Bend of the River

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. Bend of the River was filmed on location in and around the Sandy River, Mount Hood, the Columbia River, and Timberline, Oregon. This is the second Western film collaboration between Anthony Mann and James Stewart.

Plot
In 1866, remorseful former border raider Glyn McLyntock is guiding a wagon train of settlers to Oregon. While he is checking the trail ahead, he 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. One of the pioneers in the wagon train is the eligible Laura Baile, who fancies McLyntock. That night, they are attacked by five Shoshone Indians, and Laura 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, the leader of the settlers, does not trust him and does not believe that a man can change from bad to good. McLyntock, trying to leave his old life behind, thinks Baile is wrong.

When they reach Portland, Oregon, Laura 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 for 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.

With winter fast approaching and the supplies at least six weeks late, they begin to worry when the food runs low. McLyntock and Jeremy go back to Portland to investigate. They find that a gold rush has inflated prices enormously. Laura and Cole are working for Hendricks and have no intention of going to the settlement. Jeremy is not happy about his daughter being Cole's girl. Meanwhile, Hendricks has decided to sell their supplies for a much higher price to a mining camp. McLyntock secretly hires some men to load the supplies to take back to the settlement, but Hendricks finds out, instigating a shootout. Cole and Trey both side with McLyntock. 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 sum for the supplies. The hired men begin thinking about commandeering the wagon train. Cole cannot resist the temptation of all that money and double-crosses his friend, but does not kill him. McLyntock tracks them down and retakes the supplies with the assistance of Jeremy, Laura, and Trey. Cole brings some miners, but they are beaten off in a gunfight at a river. McLyntock fights and kills Cole, and the current takes his body away. In the end, they reach the settlement with the supplies and it is apparent that Laura and McLyntock are now a couple.

Cast

 * James Stewart as Glyn McLyntock
 * Arthur Kennedy as Emerson Cole
 * Julie Adams as Laura Baile
 * Rock Hudson as Trey Wilson, a professional gambler
 * Lori Nelson as Marjie Baile
 * Jay C. Flippen as Jeremy Baile
 * Howard Petrie as Tom Hendricks
 * Chubby Johnson as Captain Mello
 * Stepin Fetchit as Adam, Mello's assistant
 * Harry Morgan as Shorty, one of the treacherous hired men
 * Jack Lambert as Red, another hired hand
 * Royal Dano as Long Tom, a third untrustworthy hire-on
 * Frances Bavier as Mrs. Prentiss
 * Frank Ferguson as Tom Grundy

Production
James Stewart, best known for his down-to-earth persona, established another screen image with the 1950 Western film Winchester '73. This new Stewart was more violent, edgier, and more disillusioned, but still likable. He pushed it even further in his next Western collaboration with director Anthony Mann in this film, the second of eight films the pair ultimately made together, five of them Westerns, including The Naked Spur (1953), The Far Country (1954) and The Man From Laramie (1955).

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. 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 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.

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

Box office
The film was first released on February 13, 1952. It grossed about $3 million ($ in 2021 dollars).

Critical reviews
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."

As of 2008 the movie held a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews.

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

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