The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

"The Ox-Bow Incident" is a western that begins by mixing comedy and drama, but gradually becomes an indictment of mob violence and man's inhumanity to man. While sometimes heavyhanded, the quality of the script, direction and cast is otherwise excellent.

Gil Carter (Henry Fonda) and Art Croft (Henry Morgan) are strangers arriving in a sleepy western town. Carter soon gets into a fistfight with Farnley (Marc Lawrence), a local hothead who openly suspects him of being responsible for an epidemic of cattle rustling. Rumors fly about that out-of-town rancher Kinkaid has been killed by rustlers. A posse is quickly formed, with the angry intent of hanging the unknown culprits.

The posse is led by former Confederate general Tetley (Frank Conroy) and bossy, imposing Ma Grier (Jane Darwell). Tetley wishes to demonstrate how to be a man to his weak-willed son Gerald (William Eythe). Grier is misguided by her civic duty to achieve quick frontier justice against outlaws. Many others have joined the lynch mob, including Carter and Croft, who prefer to be a part of it rather than its next target. Arthur Davies (Harry Davenport) is participating only to try to talk the posse into disbanding. Sparks (Leigh Whipper) is a ridiculed street preacher whose presence adds legitimacy to the actions of the mob.

The posse eventually finds three disheveled men in a forest. They are led by Martin (Dana Andrews), who claims to be an innocent man supporting a hungry family. The other two are a tough Mexican outlaw (Anthony Quinn) and a senile old-timer (Francis Ford). It looks bad for them; they have Kinkaid's cattle, but no bill of sale. They even have Kinkaid's gun. That's enough evidence for most of the lynch party, although Davies and Carter seek a trial rather than a hanging.

The ending can be predicted well in advance, but the film's uncompromising story avoids an artificially sweet resolution. Perhaps the characters of Tetley and his son are too extreme, and perhaps the final scenes are too preachy. But "The Ox-Bow Incident" is one film that you'll never forget. The determination of the mob to obtain quick justice has an allegorical context. Remove the Western setting, and the film becomes a judgment on the darker elements of humanity itself. The film is also a sharp rebuke to cruel, misguided leadership.

"The Ox-Bow Incident" was based on a novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. It kicked around Hollywood for some years before director William Wellman acquired the rights. Screenwriter Lamar Trotti was enlisted, also serving as producer. Fonda was a natural choice for lead, his most noted role to date dealing with injustice in the socially conscious "The Grapes of Wrath". There is also some similarity to "Twelve Angry Men", in which Fonda also defended the life of an innocent man.

Twentieth Century Fox did not think highly of the project, which showed little promise of being profitable. Wellman was forced to use makeshift or existing sets on a Hollywood lot. This led to the dark, crowded cinematography, with the action taking place at night and most of the menacing cast often herded together for group shots. This actually worked to the film's advantage, as it added a chilling effect to the grim storyline. Both Fox and Wellman proved correct from their opposite perspectives. The film was not a box office success, but was rewarded with an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Other than "Shadow of a Doubt", "The Ox-Bow Incident" is today probably the most famous film from 1943. (76/100)