The Ox-Bow Incident | |
---|---|
Directed by | William A. Wellman |
Written by | Lamar Trotti |
Based on | The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark |
Produced by | Lamar Trotti |
Starring | Henry Fonda Dana Andrews |
Cinematography | Arthur C. Miller |
Edited by | Allen McNeil |
Music by | Cyril J. Mockridge |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $565,000 [2] |
Box office | $750,000 (rentals) [3] |
The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1943 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews and Mary Beth Hughes, with Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell. Two cowboys arrive in a Western town, when news arrives that a local rancher has been murdered and his cattle stolen. The townspeople, joined by the two cowboys and cowboys from other ranches, form a posse to catch the perpetrators. They find three men in possession of the cattle, and are determined to see justice done on the spot.
The film premiered in May 1943 to positive reviews from critics. It is one of a select group of films to secure just one Oscar nomination, albeit in the Best Picture category. As of 2024, it is the last film to be nominated solely in that category. [4] The Ox-Bow Incident and The Outlaw (also produced in 1943) are the earliest films in the AllMovie list of psychological Westerns. [5]
In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [6] The film was adapted from the 1940 novel of the same name, written by Nevadan Walter Van Tilburg Clark. [7]
In Bridger's Wells, Nevada in 1885, [8] two cowboys, Art Croft and Gil Carter, hitch up their horses and enter Darby's Saloon. There, it is learned that a rancher, Larry Kinkaid, has been murdered. The townspeople immediately form a large posse to pursue the murderers. Art and Gil join. Davies, fearing a lynching, also joins, hoping he can prevent such an occurrence. Major Tetley, dressed in an old Civil War uniform, assumes leadership. His son, Gerald, comes with him. Soon, news arrives that three men with cattle bearing Kinkaid's brand have just entered Bridger's Pass.
Later that night in Ox-Bow Canyon, the posse find three men sleeping, with what are presumed to be stolen cattle nearby. The posse interrogate them: a young, well-spoken man, Donald Martin; a Mexican, Juan Martínez; and an old man, Alva Hardwicke, who is clearly mentally disabled. Martin claims that he purchased the cattle from Kinkaid but received no bill of sale. No one believes Martin, and the posse decide to hang the three men at sunrise. As a final request, Martin writes a letter to his wife and asks Davies to deliver it. When dissent develops among some members of the group, a vote is taken on whether to hang the trio or take them to town to stand trial. Only seven vote for the latter. The rest support a hanging.
After the lynching, the posse returns to Bridger's Wells. On the way, they encounter the town's sheriff, Risley, who reveals Kinkaid is not dead and that the men who shot him have been arrested. Risley then asks Davies who is responsible for the lynching. “All but seven,” Davies replies, and the sheriff angrily declares, “God better have mercy on you. You won't get any from me.” Later, the posse gather in Darby's Saloon. In silence, they listen as Gil quietly reads Martin's letter aloud to Art. Meanwhile, Major Tetley returns to his house, locks his son out, and commits suicide. In the end, Gil and Art head out of town to deliver the letter and $500 raised by those in the posse for Martin's wife.
Director William A. Wellman loved the novel and wanted to adapt it into a film and then interested Darryl F. Zanuck in producing it. Zanuck agreed in producing the story, on the condition that Wellman would also direct two other films for the studio, Thunder Birds (1942) and Buffalo Bill (1944).
There are several differences between the film and the novel, notably the fate of the Tetleys and the fate of the lynch mob. In the book, young Gerald commits suicide by hanging himself in the barn. This leads his father to fall on his cavalry sword. The sheriff stares down each member of the mob, but then he says he will forget everything. [9]
The role of Gil Carter, played by Henry Fonda, was originally offered to Gary Cooper, who turned it down. Fonda was generally unhappy with the quality of the films he was cast in while under contract with 20th Century Fox. This was one of only two films from that period that he was enthusiastic about acting in (the other was The Grapes of Wrath , made in 1940). Fonda regarded this film as one of his favorites.
Filming was done from late June to early August 1942, mostly in studio back-lots and sound stages; a limited amount of location shooting was done at a ranch in Chatsworth and in Lone Pine, both in California. Additional sequences and retakes were done mid-August to late August. The production on the film would be shut down for a week or ten days "due to the $5,000-per-film limit on new construction materials" imposed by the War Production Board. During the shutdown, already used sets were torn down so their materials could be used to build the mountain pass set. Studio publicity noted that the Ox-Bow Valley setting was "the largest set ever constructed" by Fox, covering 26,703 sq ft (2,480.8 m2; 0.6130 acres). [10]
The western street set seen in this film was subsequently used in another western, The Gunfighter (1950), which starred Gregory Peck.
After the film was completed, it was kept on the shelf for months because Fox executives were uncertain how to market a film with such a sobering theme.
The film received mostly positive reviews. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that it "is not a picture which will brighten or cheer your day. But it is one which, for sheer, stark drama, is currently hard to beat." [11] Variety called it a "powerful preachment against mob lynching ... Director William Wellman has skillfully guided the characters and driven home the point that hanging is unwarranted. Fonda measures up to star rating ... He helps hold together the loose ends of the rather patent plot." [12] David Lardner of The New Yorker called it a "rather good piece of work". [13] Harrison's Reports printed a negative review, calling it a "depressing, unpleasant, at times horrible, melodrama ... Whoever is responsible for selecting such sordid material for the screen should be awarded a 'booby' prize." [14]
More recently, La Furia Umana's Toshi Fujiwara said the film is "one of the most important westerns in the history of American cinema". [15] Clint Eastwood has stated this is his favorite film. However, Darryl F. Zanuck, head of Twentieth Century-Fox 1935–1956, recalled the film as "a flop. In spite of its significance and its dramatic value, our records showed that it had failed to pay its way. In fact, its pulling power was less than that of a Laurel and Hardy comedy we made about the same time."
It earned $750,000 in the United States. [16]
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 16th Academy Awards, losing to Casablanca . As of 2022, it is the last film to be nominated for Best Picture and nothing else.
An outdoor mural at Twentieth Century Fox Studios, Century City, depicts the filming of The Ox-Bow Incident. [17]
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters that embodied an everyman image.
My Darling Clementine is a 1946 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp during the period leading up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The ensemble cast also features Victor Mature, Linda Darnell, Walter Brennan, Tim Holt, Cathy Downs and Ward Bond.
Carver Dana Andrews was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts into the 1980s. He is best known for his portrayal of obsessed police detective Mark McPherson in the noir Laura (1944) and his critically acclaimed performance as World War II veteran Fred Derry in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors. He produced three films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture during his tenure at 20th Century Fox.
Wilson is a 1944 biographical film about Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States. Shot in Technicolor and directed by Henry King, the film stars Alexander Knox, Charles Coburn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Ruth Nelson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, William Eythe and Mary Anderson.
Young Mr. Lincoln is a 1939 American biographical drama western film about the early life of President Abraham Lincoln, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. Ford and producer Darryl F. Zanuck fought for control of the film, to the point where Ford destroyed unwanted takes for fear the studio would use them in the film. Screenwriter Lamar Trotti was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing/Original Story.
Warlock is a 1959 American Western film produced and directed by Edward Dmytryk starring Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn and Dorothy Malone. The picture is an adaptation of the novel Warlock by American author Oakley Hall. The film is both set and filmed in Utah.
Walter Van Tilburg Clark was an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and educator. He ranks as one of Nevada's most distinguished literary figures of the 20th century, and was the first inductee into the 'Nevada Writers Hall of Fame' in 1988, together with Robert Laxalt, Clark's mentee and Nevada's other heralded twentieth century author. Two of Clark's novels, The Ox-Bow Incident and The Track of the Cat, were made into films. As a writer, Clark taught himself to use the familiar materials of the western saga to explore the human psyche and to raise deep philosophical issues.
William John Eythe was an American actor of film, radio, television and stage.
Benjamin Franklin "Frank" McGrath was an American television and film actor and stunt performer who played the comical, optimistic cook with the white beard, Charlie B. Wooster, on the western series Wagon Train for five seasons on NBC and then three seasons on ABC. McGrath appeared in all 272 episodes in the eight seasons of the series, which had ended its run only two years before his death. McGrath's Wooster character hence provided the meals and companionship for both fictional trail masters, Ward Bond as Seth Adams and John McIntire as Christopher "Chris" Hale.
Mary Elizabeth Hughes was an American film, television, and stage actress best known for her roles in B movies.
Track of the Cat is a 1954 American Western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright and Diana Lynn. The film is based on a 1949 adventure novel of the same name by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. This was Wellman's second adaptation of a Clark novel; the first was The Ox-Bow Incident in 1943. Track of the Cat was produced by John Wayne and Robert Fellows for their production company Batjac Productions.
Chris-Pin Martin was an American character actor whose specialty lay in portraying comical Mexicans, particularly sidekicks in The Cisco Kid film series. He acted in over 100 films between 1925 and 1953, including over 50 westerns.
Race with the Devil is a 1975 American action horror film directed by Jack Starrett, written by Wes Bishop and Lee Frost, and starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, and Lara Parker. Its plot follows two couples on a road trip who are pursued by a Satanic cult after witnessing a human sacrifice while camping in rural Texas. This was the second of three films Fonda and Oates would star in together. Race with the Devil is a hybrid of the horror, action, and car chase genres.
Frank Parish Conroy was a British film and stage actor who appeared in many films, notably Grand Hotel (1932), The Little Minister (1934) and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943).
The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1940 western novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark in which two local cattlemen are drawn into a lynch mob to find and hang three men presumed to be rustlers and the killers of a local man. It was Clark's first published novel.
Belles on Their Toes is a 1952 American family comedy film based on the autobiographical book Belles on Their Toes (1950) by siblings Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. The film, which debuted in New York City on May 2, 1952, was directed by Henry Levin, and Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron wrote the screenplay. It is a sequel to the film Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), based on Gilbreth and Carey's eponymous 1948 book.
Thunder Birds is a 1942 Technicolor film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Gene Tierney, Preston Foster, and John Sutton. It features aerial photography and location filming at an actual Arizona training base of the United States Army Air Forces named Thunderbird Field No. 1 during World War II.
Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge is a 1937 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Betty Bronson. Based on a story by Jack Natteford, the film is about the son of a Southeastern cattleman who becomes entangled in a war between the cattlemen and "turpentiners" who make their living harvesting pine tree sap.
Almira Sessions was an American character actress of stage, screen and television. Born in Washington, D.C., her career took her through all the acting mediums of the 20th century. She appeared in over 500 films and television shows. She worked into her 80s, finally retiring shortly before her death in 1974 in Los Angeles.
Notes