The Naked Spur

I like a movie with no heroes.

Will Sloan

at no point was jimmy stewart completely naked except for a spur so why would they lie to me like that?

eely 👻

“he doesn't care about me, he only cares about the reward.” The Naked Spur (1953) is so far my favorite Western of the Anthony Mann–James Stewart collaboration run I’ve seen. And I really enjoyed Winchester ’73 (1950), the one that started it all and is still the most…

Tim Fehrenbach

Action!: MANN MEN - Anthony Takes It All! In their third joint effort, Mann and Stewart revisit much of the same themes and concept from their earlier works, focusing on a bounty hunter who is tasked with bringing a murderer to justice with the help of two shady…

Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine

83/100 Second viewing, last seen 1997. Poked around a bit and didn't find any detailed analysis of what for my money ranks among the greatest, most galvanizing shots in cinema history. It occurs in the last few minutes, after everything's been resolved save for the…

Mike D'Angelo

"Do business with the Devil and you get it every time." The stylistically swift, truly dynamic first 20 minutes of The Naked Spur had me like few other Westerns in recent memory. The shot selection and staging were immediately impressive, the varied sense of the unknown…

Ryne Walley

"Choosin' a way to die? What's the difference? Choosin' a way to live—that's the hard part." My favorite western from Anthony Mann so far, The Naked Spur is a five-piece character drama which excels largely because of Mann's effortless direction of the shifting…

ScreeningNotes

At the end of my western film days, in which I saw ten westerns in ten days, I decided to watch another one with the great James Stewart. It was also nice to see Janet Leigh again. This one reminded me a bit of my favourite western, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and…

DavidNeedToKnow

Another excellent minimalist Western from director Anthony Mann. I love how this plunges us into its scenario right from the opening scene: a manic Jimmy Stewart sneaking up on a would-be gold prospector (Millard Mitchell) with his gun drawn. You're immediately curious…

HKFanatic