The Far Country (1954)

James Stewart is Jeff Webster, a rancher driving a herd of beef to Alaska and beyond with hopes of making a small fortune, then buying a ranch in Utah with his aging partner, Ben Tatum (Walter Brennan).

But the duo run into trouble when they reach Skagway, Alaska, gateway to the gold mines in Dawson. Skagway is a town where corrupt Sheriff Gannon (John McIntire) rules.

Webster’s herd interrupts a hanging, so Gannon threatens to hang him. He eventually relents, seizing the herd of cattle as a fine.

Out of work and mostly out of money, Webster hires out to help guide a supply train to Dawson, led by businesswoman Rhonda Castle (Ruth Roman).

She’s interested in making a fortune off the miners as well, albeit in slightly more legitimate fashion than Gannon. She runs a saloon and sells supplies at inflated prices.

The first night out on the trail, Webster and Tatum sneak back to Skagway and take back their herd. Tagging along for this ride is Renee Vallon (Corrine Calvet). Like Castle, she’s attracted to the tall, handsome stranger.

Dawson proves more friendly than Skagway, for a while. But things are changing. Castle is opening a new saloon there. And Gannon isn’t far behind, though he’s less interested in settling an old score with Webster than in cheating the folks of Dawson the same way he cheated those in Skagway.

Review:

A superior Western, with Stewart playing a man who looks out for himself and only himself and thinks that’s the best way to make it through life.

That contrasts with the optimism of pretty young Renee Vallon, who searches for gold flakes in the sawdust from a saloon floor so she can send her father to medical school and thinks you should pitch in and help those in need.

She just needs to grow up and wise up, Webster figures. That’s until it becomes clear that might will trample right at every turn in Dawson unless someone strong enough stands up against Gannon and his bullies.

As a neat touch, there’s a bell attached to Stewart’s saddlehorn. Tatum figures to use that bell on the front door of their home when they finally settle down. It winds up being useful in another manner.

Walter Brennan as Ben Tatum and James Stewart as Jeff Webster in The Far Country (1954)

Cast:
James Stewart … Jeff Webster
Ruth Roman … Ronda Castle
Corinne Calvet … Renee Vallon
Walter Brennan … Ben Tatum
John McIntire … Sheriff Gannon
Jay Flippen … Rube Morris
Robert J. Wilke … Madden
Harry Morgan … Ketchum
Steve Brodie .. Ives
Connie Gilchrist … Hominy
Chubby Johnson … Dusty
Royal Dano .. Luke
Jack Elam … Frank Newberry
Kathleen Freeman … Grits
Connie Van … Molasses

Runtime: 97 min.

Memorable lines:

Ben Tatum, as Jeff Webster delivers his herd to Seattle with two cowboys by his side: “You started with four men.”
Jeff Webster: “Two of them tried to turn back.”

Rhonda Castle, after hiding Jeff Webster in her room: “Say thanks.”
Jeff Webster: “That’s a term I seldom use.”

Sheriff Gannon to Jeff Webster, after the cattle break up his hanging: “I’m gonna like you. I’m gonna hang ya, but I’m gonna like ya.”

Renee Vallon: “You’ve got to help people when they need help.”
Jeff Webster: “Why?”
Renee: “Don’t you?”
Jeff: “I take care of me. When you’re older, you’ll find that’s the only way.”

Rube Morris: “Wait till you see gold in the pan for the first time. So rich and yellow like. Wait till you see it. It does something to you. Drives a man crazy.”

Jeff Webster to Ben Tatum: “Law and order costs lives. It means somebody has to stand up and get himself shot at. That’s not why I came to Dawson. We got ours, and we’re gettin’ out.”