Coop plays Link Jones, a former outlaw who has been walking the straight and narrow for many years. Link has successfully left his thieving, murderous ways behind and has carved out a new and respectable life for himself in a little town called Good Hope. As the movie begins, Link boards a train to Fort Worth, where he intends to hire a schoolteacher for his town.
While in a very remote area, the train makes a stop to add wood, and all able-bodied passengers are required to help. At that point, a gang of outlaws jumps the train, and gunfire ensues. The outlaws are not successful in their takeover, though, and the train pulls away...leaving three passengers behind...Link, Billie Ellis (Julie London), and Sam Beasley (Arthur O'Connell).
Knowing that there won't be another train for a week and that it is 100 miles to the nearest town, Link suggests that the trio begin walking to shelter, and eventually they reach a secluded homestead...where Link comes face to face with his past. The home is the hideout of Dock Tobin's (Lee J. Cobb) gang, with whom Link used to run, and with Link back with him, Dock intends to pull off a huge robbery in a nearby town.
Has Link really left his outlaw ways behind him? Will he return to his thieving ways and join Dock in the robbery? And when Billie is forced to undress for the lusting men, will Link intervene to protect her? These are the questions that will play out in this movie.
While I actually enjoy other Coop Westerns more than this one (and even give them 4 stars), this one is very good, very solid. I like the character of Link Jones...to me, he's the quintessential Gary Cooper. I think Coop's portrayal of the outlaw-turned-good citizen was very believable. It was a perfect role for him. Lee J. Cobb was fabulous in his role. He played outlaw Tobin to perfection. And Jack Lord, Hawaii Five-O's good guy Steve McGarrett, portrayed a member of the gang. As one who regularly watches (and enjoys) Hawaii Five-O, it seemed quite strange to see Jack Lord in such an evil role, but he did it very well. He and Coop face off in one brutal fighting scene. (An interesting note---my son read on Wikipedia [which means it may or may not be true] that Jack Lord always credited Gary Cooper as being his on-screen role model.)
Man of the West is out on DVD and should be quite easy to track down. Those that enjoy Westerns will definitely like this one. Happy viewing!!
