Jubal

Delmer Daves has gained a reputation as a top-notch director of "adult Westerns" similar to Anthony Mann (The Man From Laramie) and Samuel Fuller (Forty Guns). His revisionist Indian film Broken Arrow and moody Western psychodrama 3:10 to Yuma are among the best Westerns of the 1950's, engendering a well-deserved cult following. The overlooked Jubal (1956) is even better than the above films, and perhaps Daves' finest work. A dark, character-driven Western, it heaps on the psychology and angst with verve, with strong performances and beautiful location photography.

Three-time loser Jubal Troop (Glenn Ford) is found by big-shot rancher Shep Horgan (Ernest Borgnine) and hired as a cowhand. Shep's long-suffering Canadian wife Mae (Valerie French) immediately puts the moves on Jubal; an unknowing Shep promotes Jubal to his This does not sit well with rancher Pinky (Rod Steiger), who has a history with and a giant chip on his shoulder. Pinky convinces Shep that Jubal and Mae are having an illicit affiar, resulting in Shep's killing. With the help of fellow ne'er-do-well Reb (Charles Bronson) and a group of Mormons, Jubal must prove his innocence and take down the perfidious Pinky.

Jubal is very much in the Mann vein, in its depiction of tormented cowboys and Old West intrigue. The film's plot loosely resembles Shakespeare's Othello (if Cassio were the protagonist and Desdemona a slut), but it's more of a general reference point than a direct inspiration. Jubal is a life-long loser whose motivation is only to find a bit of good luck and happiness for once in his life; he seems to have it with Shep, but events conspire against him. The sultry Mae is no damsel in distress, nor a femme fatale, but a sexually frustrated girl trapped in a rotten marriage. Shep is a bumptiously likeable guy but a wholly inadequate husband, and all too easily manipulated by Pinky, a slimy brute who lacks the cunning and charm of Shakespeare's Iago. The movie is a bit talky for a Western, but not so much that it detracts from the film; the focus is on story and character and the lack of wall-to-wall action is forgivable.

Daves' direction is excellent, handling his actors and story with due subtlety and letting the store unfold at a leisurely pace. Filmed on location in the Grand Tetons, the film has its share of striking scenery, beautifully captured in Charles Lawton's gorgeous Technicolor photography. Daves gives the film enough space and exterior scenes to keep it from being a set-bound genre piece. However, David Raskin's score is pretty by-the-numbers. The movie provides some obvious inspiration for Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) - including a conversation about patting one's wife on the behind - that Western buffs will appreciate.

Glenn Ford, often a stiff and wooden actor, seemed to do his best work in Westerns. His charming bad guy in 3:10 to Yuma was excellent, and he's almost as good here as the tortured tough-luck cowpoke. Ernest Borgnine invests Shep with the same gruff likeability as Marty and The Wild Bunch, with a violent and quick-tempered edge to boot. Rod Steiger (Doctor Zhivago) plays his Iago figure with a heaping helping of ham and a typically bizarre accent, not unlike his Jud in Oklahoma! Valerie French is absolutely smouldering, and Felicia Farr (who would re-team with Ford and Daves in 3:10) is lovely in her debut role as a pretty Mormon girl. The supporting cast includes a young Charles Bronson, Basil Ruysdael, Noah Beery Jr., John Dierkes and Jack Elam.

Jubal is a fine adult Western that holds up well fifty years later.