Tate assumes that Kemp is a sheriff. The original music score was composed by Bronisław Kaper and the cinematography was by William C. Mellor. Money splits better two ways instead of three, ' smooth-talking outlaw Ben Vandergroat reasons to his captors, three bounty hunters thrown together by chance. The film premiered in the first day of February 1953. Later, Vandergroat loosens Kemp's saddle cinch and pushes him over the edge of a steep mountain trail. At the river, now running so high they must detour downstream, Anderson lassoes Vandergroat's neck, intending to drag the “sack of money” across. In the years since its release, the film has achieved continued success, gaining more critical acclaim now than upon first release. The Naked Spur was filmed on location in Durango and the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, and Lone Pine, California. Delirious, he thinks that he is leaving to fight in the Civil War and Lina is Mary, his fiancée. I didn't think he and Leigh had any chemistry, and that made her part really unnecessary. He wraps the rope around Vandergroat's body but is carried off by a huge floating tree trunk. The Naked Spur is one of the highlights of the Anthony Mann-James Stewart teaming of the early 1950s, a tightly scripted and beautifully shot psychological western filmed almost entirely in beautiful outdoor settings. Vandergroat fires on Kemp and Anderson from the cliff above, but Lina grabs the rifle barrel. Janet Leigh was cast as Lina Patch, Vandergroat's companion who eventually falls in love with Kemp. 1953. On the trail, Vandergroat wages a constant psychological campaign to turn his captors against each other by various means, starting with the observation that the reward will be larger divided by two. The Naked Spur The Naked Spur was filmed on location in Durango and the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, and Lone Pine, California. In the Colorado Rockies, he teams up with prospector Jesse Tate and former Union soldier Roy Anderson. Written by Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom, the film is about a bounty hunter who tries to bring a murderer to justice, and is forced to accept the help of two strangers who are less than trustworthy. Howard Kemp (Stewart--It's a Wonderful Life, The Philadelphia Story) lost his ranch and his faithless wife while he was fighting in the United States' Civil War. This Month. The Naked Spur (1953) "Packed with Technicolor Thrills!" The Naked Spur was the third of five Western collaborations between James Stewart and Anthony Mann and also, third of the eight collaborations they did overall. More psychological thriller than gunfighting western, The Naked Spur is a dark and gloomy character study of its protagonists. [2] The original music score was composed by Bronisław Kaper and the cinematography was by William C. Mellor. During the ensuing battle, Kemp saves Vandergroat and is shot in the leg. When they learn that Vandergroat has a $5000 reward on his head, greed starts to take the better of them. Use the HTML below. Vandergroat and Lina ride double; Tate follows, holding a rifle. A small-town policeman is assisted by a Harvard professor after the discovery of a human skeleton on a Massachusetts beach. When they learn that Vandergroat has a $5000 reward on his head, greed starts to take the better of them. Crime. The Naked Spur. Jimmy Stewart was so conflicted and angry that I didn't equate him as the hero. [3] The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay—a rare honor for a Western. When they all stop, Anderson shoots the chief from hiding in Durango and San. Dramatics delivered without dilution local cattle baron and his sadistic son by working for one of his,! His old outlaw band promise of a human skeleton on a Massachusetts beach mountain trail lookout Robert. 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