The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (writer)
Walter Van Tilburg Clark (novel)

Release Date:

21 May 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Western

Tagline:

LYNCH LAW RULES THE MOB! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Two drifters are passing through a Western town, when news comes in that a local farmer has been murdered and his cattle stolen...

Plot Keywords:

Justice | Posse | Cult Western | 1880s | Nevada

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Gil Carter
Dana Andrews	...	Donald Martin
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Rose Mapen / Rose Swanson
Anthony Quinn	...	Juan Martínez / Francisco Morez
William Eythe	...	Gerald Tetley
Harry Morgan	...	Art Croft (as Henry Morgan)
Jane Darwell	...	Jenny Grier
Matt Briggs	...	Judge Daniel Tyler
Harry Davenport	...	Arthur Davies
Frank Conroy	...	Maj. Tetley
Marc Lawrence	...	Jeff Farnley
Paul Hurst	...	Monty Smith
Victor Kilian	...	Darby
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Poncho
Willard Robertson	...	Sheriff

Also Known As:

Strange Incident (UK)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2006) | South Korea:12 (2003) (DVD rating) | West Germany:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #8590) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The rights to Walter Van Tilburg Clark's book were originally acquired in 1941 by Harold Hurley, a former Paramount producer who tried unsuccessfully to make a distribution deal with United Artists. Modern sources note that director William A. Wellman bought the rights from Hurley and then interested Twentieth Century-Fox production chief Darryl F. Zanuck in producing the story. Zanuck agreed on the condition that Wellman direct two other films for the studio, Thunder Birds [Soldiers of the Air] (1942) and Buffalo Bill (1944).

Goofs:

Continuity: During opening sequences when Fonda is at the bar, the whiskey he is drinking changes from clear to dark.

Quotes:

Gil Carter: Say, what is there to do in this town anyway?
Darby: Well, unless you want to get in line and woo Drew's daughter...
Art Croft: We don't.
Darby: The only other unmarried woman I know is 82, blind and a Payute. That leaves you five choices: eat, sleep, drink, play poker or fight. Or you can shoot some pool. I got a new table in the back room.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Soundtrack:

Red River Valley

Posse mentality

"The Ox-Bow Incident" is a film that parallels the times we are living in many ways. Darryl Zanuck probably didn't even think much of this project that has proved to be a film admired by a lot of people that find in it, something that resonates with them.

William Wellman, the director, made an excellent film out of the adaptation by Lamar Trotti, of the Walter van Tilburg Clark's novel. The film, only 75 minutes long, packs a lot in a short period, something that other films, twice as long, fail to deliver. Arthur C. Miller's cinematography is an asset for the picture.

This film brought to mind another Henry Fonda film: "12 Angry Men", in which a more or less posse is trying to decide the fate of a young man accused of committing a heinous crime. In this film, we get a similar idea, in that the mob group that is formed will end up bringing the wrong kind of justice to the three unfortunate men that are deemed guilty and will be lynched; for all practical purposes these men would be proved innocent in a real court of justice.

Henry Fonda does an excellent job as Gil Carter. The biggest surprise though is the then unknown Dana Andrews, one of the men that is made to pay for a crime he didn't commit. Also, this is an early film in which Anthony Quinn appeared as one of the doomed men. The director got marvelous acting in general from the supporting cast, notably, Frank Conroy, William Eythe, Jane Darwell and Mary Beth Hughes.

This is a classic film to be treasured.