From the 1950s: Bend of the River

1952 Western
From Universal-International
Directed by Anthony Mann

Starring

James Stewart

Arthur Kennedy

Julie Adams

Rock Hudson

Jay C. Flippen

Lori Nelson

Harry Morgan

Chubby Johnson

Frances Bavier

Howard Petrie

Jack Lambert

Royal Dano

Stepin Fetchit

Here's a movie that should garner no complaints from western fans, from Jimmy Stewart fans or from those who treasure those old colorful, outdoor adventures from Universal-International.  Fans of Stewart and his frequent collaborator, director Anthony Mann, would know this is the second of their eight films together (five of which are westerns).

The Stewart-Mann westerns had something new and exciting about them, a psychological subtext that intrigued audiences and made them look forward to seeing the next one.  Most satisfying was that Mann squeezed more anger, hatred, vitriol, disillusionment and vengeance out of Stewart than anyone knew he had.  Their five westerns are considered among the very best the genre has to offer... still to this day.

Visual splendor became something else audiences came to expect from the Mann-Stewart adventures.  I hope the director paid his location scouts a bucket of money because the places chosen were stunning.  Here it's Oregon, primarily the Mount Hood, Columbia River, Sandy River, Timberline and Rooster Rock State Park areas.  The pair's first film, two years earlier, Winchester 73, was brilliantly painted in black and white.  Bend is their first collaboration in color.

Considering Mann's strong desire to show how beautifully filmed his projects are, one might think he used the same cinematographer all the time but he did not and it always seemed to work out.  I've not heard of Irving Glassberg but kudos to his gorgeous work here.

The story is simple enough.  Stewart plays a tough cowboy, a remorseful, former, post-Civil War border raider, who has chosen to lead a wagon train of Missourians to land high in the Oregon clouds.  He thinks he may even settle down with them and become a farmer or rancher.  Flippen leads the group which includes his daughters Adams and Nelson.

One morning Stewart decides to ride ahead of the train to scout passages and comes across Kennedy about to be hanged.  He saves his life and the two become friends.  It isn't long before we think Kennedy is a little slippery and we wonder what he's up to.  It happens around the same time that Flippen tells Stewart that he doesn't trust Kennedy.  All are concerned when Adams is wounded in a skirmish with Indians.

Stopping in Portland to order supplies for the party of 100 which won't be delivered for a month or so, Adams needs to stay and rest from her injuries and Kennedy elects to go on to California.  Stewart and Flippen befriend a gambler (Hudson) before they head up into the mountains to establish their settlement. 

When the food and other supplies have not arrived and winter is about to, Stewart and Flippen return to Portland.  They find that Kennedy is actually working in a saloon, as is Adams, and the man (Petrie) who sold them the supplies plans to renege.  That is because gold has been discovered and the miners need the in high-demand supplies and will pay more than Flippen did.  

Obviously Stewart and Flippen are enraged and along with Kennedy and Hudson get into a gunfight.  The good guys, including Adams, race to the docks where the supplies, including wagons and horses, have been loaded on a steamboat.  The bad guys, of course, are in hot pursuit.  They don't catch them at the dock but they start out on a long journey to catch up where they will disembark.  There's a rousing fight when both groups meet up.

Two miners approach and say the supplies are theirs, that they paid for them.  Stewart refuses even after he's offered $100,000.  But hearing that amount turns Kennedy's slipperiness into downright treachery.  He and other thugs on the caravan turn on Stewart, beat him and leave him without a horse.

Ultimately, of course, Stewart overcomes his odds, catches up with the supply train as does Kennedy and a group of miners and still another fight breaks out.  It doesn't work out well for everyone but there is great joy when the supplies arrive at the encampment and it looks like Flippen's two daughters have found their future husbands.

Mann, of course, knew his way around the western... he'd made them before this film and of course would make more.  The famous ones starred Stewart but Mann did some without the actor.  He worked on several of them with Borden Chase who wrote some of his own screenplays and also adapted others' works.  Some of Chase's westerns are Red River, The Man from Colorado, Montana, Winchester 73, Loan Star, The Far Country, Vera Cruz and Backlash.  Between this pair, Bend was in very good hands.  

Harry (M.A.S.H.) Morgan, in his first of eight films with Stewart, five of which were directed by Mann, said Stewart was looking forward to doing the outdoor film after a long, indoor shoot making The Greatest Show on Earth, which he played entirely in clown makeup.  What Morgan liked most about Stewart was that he was a genuinely nice guy and never had star-itis. 

Morgan said that Mann was similar to John Ford in that each had to have some underling in the cast or crew that they constantly picked on.  Stewart didn't like it at all and if he got wind of it, he did all he could to put a stop to it.  The actor had very definite ideas how he wanted his sets to be and easy-going was one of them.

Personally, if I had to single out one performance that particularly impressed me, it would be Kennedy's.  Perhaps being a bad guy masquerading as a good guy gave him a little more to work with than the others.  He was a most talented and reliable actor.  I was always glad he was in a film I was seeing and he certainly made a lot of westerns so I saw him a lot.

Adams claimed the film, which gave her her first leading role in a big film, was always fond of making it and claims it was the movie in those early years where she learned the most.   She became life-long friends with Stewart and nearly 20 years later would play his wife on a short-lived TV series.

Flippen, always a strong character actor, has much the same history with Mann that Morgan did.  He was an ideal western character... savvy, grizzled, sometimes the film's conscience.  He must have considered this among his favorite films because he got a lot of screen time.  

Hudson's role of the gambler who appears out of nowhere to help the settlers is an odd one.  The character is not well-developed and it doesn't seem as though the actor is either.  The movie was made at his home studio where everyone was discovering what a big draw he was.  I am not familiar with the book (Bend of the Snake) upon which the film is based but I have wondered whether this nothing part was tacked on to the movie simply to accommodate Hudson's ascent.  Or maybe it was a smaller role with a character actor and they beefed it up for Mr. Beefcake.

A funny story involves the film's big, gaudy premiere with everyone walking down a red carpet amidst screaming fans.  Stewart was at one point walking down the entrance way when the already noisy fans let out whoops and hollers and as he is taking some quick bows he notices that Hudson was behind him and it was he they were cheering.  I wonder if it's true that Hudson said gosh, Mr. Stewart, that's for me.

The happy cast:  Kennedy, Nelson, Stewart, Adams, Hudson

It was old home week for this gang and I think it shows.  First, again, there was the Universal crowd.  Stewart, Hudson and Flippen had appeared together in Winchester 73.  Kennedy, Adams and Hudson (and yes Pekkala, Richard Egan) were in Bright Victory.  Nelson was brand new at the studio and was soaking it all up.  Bend was the second of five pairings for Adams and Hudson and they remained friends until Hudson passed away.   This was the second of eight costarring ventures for Flippen and Stewart. 

It took a little while for the movie to catch on with the public but word of mouth changed that and it became a sizable hit for Universal and for Stewart on his special salary arrangement with the company.  To this day I find in it the same pleasure and entertainment value I did all those years ago.  

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