One of the most productive collaborations between actor James Stewart and director Anthony Mann in the 1950s, Bend of the River is one of their best Westerns, set in Oregon in the 1840s.
Theatrical release poster
Based on the 1950 novel “Bend of the Snake,” by Bill Gulick, the script was written by Borden Chase, who had co-written Winchester ’73 and would write The Far Country, both starring Stewart.
Stewart plays Glyn McLintock, a former outlaw, now working as a trail guide for a group of Oregon-bound farmers. He is aided in this mission by Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy), an unrepentant horse thief.
Upon arriving in Portland, McLintock gets involved in a scam operated by trader Howard Petrie, who has reneged on his promise to ship goods to the settlers.
Unable to take legal action, McLintock and farmer Jeremy Baile (Jay C. Flippen) steal the provision and scurry back to the settlement by boat.
On their return, they discover that Cole has sold out to the crooked Petrie and intends to reclaim the supplies. To ensure safe passage, he takes Jeremy and his daughter, Laura (former singer turn actress Julie Adams), as hostages.
As in the other Stewart-Mann collaborations, Stewart plays a darker role, in an effort to break away from his previous, all-goof and easygoing screen persona. To that extent, he excels in embodying a tough, self-serving rugged individual, whose true motives and loyalties remain in doubt until the tale’s closing moments. (See below).
You can spot the young Rock Hudson in a small part, as a gambler, before he became a star later in the decade.
Stewart New Screen Persona
James Stewart, best known for his boyish, idealistic persona, established a new screen image with the 1950 Western, Winchester ’73. He now played more violent, edgier, and disillusioned men, yet still likable. He pushed it even further in this film, the second of 8 films the pair ultimately made together, five of which Westerns, including The Naked Spur (1953), The Far Country (1954) and The Man From Laramie (1955).
Well reviewed by critics, Bend of the River was a commercial hit. A shrewd businessman, Stewart took a percentage of the profits, the second film on which he did so, after 1950’s Winchester ’73, also a Mann Western. It’s estimated that Stewart had earned from this movie $750,000 (over $7 million in 2025).
Cast
James Stewart as Glyn McLyntock
Arthur Kennedy as Emerson Cole
Julia Adams as Laura Baile
Rock Hudson as Trey Wilson, a professional gambler
Lori Nelson as Marjie Baile
Jay C. Flippen as Jeremy Baile
Howard Petrie as Tom Hendricks
Chubby Johnson as Captain Mello
Stepin Fetchit as Adam, Mello’s assistant
Harry Morgan as Shorty, one of the treacherous hired men
Credits:
Directed by Anthony Mann
Screenplay by Borden Chase, based on “Bend of the Snake,” 1950 novel by Bill Gulick
Produced by Aaron Rosenberg, Frank Cleaver
Cinematography: Irving Glassberg (color)
Edited by Russell F. Schoengarth
Music by Hans J. Salte
Production: Universal Pictures
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date: January 23, 1952
