The Far Country (1955)
This is the 4th collaboration between Anthony Mann and James Stewart, a rare western set in Alaska and Canada. For a change the bad guy is the local “law” who uses his position to bully, steal from and kill the towns folk in the boom towns that grow up during a gold rush.
Stewart was a strong interventionist on Vietnam and this film has a general interventionist theme despite pre-dating the Vietnam war marginally. While turning his back on the local community as the problems grow Stewart's character focuses on personal gain but is eventually forced into confrontation with the bad guy after matters escalate out of hand. The moral of the story may be clear enough but the story is fairly well told and Alaska provides an excellent back drop. There is a tacked on love triangle which is a bit basic and simplistically dealt with.
Overall a decent effort 3/5
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