Bend of the River (1952)
Pretty standard fare Mann and Stewart western. Not near the quality of classics like Winchester ‘73 or The Man From Laramie, but once the somewhat slow start was over I came to like the overall vibe of frontier settler spirit.
The majority of these classic westerns revolve around a similar theme of conflicts of interest at the frontier. Cattle owners and farmers, railroad builders and settlers, outlaws and marshals. Here we see fight over scarce food resources among gold miners and settlers, and not surprisingly the movie stands with the peaceful settlers against the money hungry gold diggers. This setup works reasonably well and Stewart plays his usual western persona, we get some decent gunfights and some nice scenery. But that is about it. There is nothing really remarkable to find here and while competently made, still overshadowed by other and better Stewart and Mann western collaborations.
Rating: 3.5