by Julian Spivey

The Ox-Bow Incident is a gritty, low budget Western that broke cinematic ground in the early forties with its honest depiction on how human nature can be dangerous.

The Ox-Bow Incident, directed by William A. Wellman, is based off Walter Van Tilburg Clark’s novel of the same name. The film was produced and written for the screen by Lamar Trotti and completion of filming was wrapped in 1941. Studio executives reluctant to release the movie due to its gritty, somber tone because the nation was at war waited two years until 1943 before releasing the movie. The movie was released to very low box-office numbers, but was critically acclaimed for its honest and fresh portrayal of a vigilante mob. The Ox-Bow Incident received a nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The Ox-Bow Incident opens in 1885 Nevada with two cattle herding cowboys led by Gil Carter, played by Henry Fonda, riding into town. Soon it is brought to attention that a popular local rancher has been murdered and his cattle stolen. The deputy of the town illegally deputizes an angry mob and the mob sets out looking for the murderers of their friend. It’s quickly made apparent that the mob doesn’t truly care if they find the murderers or not they are simply out for a good hanging. The mob runs across a group of men camping in the night air: a young, married rookie rancher Donald Martin (played by Dana Andrews) an elderly senile man (played by Francis Ford) and a Mexican man who claims he cannot speak English (played by Anthony Quinn). The mob captures the trio and without a proper trial convicts them of murder and sentences them to death by hanging. Upon the conviction the group seems to take sides on whether or not they should bring them back to town for a proper trial. In the end majority rules and the trio is put to death. The film ends in a saloon with the crowd gathered as a disgusted Carter reads a letter from Martin to his widowed wife. The scene stands as one of the most dramatic scenes in cinema history as Wellman moves the camera beautifully never showing Fonda’s eyes, but only his lips and the reactions on the guilty mob’s faces.

Fonda always the naturalistic actor and American hero plays one of the greatest characters of his illustrious acting career, one that many see similarities to with his Juror #8 character from Sidney Lumet’s 1957 classic 12 Angry Men and his character of Tom Joad in the 1940 film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s literary classic The Grapes of Wrath. Despite Fonda’s great performance and top billing on the film The Ox-Bow Incident truly stands alone as a great ensemble acting performance with great supporting acting by Harry Morgan, Frank Conroy, William Eythe, Harry Davenport, Marc Lawrence and others. 

The Ox-Bow Incident is definitely a one of a kind film of which you don’t find often in the Western genre.