History Film / BendOfTheRiver

''Bend of the River'' is a 1952 {{Western}} film directed by Creator/AnthonyMann, starring Creator/JamesStewart, Creator/ArthurKennedy, Creator/JuliaAdams, and Creator/RockHudson.

* BetaCouple: Trey and Margie flirt, [[spoiler: and they're paired up together at the end]], but they are definitely of secondary importance behind Glyn and Laurie.

* UncleTomfoolery: Some unpleasant racist humor from Lincoln "Stepin Fetchit" Perry, who plays Adam, Captain Mello's silly first mate.

''Bend of the River'' is a 1952 {{Western}} film directed by Creator/AnthonyMann and starring [[Creator/JimmyStewart James Stewart]].

It's 1866 and Glyn [=McLyntock=] (Stewart) is acting as a guide, taking a group of settlers from Missouri to the Columbia River territory of Oregon. Glyn is haunted by his past: some years ago he was a "border raider" on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas Missouri-Kansas border]]. Glyn is hoping to start a new life for himself as a farmer or rancher. One night when the wagon train is camped, he rescues one Emerson Cole (Creator/ArthurKennedy) from getting lynched by some people who claim Cole stole a horse. As it turns out, Cole was also a border raider back in the day. Jeremy Baile, the leader of the group of settlers, is none too happy to have Cole with the wagon train. Baile is unaware of Glyn's similar history.

Glyn successfully guides the wagon train to Portland, Oregon, but not before Jeremy's beautiful daughter Laurie (Creator/JuliaAdams) is wounded in an attack by the Shoshones. Glyn and Jeremy buy food for the winter from Portland merchant Tom Hendricks and then go upriver to scout out a settlement while Laurie stays in Portland to recover. When neither Laurie nor the food shows up at the settlement, Glyn and Jeremy go back to Portland, only to receive unpleasant news. While they were upriver starting the settlement, gold was discovered elsewhere along the Columbia. Hendricks has reneged on their deal and sold their food to the gold miners. And Laurie is dating ne'er-do-well Emerson Cole.

''Bend of the River'' is a 1952 {{Western}} film directed by Creator/AnthonyMann, starring [[Creator/JimmyStewart James Stewart]].

It's 1866 and Glyn [=McLyntock=] (Stewart) is acting as a guide, taking a group of settlers from Missouri to the Columbia River territory of Oregon. Glyn is haunted by his past: some years ago he was a "border raider" on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas Missouri-Kansas border]]. Glyn is hoping to start a new life for himself as a farmer or rancher. One night when the wagon train is camped, he rescues one Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy) from getting lynched by some people who claim Cole stole a horse. As it turns out, Cole was also a border raider back in the day. Jeremy Baile, the leader of the group of settlers, is none too happy to have Cole with the wagon train. Baile is unaware of Glyn's similar history.

Glyn successfully guides the wagon train to Portland, Oregon, but not before Jeremy's beautiful daughter Laurie (Julie Adams) is wounded in an attack by the Shoshones. Glyn and Jeremy buy food for the winter from Portland merchant Tom Hendricks and then go upriver to scout out a settlement while Laurie stays in Portland to recover. When neither Laurie nor the food shows up at the settlement, Glyn and Jeremy go back to Portland, only to receive unpleasant news. While they were upriver starting the settlement, gold was discovered elsewhere along the Columbia. Hendricks has reneged on their deal and sold their food to the gold miners. And Laurie is dating ne'er-do-well Emerson Cole.

Glyn successfully guides the wagon train to Portland, Oregon, but not before Jeremy's beautiful daughter Laurie is wounded in an attack by the Shoshones. Glyn and Jeremy buy food for the winter from Portland merchant Tom Hendricks and then go upriver to scout out a settlement while Laurie stays in Portland to recover. When neither Laurie nor the food shows up at the settlement, Glyn and Jeremy go back to Portland, only to receive unpleasant news. While they were upriver starting the settlement, gold was discovered elsewhere along the Columbia. Hendricks has reneged on their deal and sold their food to the gold miners. And Laurie is dating ne'er-do-well Emerson Cole.

Glyn successfully guides the wagon train to Portland, Oregon, but not before Jeremy's beautiful daughter Laurie is wounded in an attack by the Shoshones. Glyn and Jeremy buy food for the winter from Portland merchant Tom Hendricks and then go upriver to scout out a settlement while Laurie stays in Portland to recover. When neither Laurie nor the food show up at the settlement, Glyn and Jeremy go back to Portland, only to receive unpleasant news. While they were upriver starting the settlement, gold was discovered elsewhere along the Columbia. Hendricks has reneged on their deal and sold their food to the gold miners. And Laurie is dating ne'er-do-well Emerson Cole.

* BetaCouple: Trey and Margie flirt, and they're paired up together at the end, but they are definitely of secondary importance behind Glyn and Laurie.
* CallBack: When he saves Cole from a lynching early in the film, the only reason Glyn will give is that he just doesn't like hangings. At the end of the film he's revealed to have an ugly scar on his neck, evidently from a hanging back in his raider days that he somehow survived.

* ThatManIsDead: When an amused Cole, who knows what Glyn used to do, asks who he's runnning from, Glyn answers that he's running from "a man named Glyn [=McLyntock=]."

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Cole]] starts off as a pretty likable fellow who pretty much [[spoiler: serves as TheLancer to Glyn]] for most of the film and even [[spoiler: saves Glyn's life]]. [[ThenLetMeBeEvil That changes.]]

''Bend of the River'' is a 1952 film directed by Creator/AnthonyMann, starring [[Creator/JimmyStewart James Stewart]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: As they're coming in to Portland, Jeremy wonders if it would be quicker to go over the mountains instead of around. Glyn vetoes this, saying that it's highly dangerous and they could get stuck up on the mountain and die. Later, Glyn decides that crossing over the mountain is just what they'll have to do to outrace Hendricks and his goons.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Trey starts out as an affable type who does some mild flirting with Marjie, and later he helps Glyn and Jeremy get their supplies onto the steamship. Then later he supports Cole when Cole overthrows Glyn and seizes the food. Then still later, after Glyn slices his cheek with a bullet, Trey flips again and helps Glyn defeat Cole.