THE NAKED SPUR

english below

Premiejager Howard Kemp (James Stewart) jaagt al lange tijd op de gezochte moordenaar Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan). Wanneer hij Vandergroat op het spoor komt, wordt hij genoodzaakt om twee partners in te huren, goudzoeker Jesse Tate en oneervol ontslagen Union soldaat Roy Anderson. Vandergroat en zijn compagnon, de mooie Lina Patch (Janet Leigh), worden gevat door het trio en de outlaw neemt elke opportuniteit om twijfel te zaaien tussen de mannen en zo zijn ontsnapping mogelijk te maken. Onderweg blijkt dat er een premie van $5000 op Vandergroats hoofd staat, waardoor hebzucht al snel de kop opsteekt.

THE NAKED SPUR was de derde samenwerking tussen regisseur Anthony Mann en acteur James Stewart, na WINCHESTER ’73 en BEND OF THE RIVER, en er zouden er nog vijf andere volgen. De westerns die Mann en Stewart samen maakten staan bekend om hun diepgaande karakterontwikkeling, wat binnen een genre vol tropen in die tijd niet vaak voorkwam. Volgens westernregisseur Anthony Mann gaf de shoot van de film hem veel voldoening, omdat hij met de film het ware beeld – en de prachtige natuur – van het Amerikaanse westen kon tonen: “I never understood why almost all westerns are shot in desert landscapes! John Ford, for example, adores Monument Valley, but I know Monument Valley very well and it’s not the whole West. In fact, the desert represents only one part of the American West. I wanted to show the mountains, the waterfalls, the forested areas, the snowy summits – in short to rediscover the whole Daniel Boone atmosphere: the characters emerge more fully from such an environment.”

Film- en kunsthistoricus en docent Steven Jacobs (UAntwerpen, Universiteit Gent) geeft voor de film een lezing: 'Kleine geschiedenis van de Western’. Deze lezing om 17u00 is inbegrepen in de prijs van het filmticket.

ENG
The film is in English, subtitles TBA

Bounty hunter Howard Kemp (James Stewart) is hunting the wanted murderer Ben Vandergroat (Robert Ryan). When he finally tracks down Vandergroat, he is forced to hire two partners, gold prospector Jesse Tate and dishonourably discharged Union soldier Roy Anderson. Vandergroat and his companion, the beautiful Lina Patch (Janet Leigh) are caught by the trio and the outlaw takes every opportunity to create doubt between the men and try for an escape. Along the way, it turns out there is a $5000 bounty on Vandergroat’s head and soon greed raises its ugly head.

THE NAKED SPUR was the third collaboration between director Anthony Mann and actor James Stewart, after WINCHESTER ’73 and BEND OF THE RIVER, and five more would follow. The westerns Mann and Stewart made together are known for their character development, which wasn’t often the case in that period in a genre full of tropes. According to western director Anthony Mann the shoot of THE NAKED SPUR gave him a lot of fulfilment, because he could finally show the true beauty – and the stunning nature – of the American west: “I never understood why almost all westerns are shot in desert landscapes! John Ford, for example, adores Monument Valley, but I know Monument Valley very well and it’s not the whole West. In fact, the desert represents only one part of the American West. I wanted to show the mountains, the waterfalls, the forested areas, the snowy summits – in short to rediscover the whole Daniel Boone atmosphere: the characters emerge more fully from such an environment.”

Film and art historian and professor Steven Jacobs (University of Antwerp, University of Ghent) will give a lecture: ‘Little history of the Western’. The lecture starts at 17h00 and is included in the film ticket price.