Jubal

The movie is pretty good, a classic western plot. The location, Jackson WY and the Grand Teton, is astonishing! Some of the scenes have been shot just from the same point of view Ansel Adams made one of his most famous picture (Snake River & Grand Teton). Great.

Glenn Ford as always is the best in any movie. No matter what, his mannerisms and looks keeps a person interested.

Compared to modern westerns, Jubal might be a little slow for some. This is not a modern western, far from it. What this movie does is serve as a transition from the hookie 40s movie to the modern anti-hero westerns of the 60s. Wayne kept with the hookie stuff, but others were moving the western into modernity. This was the starting point of that trend. Hate and other more base emotions are at work throughout the movie, with the result that it is an very enjoyable tale. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did, but was happy I did. Get it and enjoy!!!!

Until buying and watching this DVD from start to finish this year I had never really settled down and watched anything but bits and pieces of this film. It had been broadcast on TV many times through the years, but there had never been much to really pull me in for a full viewing. Now that I have given the film its due, I conclude that my original instincts were correct. It attempts to be a great film, but just does not hit the bullseye. Its problem is in the script. It tries hard to serve as a work cut out of the mold of a Shakespearean tragedy, and to an extent, it succeeds. Without giving away the plot, I must say that it sort of reaches the tragic juncture a tad too early in the narrative. This creates a problem in how to end the story. Performances are pretty good. I was particulary impressed by Ernest Borgnine. His character is like animated electrical voltage in the film. Glenn Ford, as always, is good, but not as effective as he is in other westerns. This is due to the script. Rod Steiger plays a perfidious jerk to perfection. However, I don't think a guy like that would have lasted long in the old west! One surprise is an early, and effective performance by Charles Bronson. One almost wishes director Delmer Daves had given him more to do in this movie. The DVD quality looks ok. I am glad to own this film, but in all honesty, I am not sure how often I will revisit it. Still, it is more entertaining than many films being cranked out by the Groupthink Hollywood crowd of today.

Like all those Westerns we used to watch and love when we were kids. Trouble is, that rules many of us out.