Bend of the River

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For the 1979 novel by V. S. Naipaul, see A Bend in the River.

Bend of the River
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnthony Mann
Screenplay byBorden Chase
Based onBend of the Snake
1950 novel
by Bill Gulick
Produced byAaron Rosenberg
Frank Cleaver
StarringJames Stewart
Arthur Kennedy
Julie Adams
Rock Hudson
CinematographyIrving Glassberg
Edited byRussell F. Schoengarth
Music byHans J. Salter
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Universal Pictures
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • January 23, 1952 (1952-01-23)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3 million (US)[1]
Stepin Fetchit and Chubby Johnson

Bend of the River is a 1952 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, and Rock Hudson. Based on the 1950 novel Bend of the Snake by Bill Gulick, the film is about a tough cowboy who risks his life to deliver confiscated supplies to homesteaders after gold is discovered in the region.[2] Bend of the River was filmed on location in Sandy River, Mount Hood, the Columbia River and Timberline, Oregon.[3] This is the second Western film collaboration between Anthony Mann and James Stewart.

Plot[edit]

While scouting ahead of a wagon train of settlers he is guiding to Oregon, Glyn McLyntock rescues Emerson Cole from being lynched for stealing a horse. Cole, who says the horse is "not exactly stolen", recognizes McLyntock's name, and McLyntock has also heard of Cole. At the wagon train camp they find evidence that Shoshone are in the area and Cole warns McLyntock they recently attacked some trappers in the area. That night, the camp is attacked and settler's daughter Laura Baile is wounded by an arrow. McLyntock and Cole sneak out to deal with the Shoshones, killing all five one by one, and Cole saves McLyntock's life in the process. Cole joins McLyntock and the wagon train but tells McLyntock that when they reach Portland he will head south for California.

In Portland they meet Tom Hendricks, owner of a paddle steamer which he says can take them up the Columbia River to the land available to the settlers. Hendricks arranges for the steamer's captain, Mello, to remove the arrow head from Laura's shoulder, and tells Baile that after he has dropped the settlers off, he will come back in the first week of September with their supplies. Mello tells Baile that Laura will need to rest and recover for a month and that he will be able to take her upriver with the supplies in September. That night, at a big party they meet recently arrived professional gambler Trey Wilson. Later, when Cole, Wilson and resident gambler Tom Grundy are playing poker in the saloon, Grundy remembers that he had seen Cole in Kansas and says that he was one of the Missouri Border Raiders. Wilson accuses Grundy of dealing from the bottom of the deck, Grundy draws but Wilson shoots his gun hand. When Grundy pulls another gun, Cole shoots and kills him. Cole tells Wilson he is fast, but soft, and that is not a good thing.

When the steamer leaves with the settlers, Cole says he is staying in Portland for a while before he heads to California. Baile tells McLyntock he heard what Grundy said about Cole and that a man like that can never change. McLyntock says that he is wrong and that some men can change. The settlers establish their settlement 2 days travel from the rapids 50 miles from Portland, which are the limit of navigation for the steamer. By the middle of October, with winter fast approaching and the supplies at least six weeks late, they begin to worry that they will run out of food in 2 weeks. They have also not heard from Laura, so McLyntock and Baile go back to Portland to investigate. They find the town far busier than they left it, and apparently somewhat lawless. Mello tells them it's because someone found gold nearby. The gold rush has inflated prices enormously, and Hendricks has stopped their supplies which are sitting on the dock. McLyntock, hires some would-be gold miners to load the supplies onto the steamer under Baile's supervision, and then finds Cole and Wilson in the saloon. Laura, who is working at the gold counter, and Cole, are both working for Hendricks and have no intention of going to the settlement. Laura, who is dating Cole, to McLyntock's disappointment, goes to tell her father. McLyntock confronts Hendricks but Hendricks finds out about the supplies and starts a shootout. Cole and Wilson both side with McLyntock. They escape on the steamer, and suspect Hendricks will beat them to rapids. McLyntock sets up an ambush.

Baile is angry when he finds out that Laura is dating Cole as he still thinks Cole can't change. McLyntock says he hopes he is wrong. He tells Mello to put into shore 20 miles below the rapids and they will take the supplies of the mountain to the settlement. He promises to grubstake the miners who have helped them so far, if they help drive the wagons to the settlement. They agree, after Cole and Wilson threaten them at gunpoint. McLyntock suspects that Hendricks will follow their trail. The miners plan to take of the supply train and take it to the gold miners' camp. McLyntock sets a trap and they kill Hendricks and several of his men, the rest ride off.

McLyntock and the supply train meet some miners, who offer them $100,000 for the food. Cole is tempted, but McLyntock and Baile refuse. The miners driving the supplies are set on taking them for the mining camp. When a wagon breaks a wheel, the miners try to sabotage the recovery and Baile is injured. McLyntock realises the accident was deliberate but when he approaches them they draw their guns and tell him they're taking the food to the gold camp. Cole distracts them and McLyntock nearly kills one of the men but then stops. At the top of the pass the miners ambush McLyntock and beat him up. Cole doesn't help him, but when one of them tries to shoot him, Cole stops him. Laura picks up the dropped pistol without anyone noticing. She later tries to shoot Cole but he disarms her. The supply train leaves but Cole gives McLyntock enough food to make it to the settlement, on foot. McLyntock tracks them down and starts shooting from the trees. After Cole has ridden off to the miners' camp for help, McLyntock disarms the other miners and they run off. With Baile, Laura and Wilson driving the wagons and McLyntock herding the cattle, they head for the settlement. When they cross the Columbia river, McLyntock takes the last wagon. Just before he gets across, Cole and the miners arrive. Wilson and Baile shoot some of them and the rest eventually ride away. Cole manages to get onto McLyntocks wagon and they fight, eventually both falling into the river. McLyntock wins and Cole's body is washed away. They make it to the settlement to the relief of the settlers.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

James Stewart, best known for his down-to-earth persona, established another persona along with director Anthony Mann with the 1950 Western film Winchester '73. This new Stewart persona was more violent, edgier, and more disillusioned, but a persona that was still likable. This collaboration included eight films, five of them Westerns. Along with Winchester '73 and Bend of the River, these included The Naked Spur (1953), The Far Country (1954) and The Man From Laramie (1955). This was the second of the Western collaborations between them.

The film was written by Borden Chase, who had co-written Winchester '73 and would write The Far Country. It was based on the 1950 novel Bend of the Snake, by Bill Gulick.

In Great Britain in the 1950s, the movie was known under the title Where the River Bends.[4] Under this name the film was given a multi-page review section in F. Maurice Speed's The Western Film Annual for the 1952 edition of his book.

Character actor Arthur Kennedy was cast as Emerson Cole. Kennedy was confined to shooting riding scenes until his knee healed, after spraining it while filming the fight scene with Jay C. Flippen, who plays Jeremy Baile, the leader of the Baile family. Julie Adams was cast as Laura while Lori Nelson was cast as her sister Marjie. Adams is best known for her role as Kay Lawrence in the 1954 horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon and Nelson played the female lead role in the 1955 sequel Revenge of the Creature, which were both directed by Jack Arnold. Rock Hudson played Trey Wilson, a professional gambler.

The film was filmed in Mount Hood, Sandy River and Timberline, Oregon.

To promote the film before it was released, a 3.6-mile (5.8 km) steamboat race on the Columbia River was staged on January 24, 1952, featuring the sternwheeler Henderson (which had been used in the film, and which had several of the stars on board) versus the newer sternwheeler Portland. The Henderson won the race.[5]

Stewart took a percentage of the profits, the second film on which he had done so, after 1950's Winchester '73, also a Western directed by Mann. In 1953, William Goetz estimated that Stewart had earned $750,000 ($6.91 million in 2021 dollars[6]) from the film.[7]

Reception[edit]

The film was first released on February 13, 1952. It grossed about $3 million ($27.6 million in 2021 dollars[6]). When first released, the film received poor reviews but later gained critical acclaim.[citation needed]

In his 1952 review, The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther said the film "keeps you guessing as to which of its male stars is going to turn out 'good' and which 'bad'". Of the cast, Crowther commented "So it comes down to farmers and miners and Mr. Stewart versus Mr. Kennedy. Both actors are first-rate performers when it comes to slinging guns and giving a general impression of cryptic personalities. Jay C. Flippen is good as the top farmer, Julia Adams and Lori Nelson make svelte farm girls and Rock Hudson is ornamental as a gentleman gambler who strings along. We are sorry to note that Stepin Fetchit is back to play a clownish stereotype, but the scenery is good in Technicolor and the fightin' is frequent and bold."[8]

The movie holds a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews.[9]

In 2019, Dennis Schwartz opened his review with: “One of the greatest Westerns ever.” [10]

In 2008, Bend of the River was nominated for AFI's Top 10 Western Films list.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953
  2. ^ "Bend of the River". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  3. ^ "Filming locations for Bend of the River". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  4. ^ Sloman, Tony. "Bend of the River – review". Radio Times. Retrieved December 21, 2017. Originally known in the UK as Where the River Bends
  5. ^ "The Henderson – Gone by Not Forgotten – Hood River, Oregon – Oregon Historical Markers on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com.
  6. ^ a b Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  7. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (July 24, 1955). "A TOWN CALLED HOLLYWOOD: Top Stars Now Share in Profits of Major Pictures". Los Angeles Times. p. d2.
  8. ^ Crowther, Bosley (April 10, 1952). "'Bend of the River,' a Western Starring James Stewart, Opens at Paramount". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  9. ^ "Bend of the River - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. May 20, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  10. ^ "BEND OF THE RIVER – Dennis Schwartz Reviews". April 12, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  11. ^ "AFI's 10 Top 10 Ballot" (PDF). www.afi.com. American Film Institute. p. 45. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 29, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.

External links[edit]

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