Bend of the River
Encyclopedia
Bend of the River is a 1952 American
Western film directed by Anthony Mann
and starring James Stewart
in their second collaboration. The film is based on the novel Bend of the Snake by Bill Gulick
.
) is scouting for a wagon train of settlers to Oregon. While he is checking the trail ahead, he rescues Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy
) from being lynched
for stealing a horse. Cole, who says the horse is "not exactly stolen," thinks he's heard of McLyntock, but doesn't pursue the subject. One of the pioneers in the wagon train is the eligible Laurie Baile (Julie Adams
). That night, they are attacked by five Shoshone Indians and Laurie is wounded by an arrow. McLyntock and Cole go out to deal with the Shoshones and Cole saves McLyntock's life in the process. McLyntock welcomes Cole, but Jeremy Baile (Jay C. Flippen
), the leader of the settlers, does not trust Cole and does not believe that a man can change from bad to good.
When they reach Portland, Oregon
, Laurie remains there to recover. Cole also leaves the party saying that he wants to go to California to find gold. The rest, including McLyntock, go on to establish a settlement in the wilderness after making arrangements with a man named Tom Hendricks to send the supplies they need for the winter to be sent on later ("the first week in September"). That night, they have a big party and meet a professional gambler named Trey Wilson (played by Rock Hudson
).
With winter fast approaching and the supplies at least six weeks late, they begin to worry when the food supply runs low. McLyntock and Jeremy Baile go back to Portland to investigate. They find that a gold rush
has inflated prices enormously. Laurie and Cole are working for Tom Hendricks and have no intention of going to the settlement. McLyntock is not happy to see them together as a couple. Hendricks (Howard Petrie
), their greedy supplier, has reneged on their business deal and has decided to sell their supplies at the new higher prices to a mining camp. Cole helps McLyntock round up some bad men to load the food and take it back to the settlement. Laurie joins them. When they are pursued, McLyntock sets up an ambush. Hendricks and some of his gang are killed, and the rest are driven off.
On the way to the settlement, some of the miners show up and offer an exorbitant price for the food. The hired men begin thinking about ways to commandeer the wagon train. Cole cannot resist the temptation of all that money and double-crosses his friend but doesn't kill him. That proves to be a mistake. McLyntock tracks them down and retakes the supplies with the assistance of Jeremy, Laurie, and Trey. Cole brings the miners to help him retake the supplies, but they are miners, not gunfighters and they lose to the more experienced gunhands. In a climactic brawl in the river, McLyntock kills Cole and they watch the current take his body toward the falls. At the end, they finally reach the settlement with the supplies and it's apparent that Laurie and Glyn are now a couple.
. In all five, he plays a man who is haunted by his past. The films are famous for their groundbreaking use of the landscape to portray the characters' feelings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Western film directed by Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann was an American actor and film director, most notably of film noirs and Westerns. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton and with James Stewart in his Westerns.-Biography:...
and starring James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
in their second collaboration. The film is based on the novel Bend of the Snake by Bill Gulick
Bill Gulick
William "Bill" Gulick is an American author and historian living near Walla Walla, Washington. Gulick was born February 22, 1916 in Kansas City, Missouri and named Grover C. Gulick. Gulick went to elementary school in Hutchinson, Kanas and then attended Classen High School in Oklahoma City,...
.
Plot
In 1847, remorseful former outlaw Glyn McLyntock (James StewartJames Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
) is scouting for a wagon train of settlers to Oregon. While he is checking the trail ahead, he rescues Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy
Arthur Kennedy (actor)
Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage" especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway.- Early life and education :Kennedy was born John...
) from being lynched
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
for stealing a horse. Cole, who says the horse is "not exactly stolen," thinks he's heard of McLyntock, but doesn't pursue the subject. One of the pioneers in the wagon train is the eligible Laurie Baile (Julie Adams
Julie Adams
Julie Adams is an American film and television actress, sometimes credited as Julia Adams or Betty Adams.-Life and career:...
). That night, they are attacked by five Shoshone Indians and Laurie is wounded by an arrow. McLyntock and Cole go out to deal with the Shoshones and Cole saves McLyntock's life in the process. McLyntock welcomes Cole, but Jeremy Baile (Jay C. Flippen
Jay C. Flippen
Jay C. Flippen is an American character actor who often played police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s/'50s....
), the leader of the settlers, does not trust Cole and does not believe that a man can change from bad to good.
When they reach Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Laurie remains there to recover. Cole also leaves the party saying that he wants to go to California to find gold. The rest, including McLyntock, go on to establish a settlement in the wilderness after making arrangements with a man named Tom Hendricks to send the supplies they need for the winter to be sent on later ("the first week in September"). That night, they have a big party and meet a professional gambler named Trey Wilson (played by Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
).
With winter fast approaching and the supplies at least six weeks late, they begin to worry when the food supply runs low. McLyntock and Jeremy Baile go back to Portland to investigate. They find that a gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
has inflated prices enormously. Laurie and Cole are working for Tom Hendricks and have no intention of going to the settlement. McLyntock is not happy to see them together as a couple. Hendricks (Howard Petrie
Howard Petrie
Howard Alexander Petrie was an American radio, television, and film actor.-Early life:Howard Petrie was born in Beverly, Massachusetts on November 22, 1906...
), their greedy supplier, has reneged on their business deal and has decided to sell their supplies at the new higher prices to a mining camp. Cole helps McLyntock round up some bad men to load the food and take it back to the settlement. Laurie joins them. When they are pursued, McLyntock sets up an ambush. Hendricks and some of his gang are killed, and the rest are driven off.
On the way to the settlement, some of the miners show up and offer an exorbitant price for the food. The hired men begin thinking about ways to commandeer the wagon train. Cole cannot resist the temptation of all that money and double-crosses his friend but doesn't kill him. That proves to be a mistake. McLyntock tracks them down and retakes the supplies with the assistance of Jeremy, Laurie, and Trey. Cole brings the miners to help him retake the supplies, but they are miners, not gunfighters and they lose to the more experienced gunhands. In a climactic brawl in the river, McLyntock kills Cole and they watch the current take his body toward the falls. At the end, they finally reach the settlement with the supplies and it's apparent that Laurie and Glyn are now a couple.
James Stewart and Anthony Mann
James Stewart starred in five classic Western movies by director Anthony MannAnthony Mann
Anthony Mann was an American actor and film director, most notably of film noirs and Westerns. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton and with James Stewart in his Westerns.-Biography:...
. In all five, he plays a man who is haunted by his past. The films are famous for their groundbreaking use of the landscape to portray the characters' feelings.
- Winchester '73 (1950)
- Bend of the River (1952)
- The Naked SpurThe Naked SpurThe Naked Spur is a 1953 American western movie directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their third collaboration. The screenplay was written by Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay - a rare honor for a Western. The...
(1953) - The Man from LaramieThe Man from LaramieThe Man from Laramie is an American Technicolor Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in the fifth and final of their Western collaborations, and their seventh collaboration overall. It was adapted from a story of the same title by Thomas T...
(1955) - The Far CountryThe Far CountryThe Far Country is a 1954 American western movie directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their fourth western collaboration...
(1955)
Cast
- James StewartJames Stewart (actor)James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
as Glyn McLyntock - Arthur KennedyArthur Kennedy (actor)Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage" especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway.- Early life and education :Kennedy was born John...
as Emerson Cole - Julie AdamsJulie AdamsJulie Adams is an American film and television actress, sometimes credited as Julia Adams or Betty Adams.-Life and career:...
as Laura Baile - Rock HudsonRock HudsonRoy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
as Trey Wilson, a professional gambler - Lori NelsonLori NelsonLori Nelson is an American actress born in Santa Fe, New Mexico on August 15, 1933. She began as a performer, dancing at the young age of 4, as well as winning a Little Miss America title. Many of her early auditions were unsuccessful. However, in 1952, she made it into her first role as Marjie...
as Marjie Baile - Jay C. FlippenJay C. FlippenJay C. Flippen is an American character actor who often played police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s/'50s....
as Jeremy Baile - Howard PetrieHoward PetrieHoward Alexander Petrie was an American radio, television, and film actor.-Early life:Howard Petrie was born in Beverly, Massachusetts on November 22, 1906...
as Tom Hendricks - Chubby JohnsonChubby JohnsonChubby Johnson was an American movie and television supporting character actor with a genial demeanor and warm country-accented voice perfect for westerns...
as Captain Mello - Stepin FetchitStepin FetchitStepin Fetchit was the stage name of American comedian and film actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry....
as Adam, Mello's assistant - Harry MorganHarry MorganHarry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
as Shorty, one of the treacherous hired men - Jack LambertJack Lambert (actor)Jack Lambert was an American character actor born in Yonkers, New York specializing in playing movie tough guys and heavies. Best known for playing the psychotic cat-loving, iron-hooked Steve "the Claw" Michael in Dick Tracy's Dilemma.Following a stint on Broadway, Lambert moved to Hollywood and...
as Red, another hired hand - Royal DanoRoyal DanoRoyal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
as Long Tom, a third untrustworthy hire-on - Frances BavierFrances BavierFrances Elizabeth Bavier was an American stage and television actress. Originally from the New York theatre, Bavier worked in film and television from the 1950s...
as Mrs. Prentiss (better known as Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
)