The Far Country

• Directed by Anthony Mann
• July 22, 1954 (London) / February 12, 1955 (NYC)

An adventurer comes into conflict with a corrupt judge while driving cattle to Dawson in the Yukon Territory.

The Far Country is an unusual Western in that it is set in Alaska even though it is not filmed there. It is also a good film that loves the scenery and has some substance below the surface. Beyond a man going against a corrupt judge, it is also about realizing that one needs to think of others rather than focusing solely on themself.

Jimmy Stewart is adventurer Jeff Webster who leads a nomadic life with his best friend Ben Tatem (Walter Brennan). Jeff is a cynic and puts himself first. What exactly prompted this attitude is not clear, but we do get the impression that once Jeff loses interest in something (or the situation gets too tense) he packs up and moves on as quickly as possible.

Jeff is a strong-willed man and finds himself drawn to the equally strong-willed Ronda Castle (Ruth Roman) who runs the local mature entertainment establishment. Ronda though has designs of her own and while she may have a romantic interest in Jeff, she is still focused on herself. What I can’t figure out quite is what the character of Renee (Corinne Calvet) is in all this.

There is some flirtation between the Renee and Jeff but ultimately things between them are more like siblings than potential lovers though it looks more romantic in their closing moments of the story. Was she meant to be the better love interest while Ronda was the love from which no good will come? I could’ve certainly seen a romantic pairing despite the character being portrayed as young, but nothing really came to fruition. At least nothing strong anyway.

Judge Gannon (John McIntire) is the main villain of the story and is little more than a con artist that has tricked his way into a position of power. McIntire makes Gannon outwardly charming and even a bit likeable though he is clearly someone who will crush anyone that stands against him. He utters threats in such a way that they are rather nice sounding.

From the start it is clear a confrontation between Jeff and Gannon is coming. Jeff is the only one with the skill and the spine to be successful as he is not someone Gannon can break. Jeff knows this but continually turns away out of self interest until he realizes he MUST do something.

Stewart turns in a slow change yet natural performance as a self-absorbed man looking out for himself who eventually realizes he cannot stand by and let unjust things go on challenged. Despite outward appearances, he is revealed to not be a self-absorbed man, but rather a man who just hasn’t found anything worth fighting for. He sees how him standing by when he knows he can help makes his friends lose respect for him and even cost them their lives.

There are a lot of familiar faces in this in smaller parts in The Far Country. Aside from Walter Brennan, we have Harry Morgan as Ketchum, Royal Dano as Luke, Jack Elam as Newberry, and Kathleen Freeman as Grits. All familiar faces from a certain time. Morgan is the hardest to recognize since here he sports brown hair and a beard. Even in his time on Dragnet (and everything else I can think that he did) he looked like Col. Potter from M*A*S*H.

Director Anthony Mann keeps things simple. The story is focused on the characters and developing the narrative. Perhaps that explains no strong romantic connections and not scenes of deep, unbridled passion with melodramatic music.

The Far Country is a good Western about helping others because it’s the right thing to do and not helping others for ulterior motives. There are great characters and great dialogue and beautifully framed scenery. It is well worth a watch for Western aficionados.