stewart, showing he could play the renegade, the "man's man" just as convincingly as the decent and upright guy next door. If anything, in fact, his "everyman" qualities lend greater strength to his characterization, making him seem less mythic or overblown - -like, say, Eastwood or John Wayne - and more a three-dimensional personage. His relationship with Brennan is well-played: understated, but nevertheless touching (with a faint suggestion of George and Lenny from "Of Mice and Men" - an altogether different type of "western").

I certainly have more Westerns to see, but this is for now my favorite, and the yardstick by which I will necessarily judge all the others. It deserves to be much better known and appreciated than it is.

This is sure not going to be on my list of my top 10 favorite westerns, but it has a lot going for it and it's a lot of fun to watch. It's a wonderful old-fashioned western done the way Hollywood used to do them. It has a great cast with so many of the wonderful character actors and actresses from the old days - Walter Brennan, John McIntyre, Jay Flippen, Connie Gilchrist, and others. As has been mentioned by other viewers the cinematography of the mountain vistas is spectacular, especially in the old, expensive, and therefore defunct Technicolor process. It's almost worth watching on that basis alone. The story line is interesting and keeps the viewer engaged with quite a few plot turns. My minor criticisms are in casting Jimmy Stewart as a "dark," cynical and self-interested character. Stewart is lodged too deeply in the hearts of the public as a nice guy to be able to play it that way. Another problem is the weak resolution. I remember having enjoyed watching the flick but damned if I can remember how it ended. However, that's not a big deal as the ride to the end was a lot of fun.

The five or so really good westerns that Mann made are unequaled as an ensemble in Hollywood. Even John Ford never made that many with so much quality. The curious thing about them all is how uneven they are. Ford's My Darling Clementine is worth about two and a half of any of them. Or at least two.

The real hero of them besides Mann and Stewart is Chase. Chase being responsible for the brilliant Red River. Chase wrote far country, bend of the river, and probably some others. But none of them are as finished as My Darling Clementine, but then very few films, western or otherwise are.

Each of the five films of Mann have huge gaps, or is it six, lets see. Bend, Far, Man of the West, Furies, Winchester 73, and yep, six, Naked Spur. Each have magnificent scene after magnificent scene, with fairly glaring lapses. Yet so does Red River, which is still the single greatest western ever made. So perfection isn't everything.

But The Far Country has huge, huge holes. It's mawkish, and really comes alive only when Stewart and Mc Entire are locking horns. The rest is pretty pedestrian, with the usual exception of Mann's camera. Mann's camera is a one man course in cinematography. It is about as good an eye as anybody who ever got behind a strip of moving film. It is almost never in the wrong place, never.

The Far Country has one amazing moment. And as usual it comes from Stewart. Nobody in the history of cinema ever received physical punishment with the authority of that man. He is absolutely amazing: look at him in Bend, Far, Winchester, and Man from Laramie: in Bend has been beaten up and is hanging by a thread so believably and with such boiling hatred he looks like somebody displaced from Dachau, in Far he is shot off a raft with such violence, it looks so convincing that you wince, and of course when he is dragged through the fire in Man, well you find yourself looking for the burn marks. What an actor. Not to mention the moment in Winchester when he is beaten up early in the hotel room, also as well as anybody ever did it.

But that was Mann's territory: look at Gary Cooper fighting with Jack Lord in Man of the West. As painful as any fight scene ever recorded. Cooper while not being quite as convincing as Stewart, nevertheless is somehow his equal in looking exhausted at the end of the fight. In short, nobody but nobody but nobody ever showed the human being in extremis as well as Mann.

What a great, great director.

See every western he ever made. They are his real monuments, even if all are scetchy. But so what. When he gets roaring with his great scenes they are as good as anybody, including Ford. And his six westerns as an ensemble are the best ever done by anyone, period.

Thanks, Anthony.

In this very watchable and highly entertaining western {shot in Canadian Northwest} it plays with all the veracity and dishonesty that marked the 'OL WEST and Klondike rush of period.With breathtaking photography and backdrop of big unconquered Alaska,we are taken on tour with Jimmy Stewart and crew to witness the fervor and passion that marked the hunt for GOLD. Chock full of twists and turns and double crosses it both seeks to give dramatic portrayal and morality play lesson on life and times of grub-stake dwellers and their thirst for riches.Very notable,given it's place in history and importance during that era.Men were of all types,per usual,however their motivations for a pot of gold and better life was never better displayed with a western accent and horses Vs.Dogs as vehicle of transport. With a cast of significant players,John McIntire {Top Hat wearing local magistrate} and Walter Brennan {side kick and partner to Stewart} and lovely but too strong-willed independent lassie Ruth Roman on hand to make believably interesting ,the movie never fails to be fun and gripping.I couldn't find any weak spots,where either action or interest lulls.Very good sign of filmmaking,to let the movie play out with nary a weak or insignificant scene.One of the main reasons for my big approval of.The scenes all play and build upon one another,with such ease as to seem effortless.Another good sign. The actual filming of backdrop and landscape is as good as it gets for any picture.Whether it was shot in early Cinemascope or Technicolor ,it should have bragging rights for production value and credibility.The color was never truer or richer and as clear as that bell 'OL Walter kept talkin about,that he gave his fiercely self-reliant and sometimes cold of heart buddy-Stewart.Speaking of which,he goes thru kind of transformation during scenes and starts caring more about his fellow frontier blazing man,which can be both hazardous and rewarding for his character.Since Stewart personified the ordinary man,and his pursuit of happiness or just life,he doesn't fail to deliever the gods here,except to the extent upon which he is brazen about many men in general,since crooks,liers and killer's were in abundance.Who better than cinema's Jimmy to sing praises of or cast dispersions upon one's character. The action is very real and true to storyline,giving added impact to all characters where needed.I particularly liked McIntire as a scalawag who talks big and with authority and seems almost honest to a fault until his ulterior motives {as big as the landscape} become realized. He stands out as one of the best bad guys in this genre of film,ever. Ruth Roman tries to usurp her presence with a combination of riches and wily ways,and mostly to the chagrin of Stewart,who is caught up in the middle.But to ease his entanglements along the way and steer clear of ever present danger,is old timer Brennan to the rescue.He innocent enough and only wants the best for the two,being too easily pleased with condition of their fate,wanting only early place to retire and pot after pot of coffee.He adds element of moral support and buddy vehicle to film.Good touch.Other cast are authentic and visual,if not vocal upon command and lend to texture of storyline. I highly recommend this visual and gripping action yarn,with story and plot working in conjunction for an unique movie experience.I was never bored or lacked enthusiasm throuhgout.Which is not easy to say of action/western flicks. 5 out of 5 star or 10/10 for entertaining and true-felt action that beholds with view.

Fourth in the series of westerns director Anthony Mann made with James Stewart, "The Far Country", while not the best of them, is still hugely entertaining. Stewart's cattleman is something of a walk in the park for him, (there's nothing here to tax him as an actor despite the taciturn nature of his character), but he's backed by an excellent supporting cast that includes Ruth Roman and Corinne Calvet as the two women vying for Stewart's affection, Walter Brennan and Jay C. Flippen as sidekicks and John McIntire, (excellent) and Robert J. Wilke principal among the villains. The always reliable Borden Chase did the first-rate screenplay and William Daniels was the DoP while the Canadian locations are as much the star of the picture as Mr Stewart.

A good film with--for its time--an intense, sprawling, rather dark story somewhat reminiscent of John Ford's "The Searchers" though not so brutal. The story starts fast and doesn't let up, with several scenes of really good dialog between (Stewart's) Jeff Webster, Ronda Castle and Sheriff Gannon. This film is in some ways reminiscent of "Bend of the River" (1952), also a Mann-Stewart work, but I found it far less sentimental and more interesting. There are a few caveats: a too-quickly wrapped up (and rather sentimental) ending; 24-year-old Corrine Calvert is not very convincing as a naive French teenager, and of course the film takes place in the Mythic West, a land of fable where the real laws of nations and physics don't apply. But these are trivial concerns. James Stewart is surprisingly good as a dark, disengaged man who thinks he cares for no one but himself, and the mountain scenery can't be beat. A fine Western costume drama.

While I cannot honestly say it is among my favorites in Westerns, it is worth seeing, mainly because the Yukon is so beautiful, with all the mountains covered with thick snow. I do believe the scenery is breathtaking. Of course, the cast was well-assembled, the actors fitting their individual roles very well. John McIntyre was a crooked judge whom you were glad to hate. Robert Wilke, as he was in the earlier classic western "High Noon", was someone no one could like, to state it very mildly. Harry Morgan's personality was in a similar vein. Walter Brennan was his same fussy-yet-likable character, J.C. Flippen was laughable as the sorry drunk, and Ruth Roman was the best that Universal-International could find as the tempting lady who was on the crooked side. James Stewart went against type as a bitter, apathetic cowboy who was anxious to avenge the crooked judge and his crooked thugs for stealing horses, and he was willing to go all the way from Seattle to Dawson, Yukon to recover them and, again, settle a score with the crooked judge. Again, the extremely beautiful scenery was worth it all. See it.

From Universal-international a breathtaking as well as rip-snorting Western that shows the greatness , the glory , the fury of the untamed Northwest frontier . Stars a tough , hardened adventurer guide who leads his herd challenging the gold-rich glory that was the Yukon full of white with snow , scarlet with sin , yellow with the dust that lured him on . As a self-minded , haunted cowboy (Jeff Webster) leads his herd to the Yukón , through Seattle , Scagway , Alaska , in hopes of huge profits accompanied by veterans Ben Tatum (Walter Brennan) and Rube (J.C.Flippen) transport cows by boat when they arrive in Scagway , subsequently to sell it them in Dawson City . While driving cattle to Dawson and in Scagway they have to escape from nasty land baron/judge Gannon (John McIntire) who carries out his peculiar justice acting as judge , jury and executioner . Jeff and his colleagues end up having herd back from the villain lawman . At last , they arrive in Dawson City , a bustling little town fiiled with prospectors and usual saloons : ¨Hash house¨ run by Grits (Kathleen Freeman) and ¨Hudson castle¨ run by Ronda Castle (Ruth Roman) . There takes place strong confrontations and Jeff , ultimately , avenging the deaths of his partners .

One of a series made by star Stewart with director Anthony Mann , it features splendid Western vistas , fierce gun-play and fist-play , impressively busy crowd sequences and many other things . Adventure western movie in which a two-fisted cowboy leads his herd through Seattle , Scagway to Dawson , Yukón territory , pitting himself against the wilderness , bandits , mean prospectors , and an ambitious , corrupt lawman . The film is divided in two parts , the first one describes on rout to destination , Yukón , and second part dealing with the little town Dawson city . Set late XIX Century , 1898, it shows the moral obligation to build a civilized community and need to a collective effort , joining individuals against corrupt and selfish people . Interesting and stirring screenplay based on the novel by Ernest Haycox titled ¨Alder Gulch¨. Sympathetic as well as brave acting by the great James Stewart as the stubborn Webster who must fight frontier lawlessness and locks horns with a crooked judge , a top-hatted nasty , magnificently played by John McIntire . Stewart has top grade character written all over it . Nice Ruth Roman as the good-bad girl who must be forgiven in the end . Support cast is frankly extraordinary with a large plethora of illustrious names , such as : Chubby Johnson , Harry Morgan , Robert J. Wilke , Royal Dano , John Doucette , Steve Brodie , Jack Elam , Kathleen Freeman and special mention for Jay C. Flippen as the grizzled westerner and a show-stealing acting by the always great Walter Brennan.

Lyric and moving musical score by Hans J. Salter , Frank Skinner , Henry Mancini , and Herman Stein , all of them uncredited . Colorful cinematography in Technicolor William H. Daniels , Greta Garbo's usual cameraman , and the Yukón sets takes it out of the ordinary Western scenarios , being shot in Canada , mostly in Jasper National Park . The motion picture was stunningly directed by Anthony Mann and premiered Febrery 1 , 1955 . Being made during Mann's best period of work . The film forms a stunning diptych along with ¨Bend the river¨ by the awesome quartet : Anthony Mann , screenwriter Borden Chase , producer Aaron Rosenberg and James Stewart who made a great number of top-drawer films . This is another superbly powerful triumph from Anthony Mann who realized various Western masterpieces such as ¨The furies¨ , ¨Devil's doorway¨ , ¨Tin star¨ , ¨Man of the West¨ and several with his habitual star, James Stewart, as ¨Winchester 73¨ , ¨Bend the river¨ , ¨The far country¨ , ¨Man from Laramie¨ , ¨Colorado Jim¨ , ¨Thunder Bay¨ , ¨The Glenn Miller story¨. Rating : Above average ; it is probably one of the best Western in the fifties . Well worth watching .

I see ' Westerns ' ( especially those clean films of the 1950's ) as being nearly total myth. I used to buy the myth much more when I was younger, and more gullible to believe in packaged fictions. But like a fantasy land I sometimes return to them, and ' The Far Country ' is an especially beautiful visual film. Its Canadian mountains and valleys are finely depicted, and an avalanche of snow exciting for children of all ages. But when it comes to the cast of characters I found them two one dimensional, with only hints of ambiguity. James Stewart plays a loner out for himself, and perhaps has a true Damascus moment that others matter. His inward, rather self absorbed acting is right for the part. The gold rush plot of bad versus good in Alaska was again too simplistic, and of course we know which side has to win as this is in the main a Western trope of the time that could not be challenged. Ruth Roman, who I like as an actor is woefully given a part that did not do her justice, and the less said about the third lead Corinne Calvet the better. For some perverse reason she is given more screen time than Ruth Roman, and Anthony Mann should have been watching the cast more closely than the scenic tour of Canada ( and no, it was not filmed in Alaska. ) There is a high body count of violent deaths to satisfy the audiences, and on this base level the film gives value for money. To sum up it is well made, but in my opinion Mann is overrated by film critics. He did his job well, and that is the most I can praise him for and he feeds into the never, never land of an America that most would like to believe in.