Jubal (1956) Reviews

• Another Fine Fifties Western.

  jpdoherty2010-04-13

  A novel called "Jubal Troop" by Paul Wellman was the basis for a fine screenplay by both Russell S.Hughes and director Delmer Daves for the Columbia Pictures' stylish western JUBAL (1956). Produced for the studio by William Fadiman it had all the skill and talent director Daves had injected into previous and future western assignments such as "Broken Arrow" (1950), "The Last Wagon" (1956) and his masterpiece "3 Ten To Yuma"(1957). Photographed by ace cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. on beautiful locations in Wyoming the imposing Grand Tetons make for some amazing backdrops in many scenes. Seven years later Daves and Lawton would return to the same stunning locations for the spectacularly photographed Warner picture "Spencer's Mountain". JUBAL stars Glenn Ford as Jubal Troop a wandering cowhand who is rescued from near freezing on a mountain trail by passing rancher Shep Horgan (Ernest Borgnine). The rancher takes him back to his spread where he is taken care of and revived. The next day Horgan offers him a job to the chagrin of another cowhand Pinky (Rod Steiger) who has taken an instant dislike to the stranger and even suspects that he could be a sheepherder ("he stinks of sheep dip"). Trouble really begins when Shep's new wife - the flirtatious May (Valerie French) makes a play for the new cowboy. Jubal - being too fond of and grateful to Shep - will have none of it ("you're the boss's wife" he tells her as he walks away from her). But Pinky's hatred and jealously of Jubal sees him plant the lie in Shep's head that his wife is having an affair with the stranger. A furious Shep unwittingly confronts Jubal with a gun in the saloon ("get up Jube or I'll give it to you where you sit") but with the help of his friend (Charles Bronson) Jubal manages to out shoot Shep but regretfully kills him. Pinky now has the reason to round up a posse and go after Jubal who has taken refuge in a pilgrim's wagon train. The picture ends with Pinky beating up May but before she dies she informs the attending doctor (Robert Burton) that it was Pinky's lie that caused all the trouble and not Jubal. Performances are generally good throughout! Ford gives his usual dependable portrait of a likable western hero. Borgnine is good too in a big co-starring role after his Acadamy Award winning performance in "Marty" (1955) and Valeria French is excellent as the alluring and flirty wife. Wasted though is Felicia Farr making her debut in a syrupy and poorly written role as a pilgrim girl who takes a shine to Jubal. (She made up for it the following year when she and Ford were the brief bar-room lovers in Daves' brilliant "3 Ten To Yuma"). But the acting honours in JUBAL has to go to Rod Steiger as the mean-spirited and contemptible Pinky despite the actor's ill-advised use of a dubious southern accent. Others in the cast are likable bit players such as John Dierkes, Noah Beery Jr. and Basil Ruysdael. And holding the whole thing together nicely is the splendid music score by David Raksin. There is an infectious and jaunty main theme heard first over the titles and carried through for the early scenes. Then there is some exciting cues for the chase sequences and tender music plays under the picture's softer moments. The music from JUBAL is one of the composer's better scores. JUBAL is a fine memorable western and a splendid addition to the great classics of the fifties.

• You know, sometimes I think it's givin' the good Lord the worst of it to say he invented people.

  Spikeopath2011-01-30

  Jubal is directed by Delmer Daves and adapted by Daves and Russell S. Hughes from the Paul Wellman novel Jubal Troop. It stars Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, Charles Bronson, Valerie French & Felicia Farr. David Raksin scores the music and Charles Lawton Jr. is the cinematographer. Out of Columbia Pictures it's a CinemaScope/Technicolor production, and location for the shoot is Jackson Hole, The Grand Tetons, Wyoming, USA. Jubal Troop (Ford) is found exhausted out on the range and given shelter at a nearby ranch owned by Shep Horgan (Borgnine). Shep oversees Jubal's recovery and offers him a job as part of his ranch team. This is met with objection by Shep's leading man Pinky (Steiger), but Shep is undeterred and Jubal goes on to prove his worth in the position. Shep and Jubal get on great, but trouble is brewing because Shep's pretty Canadian wife Mae (French) has taken quite a shine to Jubal. This further enrages Pinky and a hornets nest is stirred, spelling trouble for practically everyone. Delmer Daves' (Dark Passage/Broken Arrow) Jubal is often likened to William Shakespeare's Othello, that's something that, whilst being flattering, is best ignored. For Jubal, and its makers, deserve credit in their own right for producing such a tight, tense, adult Western. It's a film that's driven by characters who are caught in a web of jealousy and suppressed emotions, with the underrated Daves bringing some psychological dimensions into the narrative. He's also a director who knows that such a story benefits greatly by not including action and violence just for the sake of upping the tempo. He paces this film to precision, winding up the tension to breaking point, then to unleash all the pent up fury on the viewers - and even then he (correctly) chooses to keep some critical moments off the screen, gaining results far better than if stuff had actually been shown the audience (two shots in the finale are stupendously memorable). This griping human drama is played out in front of magnificent scenery, where Daves and Lawton Jr. (3:10 to Yuma/Comanche Station) utilise the CinemaScope and Technicolor facilities to their maximum potential, filling the widescreen frame with majestic mountains,vibrant slanted forests and rolling grassy hills. The Grand Tetons location had previously been used in other notable Western movies such as The Big Trail, The Big Sky and famously for George Stevens' Shane, while post Jubal it served as a considerable purpose for Dances with Wolves. All of this grandeur for the eyes is boosted by Raksin's (Laura/Fallen Angel) score, with gentle swirls for the tender Jubal/Naomi thread and rushes for the posse sequences, it's an arrangement very at one with the mood and tempo of the story. The cast list oozes star power and gets performances to match. Ford is a master at roles calling for underplayed intensity, and that's exactly what he gives Jubal Troop. Keeping the characters' cards close to his chest in the beginning, Ford pitches it perfect as the emotionally bottled up drifter. Borgnine, a year after his Oscar win for Marty, is perfect foil to Ford's calmness, he's in turn big and boisterous, often crude, yet under the bluster is a sweet and honest man. And there in the middle of the three men is Steiger bringing the method. Pinky is brooding, devious and one pulse beat away from being psychotic, but Steiger, with a menacing drawl flowing out of his mouth, is creepily mannered. Steiger and Daves clashed over how to play Pinky, the director wanting something more akin to Ford's serene like role play, but Steiger wanted it played bitter and coiled spring like - the actor getting his way when producer William Fadiman sided with him. Valerie French (Decision at Sundown) looks beautiful in Technicolor, and in spite of an accent problem, does a neat line in how to play a smoldering fuse in a box of fire crackers. Felicia Farr (The Last Wagon) is the polar opposite, religiously comely and virginal, she's a touch underused but the play off with French impacts well in the story. Key support goes to Charles Bronson (The Magnificent Seven) as Reb, loyal friend to Jubal. Played with laid back machismo, it's something of what would become the trademark Bronson performance. Other notables in the support cast are the always value for money Noah Beery Jr. (Wagons West), John Dierkes (The Hanging Tree) and Jack Elam (The Man From Laramie). Damn fine film that's worthy of being sought out by those interested in the best of the 1950s slew of Adult Westerns. 8.5/10

• Absorbing western tale with spectacular Wyoming scenery and good cast...

  Doylenf2007-08-14

  JUBAL takes about forty-five minutes to set up its tale of revenge and murder and lust in the dust, but once the plot gets into high gear it becomes highly watchable until the conclusion. GLENN FORD is an unhappy man on the run who's taken in by rancher ERNEST BORGNINE and his wife VALERIE FRENCH, earning his pay as a helper and suddenly promoted to foreman, much to the annoyance of ROD STEIGER, who wanted the job and also has his eyes on Borgnine's wife. Ford spends most of the story trying to fend off the advances of Valerie French, who turns out to be a real Jezebel creating trouble between Ford and Borgnine when she makes her hubby believe the lies that jealous Steiger has told him. Before you know it, Ford is in deep trouble with nowhere to run except to seek the help of some peace loving pioneers on a wagon train, and a woman (FELICIA FARR) who wants to help him fight injustice. Delmer Daves directs the actors through their paces with skill, except that he allows ROD STEIGER to chew too much of the scenery. Steiger struts about as if he's still playing Jud in OKLAHOMA! and never lets up for a moment being a nasty, snarling, cowardly villain. He's so despicable you can't help hating him. On the other hand, CHARLES BRONSON shows considerable skill as Ford's friend, a gunslinger who saves Ford's life at a crucial moment. The film starts off a little too slowly before it gets to the mid-section where things really start to heat up. From then on, it's a top-rate western with strong performances from most of the cast. Borgnine may be playing a "nice guy" for a change, but he's still obnoxious and boorish in his behavior and he sometimes overdoes the hearty laughter. His admission that he knows nothing about women or how to treat them, reminds me that "Marty" had the same problem. Summing up: Good western, excellent photography, nice scenery and one of Glenn Ford's most underrated performances.

• I can't help but think of other films..

  schappe12007-03-24

  I love discovering old films that I'd never seen before. It's as if the stars became young again or alive again and made another film just for me. Glenn Ford, Rod Steiger, Charles Bronson, Jack Elam and others are gone now, (and I haven't seen Ernie Borgnine in anything in years-although he's still working per the IMDb), but there they are in a very fine wide-screen western from 1956. The Western hit a peak in the 1950's. In the pre-war period, it was a specialty genre that was mostly for juvenile audiences with singing cowboys and such. Occasionally there was an historical epic. What was missing were A-level pictures with top stars, strong stories and good production values. When John Ford, after several years doing other types of films, returned to the Western with "Stagecoach" in 1939 that began to change. He and Howard Hawks and others proved the Western could be a major adult genre that major stars would want to be a part of. By the 50's every major star and most of the top directors did westerns on a routine basis. There must be three dozen 50's westerns that are at least three star movies on a scale of four and Jubal is certainly one of them. The era ended when the adult western on TV started giving people for free what they were getting on the big screen. Then the times changed and westerns started to seem passé'. Looking at the really good ones from this era shows us what we've lost. Still, despite the quality of this film, you can't help but think of other films as you watch it. There's the Grand Teton scenery, reminiscent of the greatest of all westerns, Shane. The story is alternately out of Othello or maybe the Bible, whatever you prefer. Rod Steiger is basically playing the same character he did in the previous year's Oklahoma. But the thing that really jumped out at me is that here we have the two Marty's. Steiger played the Bronx butcher in the original 1953 teleplay and Borgnine won an Oscar for it in the 1955 film. He's picked it up on 3/21/56, two weeks before this film opened. One wonders how Steiger, who surely wanted the role, and Borgnine, who got it, got along with each other during the filming of Jubal. They even have a fist-fight scene. But they were two professional actors playing roles other than Marty, so it probably made no difference. Actually, the roles they play kind of parallel their performances as Marty. Steiger in most of his roles is a tortured introvert. Borgnine is a misunderstood extrovert. That's how they played Marty and that's how they play their roles here. It fits the story like a glove. There's even several references to how Valerie French finds him ugly and repulsive. Maybe he should have married Clara, (the girl from Marty).

• Beautiful Scenery and Wonderful Acting

  jpholt12004-11-29

  This dramatic western is just what the doctor ordered. As fresh today as it was in 1956 when I was 2! The scenery alone is so impressive that watching Glenn Ford is just icing on the cake. These titanic actors really nail it on this film. I imagine the 'behind the scenes' horseplay was probably as good as what was captured on film. Ford is handsome as ever and decent down to his toes. Borgnine is a teddy bear that gets burned in the end. Steiger is the bad guy and is perfect for the role. A young Bronson in a small part shines. I watched this on the Western channel, which endlessly plays the same movies over and over. However I had never heard of this movie. Being a Glenn Ford fan, I figured that I'd at least watch the beginning. This film will not disappoint anyone who likes good writing, beautiful scenery and wonderful acting.