Customer Reviews

Bend of the River

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Man-with-a-past Glyn McLyntock (James Stewart) guides a wagon train of settlers to new land in Oregon. They first battle man and mountains to reach the land and later looming starvation when their vital first year supplies are delayed and hijacked by men maddened with gold fever. All the while McLyntock is haunted by his secret past: Can a bad man change? Perhaps more importantly, will others let you change?
Jimmy Stewart and Anthony Mann collaborated on some of the best westerns ever. In them they usually explored the inner demons the main character was wrestling with. Beyond vague references to McLyntock's past (He's THE Glyn McLyntock of the Missouri border wars, one character tells us, explaining it all) and hints that he was once the odd-man out during a lynching party, we're spared the gruesome details. McLyntock's past is left unexplored, the point being that he has the capacity to be very bad, and is trying his best to start anew. I can't think of any other actor, then or now, capable of convincingly playing a basically decent character who, when pressed, allows the devils to erupt.
The same can, and can't, be said for Arthur Kennedy's Emerson Cole, another gun sharp who, like McLyntock, has a capacity for goodness but seems a little weaker when confronted with temptation. McLyntock and Cole are from the Kansas and Missouri area, "good, clean country" moral center and settler leader Jeremy Baile (Jay C. Flippen) says, "'til man came in to steal and kill. Can't let it happen here." Of course Baile doesn't know anything about McLyntock's past and trusts him completely, a trust McLyntock values enough to make him that much more concerned about keeping his secrets secret.
A strong cast and story makes BEND OF THE RIVER one of the best movies of the 1950s. As usual in a Mann western, the story is played out against a glorious, Technicolor background. In this case Mount Hood, Sandy River, and Timberline, all in Oregon. The story is credible and, as usual, Stewart is excellent as the outlaw trying to reform. Strongly recommended.

The second of the well-known star/director collaborations,and the first in color,"Bend Of The River" maintains the standard of "Winchester 73".A big selling point for Universal was the location shoot in Oregon(they went back for the world premiere),but this being Universal,there are economies---camp sequences are shot on obvious sound stages,including an extended episode in the first reel where Stewart and Arthur Kennedy are tracking Indians through a stream---it's forgivable since this was S.O.P. in most "A" westerns of the period(even "The Searchers" has a number of phony "exteriors").The outdoor stuff is great---it must have bowled them over in 1952 when this sort of thing was less commonplace---only after the introduction of Cinemascope were the majors really forced to get out on location as a matter of policy.Universal liked to give their youngsters a little on-the-job training with high-profile star vehicles,so top-liner Stewart's got Julia Adams,Rock Hudson,and Lori Nelson along for the ride.This was just before Hudson broke into leads---he earns the promotion here as a sensitive pro-gambler---intrestingly the Kennedy character,an unreconstructed 'border raider',tells him he's "too soft"---for reasons more apparant to us today,it's perfect casting for Rock.He's even coy and tentative when Lori Nelson's fairly hurling herself at him.This is the precursor of the character he would play in the Douglas Sirk pictures---gentle,non-threatening---it's no wonder he scored so big with the femme viewers in his day.As for Stewart,his big nuerotic outburst comes late in the game,but as always,it's worth waiting for.Plenty of good character people are there to back him up---something audiences took so much for granted then.There are a few surprises---just when you figure Julia Adams for Stewart's demure love intrest,she beds down with Kennedy,cashing out the chips in his gambling hall---who ever said the 50's were predictable?The boom-town scenes have a terse,nasty edge---always good for repeat viewings as long as you're springing for the video.This one's well worth having---as are all the westerns in the Stewart/Mann group.

James Stewart, a man with a past that he is trying to put behind him, leads a group of settlers in this highly entertaining Western. He's taking them deep into the country of Oregon where they are going to set up a farming community. Along for the ride is Julia Adams, the daughter of the settler's leader and a girl that Stewart likes. But she only has eyes for Arthur Kennedy, another man with a shady past that Stewart has befriended. I liked this Western a lot. The main character is complicated and a bit mysterious, and Stewart plays him with a lot of intensity and authority. This is one of the films where you see the kind of actor of great depth that Stewart matured into as he grew older, and although I have seen few of his films with director Anthony Mann, I'm going to make a point of it do so now. The rest of the performances are also very effective, although Rock Hudson is given a badly underwritten character that adds little to the film. Mann builds up a lot of tension as the story progresses, and the photography is beautiful. In one sense, the story is a character study about redemption and how a man can change. But it is also a well produced Western, with plenty of action. The combination works unusually well!

Although James Stewart had appeared in the western DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939) he was more likely to be found in some sophisticated comedy or other up to and after WW2. Then he played the former army scout Tom Jeffords in BROKEN ARROW (1950). Directed by Delmer Daves.

Next came his first collaboration with director Anthony Mann in WINCHESTER '73 (1950) filmed in black & white, following the success of these two well-received westerns, James Stewart's and Anthony Mann's second western outing was BEND OF THE RIVER aka WHERE THE RIVER BENDS (1952). Adapted by Borden Chase (script writer) from a story "Bend of the Snake" by William Gulick, this time with the added bonus of Technicolor and the beautiful scenery on and around Mount Hood, Oregon, USA. Although BROKEN ARROW was made first it was released after WINCHESTER '73.


Starring along with James Stewart are Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson and Jay C Flippen. The last two also appeared with Stewart in the aforementioned WINCHESTER '73 Wagon Master Jeremy Baile (Flippen) is leading a group of settlers from Missouri to Oregon. McLyntock (Stewart) is the scout who saves Cole (Kennedy) from a lynch party, both men turn out to be former Missouri border raiders during the Civil War. Along the way they meet Indians, Gold Fever, Treachery and the Forces of Nature.

Made in only six weeks BEND OF THE RIVER turned into a cash machine for Universal and was one of the most successful westerns of all time (Inflation adjusted).
Finally this magnificent western puts the Mann-Stewart partnership second only to John Ford and John Wayne. No matter how often I see this film it remains one of my favourite westerns ever, and still looks fine on this 2004 DVD Release. Look out for the 2006 DVD release of THE NAKED SPUR (1953) the third western in the Mann-Stewart series.

With Anthony Mann at the helm and James Stewart heading the cast, you expect real class all the way, and this 1952 western is no let-down.

Irving Glassberg lenses Oregon beautifully, making the stunning landscape one of the main stars, as in all great films of the genre. Hans J Salter provides most of the music, which really comes into its own during the first nighttime sequence.

I could really identify with the themes of betrayal, integrity and virtue, no doubt due to Stewart's brilliant performance, which is both inspiring and heartbreaking at times.

Bend of the River is in many ways Anthony Mann's `nicest' Western, but underneath the gorgeous Technicolor location work there's a darker side to Stewart's border raider desperate to reform and his relationship with friendly enemy Arthur Kennedy that threatens fireworks to come - and when they do, in the last 20 minutes, there's no problem in believing the depth of Stewart's rage or the relentlessness of his pursuit. Shot on many of the same locations as the even darker The Far Country, it's still terrific entertainment. Stepinfetchit's role is a little uncomfortable, but compared to the humiliation inflicted upon him in other pictures he's allowed a bit more dignity here than usual, closer to Hank Worden's Old Mose Harper in The Searchers than the racial stereotypes other directors expected.

As with Universal's DVD of Winchester '73, the print quality isn't always quite as good as it could be, but it's mostly an acceptable transfer.

This is one of my top 10 westerns of all time. Jimmy Stewart is my favourite actor. One of a number of Anthony Mann films in which Jimmy Stewart was cast as a character with a hidden past.

As the film begins, Jimmy Stewart's character is escorting a wagon train. En route he rescues Arthur Kennedy just as some folk are planning to lynch him. In return, Kennedy hooks up with the wagon train. There is a parting of the way, as Kennedy remains behind at the port while Stewart continues on with the settlers to the stretch of country that is to be their new home. When their pre-purchased supplies fail to show, the settlers send Stewart back to investigate. He finds a town tarnished by greed - gold has been found and food prices have soared.

Meeting up with Kennedy, Stewart makes off with the supplies intending to pass it on to the settlers but it is not long before he runs into trouble.

This is the same print that was used for the 90s laserdisc release. The picture quality is generally ok but there are a number of scenes when the print seems to suffer "double vision". The film also begins with the statement that it has been modified to fit the screen suggesting that this is a pan and scan version. With the only extra being a trailer for the film my suggestion would be wait until Universal issue a restored print in the correct aspect ratio.

Film = 5 stars, DVD = 1 star

This is a classic western from 1952. The post war America had a taste for optimistic and wholesome entertainment with unambiguous good guys and bad guys. That isn't to say the characters are simple or simplistic, just that by the end of the movie it is clear who has chosen the good path and who has not (and is likely dead).

James Stewart was a perfect actor for these films (he made many fine Westerns) because he was a most convincing good guy, but was able to show a threatening undercurrent and the ability to fight that was able to enrich his characterizations and overcome the bad guys. Here he is Glyn McLyntock, a man with a past who is leading a wagon train of honest settlers who dream of rich farms in Oregon. The wagon train is led by Jeremy Baile (the very well cast Jay C. Flippen) who has two eligible daughters. Along the way he saves and becomes friends with Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy) who has a suspicious past of his own. They are attacked by Indians along the trail and the older daughter is wounded, but survives. The wagon train comes to a booming Portland right at the beginning of the California Gold Rush. The settlers hire a steamer to take them up river to their land and purchase supplies they will need for the winter (paid in advance). Tom Hendricks (Howard Petrie) is the apparently affable man who seems to run everything. Emerson decides to part from the settlers and the oldest daughter has to be left in Portland for a month to recuperate from her arrow wound.

The settlers prosper, but as it gets into October the supplies that were due in September have not come and winter could prove fatal without them. When McLyntock and Baile go into Portalnd to find their supplies the rest of the movie is set up as is their being joined by the handsome gambler played by Rock Hudson. It is an enjoyable tale even if the sets look like sets and nature shots seem quite different from the rest of the movie.

Quite enjoyable and great family entertainment. The movie does pose the question if a men can change or if their past dooms their future course and chooses an interesting answer to the question.

Bend of The River was the second film in the wonderful collaboration between James Stewart and Anthony Mann. This film has all the hallmarks of the collaboration - great acting, literate script, and taut direction.

Stewart again plays an embittered man with a past, who with Arthur Kennedy leads a wagon trail of settlers from Missouri to Oregon. The two get the wagon train settled outside of Portland, but there's a need for supplies, and a gold mining camp wants its hands on the supplies as well. Add this to Kennedy's larcenous behavior and you have the making of a great Western.

Stewart, Kennedy, and a young Rock Hudson are all excellent, and Mann's direction keeps things moving, and moving in the right direction. The Stewart/Mann films featured characters that seemed real and consequences that seemd to fit the situation. Bend of The River is a great film for all Western movie lovers.

The movie is a solid 50s western--decent entertainment but not high art like, say, High Noon. It's true star is Mt. Hood, Oregon, shown sparkling in every other shot.

Despite the disclaimer at the beginning of the DVD, this film was NOT "modified to fit your screen." It was shot in 1952, when most films were "full frame," and well before widescreen became standard. In fact the Technicolor process used here never made the transition to widescreen, and that's why the full-frame presentation is correct. (The same is true for Shane, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and the Wizard of Oz.) You'd think the studios would not insert the bogus disclaimer, since it's a dumb mistake that can cost them sales, but this error is actually pretty common on DVD packaging.

The DVD transfer is from a clean source that looks and sounds great. Unlike many later color films, the color is vivid and unfaded. Some scenes do show registration problems, but that's hard to avoid with Technicolor materials (fixing it is $$$$$).

Summary: a potboiler western with pretty pictures at a budget price.