The Far Country

A strange, almost self-conscious Western written, like Where the River Bends, by Borden Chase. Stewart travels north to the Oregon territory with old-timer Brennan and a herd of cattle, only to be cheated out of the steers by corrupt judge McIntire. Signing up with saloon owner Roman's wagon-train to the gold-mining camps, ostensibly to earn some money, Stewart in fact plans to steal back his cattle and take his revenge. Stewart again plays the driven, vengeful loner, and the emphasis is again on his eventual acceptance of a social rather than an individual sense of justice. What distinguishes this from Where the River Bends, though, is Mann's use of painted backdrops, rear-projections and other artificial devices which tend - like the odd, cryptic dialogue - to undermine any sense of realism.