Produced by Aaron Rosenberg and directed by Anthony Mann, "Bend of the River" is an excellent James Stewart Western. After Stewart had proved himself a tougher, harder-edged Western hero in his first Rosenberg/Mann picture "Winchester '73" (1950), he was ready for more challenges to stretch himself as an actor. "Bend of the River" boasts a first-rate cast, which includes Arthur Kennedy, Julia Adams, Rock Hudson, Jay C. Flippen, Henry Morgan, Jack Lambert, Chubby Johnson, Stepin Fetchit, and Howard Petrie. Not to mention the beautiful color photography by Irving Glassberg of the cold, hazardous Mt. Hood, Oregon scenery. Stewart recalled, in fact, that it was the most difficult location shooting he had ever endured. (Don't read any further until after you see "Bend of the River.")
The main thrust of this well-crafted screenplay by Borden Chase involves a former Missouri/Kansas border raider named Glyn McLyntock (Stewart), who has now taken the straight & narrow path and proves to be an excellent guide for a wagon train of settlers led by the kindly Jeremy Baile (Flippen). McLyntock meets another former Missouri/Kansas outlaw named Emerson Cole (Kennedy), who seems to be quite affable and easygoing until the climactic moment when he suddenly turns his back on McLyntock and leaves him to die in the stark, icy mountain terrain. And it is at this very moment that we arrive at the main highlight of the picture. Before Cole leaves, McLyntock tells him with a quiet intensity, "You'll be seein' me. You'll be seein' me. Every time you bed down for the night, you'll look back into the darkness and wonder if I'm there. And some night I will be. You'll be seein' me." The cold look on Stewart's face and his delivery of these lines are frightening, banishing any doubt that Stewart could hold his own against his nastiest foes.
"Bend of the River" was a hit, and Stewart followed it up with even more bitter, cynical, and sometimes neurotic characterizations in Westerns such as "The Naked Spur" (1953) and "The Man from Laramie" (1955), both directed by the capable Anthony Mann.
The main thrust of this well-crafted screenplay by Borden Chase involves a former Missouri/Kansas border raider named Glyn McLyntock (Stewart), who has now taken the straight & narrow path and proves to be an excellent guide for a wagon train of settlers led by the kindly Jeremy Baile (Flippen). McLyntock meets another former Missouri/Kansas outlaw named Emerson Cole (Kennedy), who seems to be quite affable and easygoing until the climactic moment when he suddenly turns his back on McLyntock and leaves him to die in the stark, icy mountain terrain. And it is at this very moment that we arrive at the main highlight of the picture. Before Cole leaves, McLyntock tells him with a quiet intensity, "You'll be seein' me. You'll be seein' me. Every time you bed down for the night, you'll look back into the darkness and wonder if I'm there. And some night I will be. You'll be seein' me." The cold look on Stewart's face and his delivery of these lines are frightening, banishing any doubt that Stewart could hold his own against his nastiest foes.
"Bend of the River" was a hit, and Stewart followed it up with even more bitter, cynical, and sometimes neurotic characterizations in Westerns such as "The Naked Spur" (1953) and "The Man from Laramie" (1955), both directed by the capable Anthony Mann.