Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

ma-cortes Moving Western in which a gunfighter called McLyntock must battle nasty miners , ambitious prospectors and a corrupt owner , including spectacular landscapes . From Universal-international a breathtaking as well as rip-snorting Western that shows the greatness , the glory , the fury of the untamed Northwest frontier . Stars a tough , hardened gunslinger guide McLyntock (James Stewart) who leads his wagon train challenging the gold-rich glory that was Oregon full of mountains with snow , scarlet with sin , yellow with the dust that lured him on . As a self-minded , haunted cowboy (James Stewart) leads his wagons plenty of settlers (Julie Adams , Lori Nelson , J.C.Flippen) and herd to Portland , in hopes of huge profits . Glyn McLyntock saves from a lynching and befriends another gunfighter , Cole (Arthur Kennedy) , and when they arrive in Portland both of whom lead and transport cows by boat . At last , they arrive in Portland , a bustling little town filled with prospectors and usual saloons . Later on , they have to escape from nasty town boss who confiscated homesteader's supplies after gold is discovered nearby . McLyntock and his partners end up having supplies and herd back from the villain baron .One of a series made by star Stewart with director Anthony Mann , it features splendid Western vistas , fierce gun-play and fist-play , ambiguous roles , impressively busy crowd sequences and many other things . Adventure western movie in which a two-fisted cowboy leads his wagons and herd through Oregon territory , pitting himself against the wilderness , bandits , mean prospectors , traitors and an ambitious , corrupt boss town . This is an epic western filled with ambiguity , thrills , emotion , dual characters , some ambivalent roles in which stand out their corruption and ambition and being ¨Greed¨ their essential objective . The film is divided in three parts , the first one describes on rout to their destination ; the intervening period dealing with the busy town Portland and third part concerning on the trip back to the settlement , up river and over a mountain . Set late XIX Century , it shows the moral obligation to build a civilized community and need to a collective effort , joining individuals against corrupt and selfish people . Interesting and stirring screenplay based on the novel titled ¨Bend of the snake¨ by Bill Gulich . Sympathetic as well as brave acting by the great James Stewart as the stubborn Mclyntock who must fight frontier lawlessness and locks horns with a crooked colleague , magnificently played by Arthur Kennedy . Stewart is top-drawer as an ex-Pistolero who risks his life to attempt and get provisions to homesteaders to build their promised land . Stewart has top grade character written all over it . Gorgeous Julie Adams as the good-bad girl who must be forgiven in the end . Support cast is frankly extraordinary with a large plethora of illustrious names , such as : Lori Nelson , Harry Morgan , Jack Lambert , Frank Ferguson , Royal Dano , Cliff Lyons , and special mention for Jay C. Flippen as the grizzled westerner and a show-stealing acting by the always great Chubby Johnson who gives the comic relief talking about river Mississipi . And one of the first important roles for Rock Hudson who received extreme cheering and applause at the premiere . Lyric and stirring musical score by Hans J. Salter . Colorful cinematography in Technicolor Irving Glassberg , and the Oregon sets takes it out of the ordinary Western scenarios , being shot in Oregon , mostly in Mount Hood, Timberline, Columbia River, Sandy River, Oregon , Sacramento river in northern California , Rooster Rock State Park, Palmer Glacier , Mount Hood, Columbia River Gorge , Washington . The motion picture was stunningly directed by Anthony Mann . Being made during Mann's best period of work . The film forms a stunning diptych along with ¨Bend the river¨ by the awesome quartet : Anthony Mann , screenwriter Borden Chase , producer Aaron Rosenberg and James Stewart who made a great number of top-notch films . This is another superbly powerful triumph from Anthony Mann who realized various Western masterpieces such as ¨The furies¨ , ¨Devil's doorway¨ , ¨Tin star¨ , ¨Man of the West¨ and several with his habitual star , James Stewart , many of them playing more violent , ruthless and cynical roles than usuals , such as : ¨Winchester 73¨ , ¨Bend the river¨ , ¨The far country¨ , ¨Man from Laramie¨ , ¨Colorado Jim¨ , ¨Thunder Bay¨ , ¨The Glenn Miller story¨. Rating : Above average ; it is probably one of the best Western in the fifties . Well worth watching .

Scott LeBrun "Bend of the River" is not a great Western, but it is a good, solid one, with an involving story (Borden Chase scripted, from the novel by William Gulick), lots and lots of beautiful scenery, a first rate cast, and some rousing action.Jimmy Stewart is as straightforward and sincere as he's ever been, playing the role of Glyn McLyntock, a former outlaw who is currently working as a guide, helping some families travel cross country to form their own settlement. Along the way, he saves a stranger (Arthur Kennedy) from the hangman, claiming that he doesn't like hangings. This man, Emerson Cole, is present for many of the setbacks that Glyn and his fellow travellers experience. Most significantly, the supplies promised to people like Jeremy Baile (Jay C. Flippen) don't get delivered in a timely manner, and Glyn and others must take matters into their own hands.Director Anthony Mann does a typically fine job in this narrative that explores the idea of a man's nature. Is it true that "leopards don't change their spots", or can some gentlemen be redeemed? We also see what happens when people who used to be nice and accommodating get corrupted by greed (a gold rush strikes the nearest town).Glyn proves to be an extremely determined hero, and has a strong survival instinct. You don't ever have much doubt that he'll be a man of honor and do the right thing. Counteracting that decency is the resentment felt by people like Red (Jack Lambert), Shorty (Harry Morgan), and Long Tom (Royal Dano) when they think they're not going to get adequately compensated.The ladies present - Julie Adams and Lori Nelson as Bailes' daughters - are beautiful, and there's much fine acting to enjoy. Kennedy is extremely engaging as the somewhat suspect Cole. Rock Hudson does alright as helpful gambler / gunslinger Trey Wilson. Flippen is a standout in a supporting cast also consisting of Morgan, Dano, Lambert, Chubby Johnson (!), Stepin Fetchit, Howard Petrie, Frank Ferguson, and Frances Bavier.There is much to appreciate here, including the Technicolor photography and the lush score by Hans J. Salter. It's a worthy viewing for fans of classic Westerns.Eight out of 10.

jackasstrange Despite having some impressive technical aspects for the time of it's release, 'Bend of The River' don't has that much of a coherent and catchy story. Still, it's pretty enjoyable, i've never seen a western with James Stewart before. I guess that he is a fine actor.The editing is a problem in this film: there is just too many things going on each minute, making the events very hard to follow. Some of the important dialogs are quickly cut, while pointless ones are given very carefully attention, such as the ones about how to take care of a shirt and stuff of that genre, while the essential dialog showing Cole being convinced by the 'bandits' just runs for about ten seconds or so. I mean, come on. The bit that is coherent still a bit enjoyable, but the ending is disappointing, it is not as powerful as i was expecting, and like many westerns in that time, too cheesy for his own sake.The cinematography is very good, and there is some 'perspective' games that i personally found interesting. Despite knowing that the scenarios were all painted, about 80% of them convinced me of the opposite, being one of the exceptions the obviously 'mountain' in the background of the settlement, which was blatantly fake.But what i really liked about this film and i honestly think that it was the best thing by far about it was the soundtrack. It's terrific, one of the best that i've heard in an American western so far.It is worth a watch. 6.0/10

zardoz-13 The second western collaboration between director Anthony Mann and actor James Stewart, "Bend of the River" qualifies as a sprawling oater about a reformed Missouri border hellion who leads a pioneer wagon train west into the mountains when they plan to establish a new settlement. Director Anthony Mann depicts the trials and tribulations that come from western migration and the effects that it has on people. The peaceful settlers are led by a man who doesn't believe that men who handle guns can be trusted. The theme of the effect of violence on men is scrutinized. James Stewart delivers an outstanding performance as an easy-going trailblazer with a secret history of violence in his past, while Arthur Kennedy makes a sympathetic villain who suffers from greed. Before he changes sides, Kennedy joins up with Stewart and they make a charismatic duo. Julie Adams is on hand for romance, and Jay C. Flippen of "The Hellfighters" in the prudish settler who believes that men are like apples. There isn't a bad performance in the cast and if you look closely you will spot none other than Frances Bavier of "The Andy Griffith Show where she played Aunt Bee as one of the settlers. The bad guys that help out the heroes but turn on them later consist of several seasoned character actors, including Harry Morgan, Royal Dano, and Jack Lambert.The film unfolds with a wagon train crossing the plains. Glyn McLyntock (James Stewart of "Winchester '73") scouts ahead of the wagon train and stumbles onto a lynching party with Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy of "Desperate Journey") about to be hanged for horse thievery. McLyntock, who remembers his moment of truth with a noose around his neck, takes pity on Cole and rescues him. They become fast friends and help the pioneers defend themselves from the Native Americans. Later, in the woods, Cole saves Glyn from getting scalped. This western has a little bit of everything, including a Southern riverboat, complete with none other than legendary Stepin Fetchit as the first mate and Chubby Johnson as Captain Mello who constantly observes that he should never have left the Mississippi. When the settlers arrive in town, they are welcome with open arms by the most influential businessman in town, Tom Hendricks (Howard Petrie of "Rocky Mountain"), who sells them supplies and promises to deliver their food stocks later. However, extraordinary things happen, chiefly a gold rush, and Hendricks refuses to deliver the settlers the goods that they had paid for in advance. Glyn and Cole hire men to load the supplies onto the riverboat and they head up river with Hendricks and his men at their heels. Before they leave town, our heroes get some help from a well-dressed gambler, Trey Wilson (Rock Hudson) who is rather handy with a six-gun."Bend of the River" is nothing short of an epic movie. Aside from some obvious studio interiors, most of the action was lensed on location in scenic Columbia River Gorge and around Mt. Hood in Oregon. Veteran western writer and Mann collaborator Borden Chase penned his excellent screenplay from a novel by prolific author William Gulick.