Saturday, 30 March 2019

BEND OF THE RIVER **

"Bend of the River" may not be the greatest western ever made but as horse-operas go it's a sheer pleasure from start to finish. It's another Mann/Stewart collaboration and it's got everything; Settlers, Indians, Gun Slingers and other sundry villains not to mention mountains and, of course, rivers and some really spectacular scenery as well as a cracking, fast-paced script from Borden Chase. It may be fairly lightweight in comparison with other Mann/Stewart westerns such as "The Man from Laramie" and "The Naked Spur" but it certainly doesn't skimp on action and as well as Stewart it has a sterling cast that includes the always excellent Arthur Kennedy, a young Rock Hudson and that lovely and undervalued actress Julia Adams. Very entertaining.

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