The life of nineteenth-century pioneer Jim Bowie is portrayed. In 1825, Jim Bowie travels to New Orleans to sell the output from the sawmill he runs with his brothers. He soon meets the beautiful Judalon de Bornay who seems to have most men wrapped around her little finger. She clearly likes him but when he tells her he's leaving, she manipulates one of her beaus into challenging him for a duel. Bowie survives the confrontation but devises a plan to sell the not only his lumber but also the family mill and invest it in land. Within a couple of years, the Bowie brothers are quite rich and Jim meets Judalon again - only this time she is married. It doesn't stop her from manipulating those around her. Jim's business interests lead to a bloody duel where several people are killed and a confrontation with local saloon owner and crook Black Jack Sturdevant. After Sturdevant tries to kill him on the trail, Bowie is rescued by a beautiful Mexican woman and decides to make his home in Texas. I've never really been a fan of westerns, I didn't grow up with them and I always thought the genre was overrated personally.<br/><br/>Occasionally however a film comes along which has distinct appeal despite its genre, this is such a film. I'm not 100% sure why I liked it or why it stood out from the pack, there is a certain intangible aspect to it which really appeals; the closest thing that I can think of is `The Mountain' (1956, Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner), it is a film which I believe has that same intangible quality.<br/><br/>I'd recommend this one for both western fan and non western fan (like myself) alike. This is an adventure story using fiction to tell about the early years of James Bowie,prior to his martyrdom at the Alamo a few years after this film ends. This is a typical romantic adventure story with Alan Ladd giving an erstwhile honest portrayal in the role that Richard Widmark did years later in THE ALAMO. Mr Ladd was short in stature,but you would never really know that,. as all of the actors were either his height or 1 or 2 inches either way. Virginia Mayo is as usual very beautiful & well dressed,She was never considered a great actress but she could portray a very selfish woman with perfect ease. The rest of the cast is just what you would expect in this type of vehicle. Good production values with a very good knife fight in a dark room with only lightning bolts to highlight the action. A bit long at 112 minutes, but entertaining. a low *** rating or a 7 on the IMDB scale<br/><br/> as always<br/><br/> Jay Harris.
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326 weeks ago