The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (writer)
Walter Van Tilburg Clark (novel)

Release Date:

21 May 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Western

Tagline:

LYNCH LAW RULES THE MOB! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Two drifters are passing through a Western town, when news comes in that a local farmer has been murdered and his cattle stolen...

Plot Keywords:

Justice | Posse | Cult Western | 1880s | Nevada

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Gil Carter
Dana Andrews	...	Donald Martin
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Rose Mapen / Rose Swanson
Anthony Quinn	...	Juan Martínez / Francisco Morez
William Eythe	...	Gerald Tetley
Harry Morgan	...	Art Croft (as Henry Morgan)
Jane Darwell	...	Jenny Grier
Matt Briggs	...	Judge Daniel Tyler
Harry Davenport	...	Arthur Davies
Frank Conroy	...	Maj. Tetley
Marc Lawrence	...	Jeff Farnley
Paul Hurst	...	Monty Smith
Victor Kilian	...	Darby
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Poncho
Willard Robertson	...	Sheriff

Also Known As:

Strange Incident (UK)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2006) | South Korea:12 (2003) (DVD rating) | West Germany:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #8590) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The Hays Office--the industry's censors--initially was reluctant to approve the script because of its suggestion that the sheriff condoned the lynchings. The treatment of the lynchings and the characterization of those participating were discussed by the PCA and the studio at great length, and in a June 9, 1942 letter, PCA director Joseph Breen advised studio public relations head Jason S. Joy that the script would be approved if: "Major Tetley's" suicide is retained, "thus constituting a punishment for the ring-leader of the lynching party;" there is an indication that the whole gang will be arrested; the character of "Gil" is rewritten to make him less callous and more active in trying to stop the lynchings; and "Davies'" denunciation of the killings is retained.

Goofs:

Continuity: During opening sequences when Fonda is at the bar, the whiskey he is drinking changes from clear to dark.

Quotes:

Gerald Tetley: I saw your face. It was the face of a depraved, murderous beast. Only two things ever meant anything to you: power and cruelty. You can't feel pity. You can't even feel guilt. You knew they were innocent, but you were crazy to see them hanged. And to make me watch it...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fonda on Fonda (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Great Camp Meeting in the Promised Land

Classically brilliant

This small, quiet western is big and loud when it comes to message. Beyond being a great film, written and directed brilliantly, with performances to match, it's a cautionary tale of the dangers of "group-think". Which we've all witnessed and been the victims of today in what happened with this misinformation amassed by the FBI and CIA in the War On Terror. A particularly brilliant scene is when henry Fonda reads a letter written by one of the men wrongly hanged at Ox Bow. The director obscures most of his face as he reads the letter so that the words of the soon-to-be dead man resound. The father/son relationship of two of the killers is so poignant. For an old-time western, this film is very today, very modern. The book which inspired the film is just as good. And the film is true to that book.