Naked Spur features fine performances from the cast. And this is one movie that is very much reduced to character development . Even though it's a western with some excellent Rocky Mountain high scenery. The film has only 5 actors in it from beginning to end. Unless you count some Indian extras and 4 horses and a mule. Jimmy Stewart is excellent as a bounty hunter who is very close to losing all sense of morality as he brings killer Robert Ryan to justice. Ryan plays a villain for a change. Just kidding he always plays a villain and is excellent at doing so. Beautiful Janet Leigh holds her own against the heavy weights and is very compelling . Meeker and Mitchell also provide excellent support. My issues are with certain reaction shots of the main characters that don't seem in sync with what is going on. Or the camera places them at an angle where it is difficult to ascertain their proximity to the main action. This is noticeable in the Stewart / Meeker fight sequence for example. Also Leigh's character's motivations for staying with Ryan don't make any sense especially when during one attempted escape he was clearly going to leave her behind. Then there's the score with it's recurring beautiful dreamer motif which seems to have nothing to do with the story. All that said this is still a very enjoyable western where in the good and bad people are not always clear.
Review of The Naked Spur
