The Naked Spur (1953)

I don't know who they were kidding. They kept putting the word "naked" in movie titles when there was absolutely no chance of any nudity.

The Naked Spur was a technicolor western. I never liked westerns, but looking at other movies they made back then, you can see why people went for them.

James Stewart has been hunting for Robert Ryan for whom there is a $5,000 reward. He meets an old prospector and a recently discharged cavalry officer who help catch him. Stewart is distressed about having to split the reward three ways. There are only five speaking roles.

James Stewart isn't a nice guy in it, but he's the most appealing of them. Robert Ryan and the Army guy smile way too much. I was on the Indians' side, but they effortlessly murder a large group of them. James Stewart is shot in the leg. Initially he just limps a little and gets on his horse without even slapping a bandage on it, but it wasn't completely unrealistic. He becomes delirious for a little while.

With Janet Leigh, seven years before Psycho. Robert Ryan was almost unrecognizable just two years before Bad Day at Black Rock.

I don't know what the spur or its nakedness had to do with anything.

Available on The Criterion Channel.