The Ox-Bow Incident
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| The Ox-Bow Incident | |
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 original movie poster |
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| Directed by | William A. Wellman |
| Produced by | Lamar Trotti |
| Written by | Walter Van Tilburg Clark (novel) Lamar Trotti |
| Starring | Henry Fonda Dana Andrews |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | May 21, 1943 (USA) |
| Running time | 75 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1940 western novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, in which two drifters are drawn into a posse formed to find the murderer of a local man.
The novel was adapted as a movie in 1943 directed by William A. Wellman and starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.[1] In 1998, The Ox-Bow Incident was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2]
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[edit] Story (Movie)
“The Ox-Bow Incident” takes place in 1885 and begins with two riders, Art Croft (Harry Morgan) and Gil Carter (Henry Fonda), riding into the town of Bridger’s Wells. They go into Canby’s Saloon. They find that the atmosphere is subdued, in part because of the recent incidents of rustling (the stealing of livestock) in the town, and everyone wants to catch the thieves, but also as the town is famously dull.
Gil learns that his former girlfriend left town at the start of the spring. Art and Gil are suspected of being rustlers simply because they are not often seen in town. The townspeople are wary of them, and a fight breaks out between Gil and a local rancher named Farnley.
Immediately after the fight, a man races into town on horseback, and comes into the saloon, saying that a man named Kinkaid has been murdered. Kinkaid is, it turns out, a very good friend of Farnley. The townspeople immediately form a posse to pursue the murderers, who they think to be the cattle rustlers. Art and Gil, afraid to do otherwise - though Gil called the judge who tried to stop the posse forming - join the posse as well, although they feel that the posse will not see proper justice done.
Among the people in the posse are a man named Major Tetley (Frank Conroy) and his son, Gerald (William Eythe). The major informs the posse that three men with Kinkaid's cattle have just entered Bridger’s Pass, and therefore shouldn’t be too difficult to catch. The posse is told by the judge that they must bring the presumed rustlers back alive, but little heed is taken of this.
On their journey, the posse encounters a stagecoach. They try to stop it, but the stagecoach guard assumes that it is a stickup, and shoots, accidentally wounding Art in the left shoulder. In the coach are Rose Mapen (Mary Beth Hughes), Gil's old girlfriend, and her new, obviously rich husband, Swanson (George Meeker).
Later in the night, in Ox-bow, the posse finds three men sleeping on the ground, with what are presumed to be the stolen cattle nearby. The posse interrogates the men: a young, well-spoken man, Donald Martin (Dana Andrews); an old, raving man named Hardwick; and a Mexican named Juan Morez (Anthony Quinn) who claims to be unable to understand English. Martin claims that he purchased the cattle from Kinkaid, the murdered cattle rancher of Bridger’s Wells, but that he received no bill of sale because the sale took place out on the ranch. No one believes Martin. It is therefore decided that the three men are guilty, and the decision is made to hang them at sunrise.
Martin, as his last wish, writes a private letter to his wife and asks Davies (Harry Davenport) to deliver it. Davies is vehemently opposed to the lynching and is the only member in the posse that Martin trusts. However, Davies reads the letter, and, hoping to save Martin's life, gives it to the others to read. Because of the letter's eloquence, Davies believes that Martin is innocent and does not deserve to die. However, Martin finds out and becomes angry at the betrayal of his privacy.
In the argument between Martin and Davies, the Mexican, Juan Morez, tries to escape, and is shot in the leg. The posse then discovers that Juan is able to speak "American," and ten other languages. Somebody notices that Juan has Kinkaid’s gun, which only makes the decision to lynch the men irrefutable. Major Tetley wants the men to be lynched immediately because he does not want any more of the rustlers to escape. A vote is taken on whether the men should be hanged, or taken back to face justice in the town. Seven of the group,of around twenty-five, among them Gil and Art, vote to take the men back to town. The men will be hanged. Gil tries to stop it, but is held back. The group must choose three people to hit the horses out from under the condemned men. Jenny Grier (Jane Darwell), the only woman in the posse, volunteers to hit one of the horses. Gerald Tetley is told by his father to also hit one of the horses. While the others hit the horses of the old man and Morez, Gerald Tetley cannot comply. The horse therefore simply walks out from under Martin, leaving him to slowly strangle. Farnley shoots Martin as he hangs there. Tetley strikes his son to the ground.
After the lynching, the posse heads back towards Bridger’s Wells. On the way, they meet Drew, Judge Tyler (Matt Briggs), and Sheriff Risley (Willard Robertson). They also meet, much to their surprise, Lawrence Kinkaid, who was not killed after all. Sheriff Risley takes ten men with him to form a new posse, who will go after the real attempted murderers of Kinkaid.
Davies is an absolute wreck, and he confesses to Art that he feels he is responsible for the deaths of three innocent men. Because of all the shame and guilt that plagues him, Davies feels he is unable to face Martin’s widow; so he asks Drew to deliver the letter to her, as well as a ring that Martin bade Davies to deliver.
The men of the posse gather back in Canby's Saloon and drink in silence. Major Tetley returns to his house and locks the door so his son cannot come in. His son, seeing his father for what he is, yells at him through the door telling him what he thinks of him. Major Tetley walks into another room and a shot is heard giving the impression that he has killed himself. Art and Gil, deliver the message to Martin's wife and take care of his family.
[edit] Themes
The movie is unlike the book in that the central character of the book is Art Croft, not his friend Gil. The novel is a masterpiece that satirizes man's dependency on appearances of masculinity. The men's behavior - including that of Art Croft and his sidekick - is almost all passive reactions to what is happening with issues of masculinity calling the shots. Only once - the climax of the story - does Art Croft break out of his passivity to make an action not driven by his own needs of masculinity.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Woody Allen, in his stand-up comedy routines, referred to his marriage as "The Ox-Bow Incident."
[edit] References
- ^ 1943 (16th annual) Academy Award winner for OUTSTANDING MOTION PICTURE. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
- ^ National Film Registry, 1998. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
[edit] External links
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