Product Details

• Actors: Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, Valerie French, Felicia Farr
• Directors: Delmer Daves
• Writers: Delmer Daves, Paul Wellman, Russell S. Hughes
• Producers: William Fadiman
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: August 6, 1996
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303686885
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #288,747 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Despite incorporating elements of Shakespeare's Othello, Delmer Daves's CinemaScope Jubal is the first and least of three Westerns the director made with star Glenn Ford. Although not up to the measure of 3:10 to Yuma and the boldly original (and sadly neglected) Cowboy, it's still a well-above-average Western by a man whose sturdy sense of drama and pictorial ecstasies qualify him as a solid genre filmmaker. Ford plays a drifter who is rescued, then hired as ramrod, by rancher Ernest Borgnine, thereby stimulating the erotic interest of Borgnine's sexy young wife (Valerie French) and the Iago-like resentment of the former top hand (Rod Steiger). A range war and the persecution of a religious sect whose wagon train is camped on Borgnine's land complicate matters beyond the Shakespearean premise. The solid supporting cast includes Noah Beery Jr., Charles Bronson, and Felicia Farr, who would contribute a memorable interlude to 3:10 to Yuma. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Glenn Ford's Best Westerns, February 23, 2005

By 

Terence Allen (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Jubal (DVD)

Jubal is the kind of adult western that was rare even in the heyday of Western production in Hollywood. A great cast, strong writing, and beautiful scenery makes it that much more enjoyable.

Jubal is a luckless drifter, played by Ford who is rescued from exposure and starvation by wealthy rancher Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine soons put Jubal to work as a ranch hand. Borgnine has a very young and beautiful wife, played by Valerie French. She takes a strong liking to Jubal, which not only complicates his relationship with Borgnine, but further strains his dealings with a jealous fellow ranch hand Pinky, played by Rod Steiger. Things go downhill from there.

Add Felicia Farr playing her normal stalwart Western beauty and Charles Bronson as a friend of Jubal's, and you have the making of a great film. It's way past time that this was on DVD.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Showcase, July 13, 2001

By 

Douglas Doepke (Claremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jubal [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In the mid-1950's writer-director Delmer Daves made a series of superior westerns for Columbia studios. Too bad these films have not gotten their critical due from movie historians or critics. Perhaps it's because they lack the thematic continuity of a Buddy Boetticher or a John Ford to tie them together. Still each entry presents its own distinct virtues and all are greatly entertaining. If the compact, and tautly told "3:10 to Yuma" is the best of the lot, the scenic and sprawling "Jubal" runs a close second. This mid-series film features Glenn Ford's easy-going charm, a rowdy Earnest Borgnine, a luscious Valerie French, and the panoramic backdrop of Jackson Hole Wyoming. And in an odd piece of casting, which Daves seems fond of, method actor extrordinaire Rod Steiger appears as a treacherous ranch hand named of all things, Pinky! Following the dueling styles of Ford vs. Steiger is at least as interesting as the otherwise well-staged outbursts of gunplay.

Judging from other entries, such as 1958's "Cowboy", Daves seems genuinely intrigued by the real life of cowhands. Thus the cowhands in Jubal are more vividly drawn and distinctively presented than their usual role as faceless stage props. The story itself features a fairly explicit (for its time) woman in heat (French), whose scheming shenanigans set off a plot-driving chain of events, while shifting alliances among ranch hands and settlers round out a sprawling and sometimes over-generous plot. And, oh yes, making a sudden appearance half way through, a lonesome Charles Bronson in a tacked on role that perhaps provided a needed payday, (Daves and Bronson had been together in the earlier, oddball essay "Drumbeat".) If none of this sounds good, then just sit back and take in the beautifully photographed alpine landscape that has salvaged many a western much less worthy than "Jubal".

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent mid-50s Adult Western with Glenn Ford, October 16, 2005

By 

Soaring Eagle (Ohio/PA border USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jubal (DVD)

THE STORY: An injured drifter, Glenn Ford as Jubal Troop, is rescued by ranch-owner Earnest Borgnine, who ultimately promotes him to foreman of his ranch. This stirs up the envy of ranch-hand Rod Steiger ("Pinky") and the desire of Borgnine's young sexpot/discontent wife Valerie French. The latter leads to even more hostility on Steiger's part because he used to enjoy the adulterous attentions of French until Ford came along.

Add to this mix a group of trespassing Mennonites (or perhaps Quakers) who have in their company Felicia Farr, a godly woman that attracts Ford's romantic interests, and Charles Bronson, another drifter who befriends Ford.

WHAT WORKS: For the first hour and ten minutes or so "Jubal" is captivating cinema of the highest order. Borgnine is simpleminded & naive but likable and full of mirth. Valerie French is fully clothed at all times, yet somehow oozes sexuality with every simple glance or word (proving that sexiness involves way more than merely showing skin). Rod Steiger is perfect as the villainous Southerner-turned-Westerner "Pinky." Felicia Farr is an interesting addition to the story: her godly purity attracts Ford just as much as French's adulterous tactics turn him off.

As for the young Charles Bronson, how can you go wrong? And, lastly, Glenn Ford is perfect as the tragedy-laden drifter.

A big bonus is that the film was shot on location with the mighty Grand Tetons as a backdrop for the entire story. These magnificent Wyoming mountains are nothing short of breathtaking!

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: A little after the hour mark a major character buys the farm, resulting in the last half-hour tying up loose ends and somehow losing the yarn's ultra-captivating charm. I'm not saying the ending is bad, not at all, just that it's mediocre compared to the rest of the film. This is the only reason the flick rates 4-Stars instead of 5-Stars in my mind.

Also, although the opening credits score is understandably dated, the rest of the film is not.

CONCLUSION: Make no mistake, "Jubal" is a powerful psychological Western; there's thankfully no Disney-like unrealistic vibe anywhere to be found. It expertly touches on issues of friendship, envy, jealousy, competition, lust, hate, love, and hope. In light of this, I'm genuinely surprised at how underrated "Jubal" is in the Western genre.

Let me add that Jubal is a man of fascinatingly noble character: he amazingly resists the skilled sexual advances of the luscious Valerie French. Kinda reminds me of Joseph and Potiphar's wife.

"Jubal" is a MUST for every person's Western film library.