Frontier (In) Justice: The Ox-Bow Incident

This review was originally posted September 24, 2002. It became most well known not for its content, but for a debate that mfunk75 and I had in the comment box. The issue first began with Harry Morgan (I’m not too big on the guy, but he is a decent character actor), then got to gun control (This was around the release of Bowling for Columbine) and government before we decided to just start e-mail discussions. For better or for worse, though, the sparing off that Mike and I did helped us become friends (Or at least as big as friends can get on the internet).

I must admit that I also posted the review a couple of weeks after I first saw the movie, which is usually a no no on my part (I try to have a fresh viewing of the film a day or two before reviewing it, no matter how many times I may have seen the movie). Thus, in between, I was also exposed to other reviews. Anyway, I have deleted the previous review. Here it is, after a recent viewing of The Ox-Bow Incident, similar in essence, but expanded and improved from the original (Oh, and Mike: I will cut off any attempted flame wars in the comment box before they become too large).

There's no justice like angry mob justice.
-Principal Skinner

Skinner’s quote was most likely meant to be humor from the writers of The Simpsons. Still, it could also be interpreted as social commentary on the madness of an angry mob. The same is very true also of the 1943 western drama The Ox-Bow Incident, directed by William Wellman (Wings, The Public Enemy).

Adapted from Walter Van Tilburg Clark's novel, the movie begins with a simple title card: "Nevada-1885". Two strangers, Gil Carter (Henry Fonda) and Art Croft (Harry Morgan, credited as Henry), enter a town. Gil and Art aren’t given many options on having fun in the town. But excitement soon brews: Almost immediately after they come, a man riding fast on horseback arrives at a bar with news that causes a disturbance among those there. Gil and Art soon learn what the fuss is: Larry Kinkaid, a well-liked rancher, was shot dead. A posse is formed to find those responsible.

Major Tetley (Frank Conroy), a southern colonel who served in the Civil War, leads the posses that includes redneck town bum Monty Smith (Paul Hurst), "Butch," Mapes (Dick Rich), the town bully who's made deputy in the absence of the sheriff, and "Ma" Grier (Jane Darwell), owner of the town boarding house. Apart from Gil and Art, the only ones with any sense are a black, mild mannered preacher named "Sparks" (Leigh Whipper), whom knows lynching firsthand since his brother was killed by such a mob, Tetley's cowardly son Gerald (William Eythe) and town priest Mr. Davies (Harry Davenport, whose character was probably the basis for the priest in Blazing Saddles.)

The first noteworthy scene to occur after this involves the mob meeting a stagecoach. The coach rides through the night fast. The mob gives chase and is fired at with a rifle. They eventually catch up with the coach, but discover that it's just a wedding party heading away. The new bride, Rose Swanson, is the reason Gil came to this area in the first place. He' surprised that she's married, though they don' say a word to one another, and is met by her new husband Mr. Swanson. Swanson assumes that the two once knew each other and invites Gil to come to their home in San Francisco sometime in the near future. The coach rides away, with Gil saying "Isn't that peculiar". This subplot is a bit unnecessary, but the scene where the mob pursues the stagecoach does show how single-minded their quest for Kinkaid's killer is, and Rose is the reason that Gil came into this area in the first place.

Though he is top billed in the supporting cast, Dana Andrews doesn't show his face until about half way through the film. But he makes a tremendous impact, maybe the biggest. His character, Donald Martin, is leader of a party of three men whom are found in a pass by the mob. He is the only one who really convinces the lynch mob that they may be innocent. One of the others, a Mexican who calls himself Juan Martinez (Anthony Quinn) is identified as Francisco Morez and a thief. Not only that but he tries to escape by shooting his way out with a gun identified as Kinkaid’s (Though Martin says that Francisco found it). The other person, an old man whom Martin calls father (Francis Ford, Director John Ford’s brother), is a senile Civil War vet who puts the blame on the others in his party. Even more damning, cattle are found grazing nearby that are identified as Kinkaid's. Martin says they bought them from the rancher, but has no bill of sale to prove it. The situation looks hopeless, and the bloodthirsty mob is not impressed.

William Wellman and Producer/Screenwriter Lamar Trotti, nonetheless, seem ready to follow the traditional Hollywood format of a happy resolution. The hangings are delayed so Martin could write a letter, so the accused could pray and so Mr. Davies could try and convince the lynchers not to do it, or to at least bring the men to town for a trial. Alas, it is not to be. Undoubtedly, breaking the mold of the happy Hollywood format must have been controversial back in 1943, bold even. If it seems to be “meh” today, that’s because it has been done so often since.

Henry Fonda is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. And, for about the first thirty minutes of the film, he is able to be in the center of the film. But he steps aside, not trying to steal spotlight or anything and not having a major part until about the last fifteen minutes.. His humble personality doesn’t help much here: Unlike Juror #8, Gil is unable to find evidence to convince the lynching mob that the three men are innocent.

Dana Andrews is quite good in his performance, as the only member of "the trio" whom the lynch mob even remotely comes close to liking. It was predicted by the New York Times that Andrews had the potential to be the next Spencer Tracy. The next couple of years seemed to guarantee that, with this and subsequent roles in movies ranging from average (The Purple Heart to great (Laura, The Best Years of Our Lives). Unfortunately, his promising career never really panned out afterwards for various reasons. He should have nothing to be disappointed with, though.

The rest of the supporting cast is fine. I love Anthony Quinn's films, largely because he's so energetic and intense. He was also very versatile and productive (Something like 150 films, both lead and supporting). But though good as Juan Martinez (Or was it Francisco), the role may've been one of those stereotyped supporting parts he found himself cast into early in his career, before two Oscars and international acclaim gave him freedom to pick and choose. It’s interesting to see Jane Darwell as "Ma" Grier, a character who's the mirror opposite of Darwell's apple pie "Ma" Joad in The Grapes of Wrath. In Pauline Kael’s opinion, this was arguably the better of the two performances (Then again, Kael wasn’t too nuts about the Grapes of Wrath. As for me, I’ll need to do a trip to the video store). I also thought the uncredited Leigh Whipper was memorable as Sparks. And it is interesting to see Harry Morgan as a follower before he joined the LAPD and followed Joe Friday (Anybody notice a pattern?).

The Ox-Bow Incident makes a step into becoming a bit too preachy during the film’s last ten minutes. The movie should have ended back in the town, but, instead a letter is read that was written by Martin before he was hung. The movie already had made its social commentary clear (At least to me) and this just seems to drive the point in further, like the producers were saying how important this movie was. I don’t mind that too much, though, for the movie had already broken the traditional Hollywood format in several ways.

With the exception of the above-mentioned scene, The Ox-Bow Incident is a solid western drama. It runs at only a trim 75 minutes, yet packs a lot during that time. Well worth seeing.

The Fox Studio Classics DVD is a good package. The print of the movie has been restored and cleaned up (Watch the restoration demonstration). Extras also include a commentary track by western scholar Dick Eulain and William Wellman Jr., A & E Biography’s Henry Fonda: Hollywood’s Quiet Hero, a trailer, a still photo gallery and a short booklet.

[Note (05/29/06): While watching the movie recently, my father and I came up with a good political allegory for this movie. Imagine Tetley as George W. Bush, the Sheriff as a Democrat Congress (Which we don't have right now, sadly), the deputy as Dick Cheney, Mr. Davies as the United Nations, Mr. Farnum as Donald Rumsfeld, Tetley’s son as Colin Powell and Ma Greer as the American public jumping on the bandwagon. Everyone else whom just stays quiet and goes with the flow is also representative of Americans right now whom are unwilling to speak out against the direction that our leaders are taking us, regardless of whether or not it leads to innocent people get killed or murdered.]