Bend of the River

B-western from Universal, adapted from William Gulick's novel "Bend of the Snake", features James Stewart as a leader of Settlers traveling through Oregon in the 1840s, dealing with Indian attacks and a lovestruck female. Outdoor adventure yarn competently directed by Anthony Mann, yet rather dully presented--and hampered by a rote plot. The cast (including a young, green Rock Hudson as a gunslinging gambler, Arthur Kennedy, Julia Adams and Frances Bavier) is solid, though the movie is far from exciting. Stewart continues to talk as if his mouth were full of marbles, and his central performance has to carry this outing an awfully long way. ** from ****

James Stewart is a man trying to put his chequered past behind him as he guides a group of settlers to virgin territory, and then returns to civilisation to collect their paid-for winter supplies, only to find the unscrupulous supplier has re-sold them at a much higher profit to gold rush miners. Arthur Kennedy is on the scene as another baddie-turned-good, except his teeth are far too white for it to be genuine in his case. This is a hugely enjoyable western directed by Anthony Mann, with excellent performances from all concerned, although Stewart and Kennedy excel. This is perhaps the first movie in which Stewart showed he could be a hard nut as well as a nice guy. The story creates a number of elements which have now become cliches, and puts them together in an original order. The scenery and colour photography are gorgeous.

Jimmy Stewart leads a wagon train to the Oregon wilderness and settles down to help build a settlement and after a gold rush, having to battle thieves and a greedy merchant to get a shipment of supplies back before the settlers are snowed in for the winter. Tense, exciting, and extremely violent for a fifties movie, this film really delivers the goods in terms of action and drama. Jimmy Stewart is especially hard boiled in (for him) a darker-than-usual role. Arthur Kennedy and Rock Hudson are excellent as a couple of shifty gunmen who are tentatively on the side of good. They try hard (Kennedy especially) to steal the movie away from Stewart! Julie Adams was one of the most beautiful women of the nineteen-fifties. Despite a long career in films, (which isn't over yet) she's almost entirely remembered as the girl that made the gill-man go Ga-Ga in The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

James Stewart plays Glyn McLyntock whose job is to lead the settlers west.Emerson Cole, a man with a shady past, is played by Arthur Kennedy.He's there to help Glyn with the job.The settlers are gonna need some food for the winter and soon the other side of Cole steps out.Anthony Mann worked for the second time with James Stewart in Bend of the River (1952).Jimmy does good work as always.Arthur Kennedy is brilliant in his role.The beautiful and talented Julie Adams plays Laura Baile and she does it great.Lori Nelson is wonderful as Marjie Baile.Rock Hudson is a gambler named Trey Wilson and he's terrific.This movie has got the most wonderful scenery.It's great to watch all those wagons travel there towards a better future.This is a good western from 55 years back.The world has changed in that time- and so have the movies.