Review of Bend of the River (1952) by Laurel S — 06 Apr 2011
Bend of the River being the second joint Western of the director Anthony Mann and James Stewart feels very much like a middle child, it tries real hard to be great, but ends up being just above average.
Much of this can be blamed on the non eventfull story. Stewart joins hands with Arthur Kennedy to escort a bunch of settlers to the unknown wild west in hope of better tomorrow. Both of these men share similar violent past, one could even say that they portray the good and the bad sides of one man. It is easy enough to guess which one takes the good guy role and who the bad one. This writing might make Bend Of The River sound more duller than it really is, there is good stuff in it too. The movie shines especially in the scenery and athmosphere side. And the wagon driving scenes are very well made. These things alone however do not bump the movie to the great league. On the negative side the action scenes feel forced and the horders of bad men rallied together like out of thin air seem silly.
Even so the movie is very watchable, even if it contains every cliche of the Western 101 book. Bend of the River definitely is not the best of Mann and Stewart collaboration but solid Western nonetheless.
This review of Bend of the River (1952) was written by Laurel S on 06 Apr 2011.
Bend of the River has generally received positive reviews.
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