The Ox-Bow Incident
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Movie Reviews of The Ox-Bow Incident
Movie Review: Remarkably contemporary
Summary: 5 Stars
Made in 1943, this short 75-minute Western is a rock solid piece of filmmaking that is remarkably fresh today, thanks to the very intelligent, sparse dialogue and the powerful theme. Killing based on mob justice--without benefit of jury trial--has been a staple, unfortunately, of American history, as recently as the 20th century (see the excellent HBO film Vendetta for an example of this), and The Ox-Bow Incident, based on a real 19th century incident, is another.
Henry Fonda is brilliant as the understated male lead whose sense of decency is belied by his gruff cynical exterior. The cynicism he expresses is so pungent, without at all being overblown, that this in itself just about makes the film worth seeing. Henry Morgan as his partner adds the right amount and degree of companionship presence, and the other actors do a fine job as well with the sharp dialogue that wastes no words.
When three men are falsely accused of rustling cattle and, in particular, killing the man from whom the cattle was stolen, the posse who so accuses them wastes no time in going after them. One of the three, a Mexican played by Anthony Quinn, is much smarter than the initially lets on. Interestingly enough, Quinn, despite his name, was in fact born in Mexico so his character is a real life correlate with his own cultural heritage.
Knowing that "ethnic cleansing" and terrorism are very much a part of our modern world, The Ox-Bow Incident's denouement speech by Fonda's character--reading a letter written by one of the three accused men--is a powerful indictment of one of the basest traits of human nature. This is a grim, powerful film with no ounce of fat on it and that will last for decades to come.
Very highly recommended.
Movie Review: A Fabulous Study of Mob Mentality
Summary: 5 Stars
Before "12 Angry Men" there was "The Ox-Bow Incident," a bleaker and never less than fascinating exploration of the nature of mob violence. Unlike "12 Angry Men," this film has no clear-cut heroes. It takes place in a more primitive, wilder time and location, and the principal question at the crux of this movie's conflict is whether or not three suspected cattle thiefs should be punished without due legal process. A small group is in favor of letting the frontier town sheriff handle the situation, while a much larger group smells only blood (and in some cases are motivated by personal vengeance) and convince themselves of the suspects' guilt without listening to any of the evidence. It's quite a frightening movie in its own way, and it has a stark look at odds with the average studio film being churned out at the time (1943).Henry Fonda is quite good, as usual, in the closest thing the movie has to a main character, but it seems pointless to single him out in what is obviously such an ensemble effort, and in a movie that only lasts a mere 75 minutes or so and has such a large cast, each actor manages to color his/her character with delightful details, sometimes with no more than a single line of dialogue or one reaction shot.
"The Ox-Bow Incident" is a fantastic film. I don't think it's well-remembered now, but I'm thrilled to see it on DVD and hope that it will be rediscovered.
Grade: A
Movie Review: Perhaps the greatest film dramatization of the evil of anarchy
Summary: 5 Stars
This brilliant film masterfully illustrates the horrors of anarchy as mob rule overtunes objective law in one small wild west town, even making interesting psychological observations about tyrannical power-lusters through the character of the colonel. Henry Fonda stars as the voice of reason, but be forewarned: this one doesn't have a happy ending, as tragedy is necessary to dramatize the theme.
The only flaw is the go-nowhere sub-plot involving Fonda's love interest, but that takes so little time that it's a minor flaw and can be overlooked.
12 Angry Men, also starring Fonda, makes a good companion piece, as it shows the importance to liberty of objective law from a positive perspective. It's amazing how much drama and tension they manage to put into a film that's essentially just twelve men sitting in a small room talking for an hour and a half (and this one doesn't make the mistake of trying to put in an irrelevent romance).
The special features on the Ox-Bow Incident DVD are also good (especially for an older film such as this), particularly the original trailer, which features Fonda talking about what the film means to him. If only more trailers today were like this one.
An essential part of any film lover's library, and well worth the money.
Movie Review: Classic.
Summary: 5 Stars
Viewed: 8/06
Rate: 10
8/06: The Ox-Bow Incident is s wonderful picture and easily the best picture of 1943. Not strictly a Henry Fonda picture, The Ox-Bow Incident lays on the biggest strength in its story. There is no better and finer picture that has come out daring and right to the heart of the core of fundamentals than The Ox-Bow Incident did. Considering the year made, The Ox-Bow Incident was incredibly ahead of its time. What made the movie memorable is how involving and engrossing the issue was. The acting, overall, is very good, especially by Anthony Quinn, a very young man in a fine role. Short and sweet, The Ox-Bow Incident is an immense pleasure to watch. Moreover, the film must be regarded one of the best Westerns made, akin to the likes of Unforgiven; of course, in a more gentle way but raw just as the same. All the credit goes to William Wellman for his direction and the writers of this picture. All in all, The Ox-Bow Incident is an absolute delight.
Movie Review: More than just a "western"
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen this film five times now, the first two within twenty-four hours. I found it that powerful, even upsetting, perhaps because it's so possible. The story of the fulfillment of frontier justice could have been done as the usual western cliche, but William Wellman is probably not the usual sort of director of this genre. This is the way real life often turns out -- it doesn't have the Hollywood soft-landing, deus-ex-machina plot resolution. The film is relatively short, stark, black-and-white, with soundtrack limited to not much more than a single harmonica playing "Red River Valley" and background noise. There are some interesting details -- note, particularly, as Fonda and Morgan ride into town, the dog crossing the street approaching the viewer, as if to say, "I'm gonna show you something here" and, as Fonda and Morgan exit the town at the end, re-crossing the street, away from the viewer, to say, "Well, that's all there is to say."