Ride to the Ox-Bow
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Ride to the Ox-Bow |
| Original title | The Ox-Bow Incident |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1943 |
| length | 77 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | William A. Wellman |
| script | Lamar Trotti |
| production | Lamar Trotti for 20th Century Fox |
| music | Cyril J. Mockridge |
| camera | Arthur C. Miller |
| cut | Allen McNeil |
| occupation | |
| |
Ritt zum Ox-Bow is a 1943 American western written by William A. Wellman about the subject of lynching . It is based on the novel of the same name by Walter Van Tilburg Clark .
action
1885: Gil and Art, two cowboys, stranded in a boring Nevada village . It's rough in the local saloon. A man appears with the message that some cattle thieves had shot the rancher Kinkaid. Despite the objection of the level-headed businessman Mr. Davis, who thinks that one should first consult the sheriff and the judge, the men of the village now come together to look for the perpetrators. The sheriff has long been at Kinkaid's ranch and therefore cannot intervene; judge Tyler, who was not assertive, warns the men to wait for the sheriff to return. However, when the men were told by a Mexican ranch hand that he had seen men with the herd of kinkaids nearby, they could no longer be stopped. The supposed former Confederate Major Tetley takes command and forces his unwilling son to join them. Tetley rises to be the guardian of law and order: “In Texas, we don't rely on the justice of the courts, do we? No, we are not waiting for that! We catch the killer faster than any fee-obsessed lawyer who's wasting his time in the courtrooms! We go and grab the man and let him dangle! "
The men are sworn in by the deputy sheriff as a citizen patrol (which means that he exceeds his competencies). The 30 or so men are joined by “Ma” Jenny Grier, a bloodthirsty woman. Gil and Art also ride away with the lynch-mad mob, as otherwise they fear for their lives as strangers. On the way, the group has a brief encounter with a carriage in which Gil's former lover Rose Mapen is. The poor cowboy Gil is frustrated to see that Rose has left him for the wealthy businessman Mr. Swanson.
Late in the night the men stumble upon the camp with the three suspects. It turns out that they really are out with the cattle kinkaids. The leader of the three suspects is the rancher Donald Martin. His assistants are an old man named Halva Harvey and the Mexican Juan Martínez. Although all three plead their innocence, they are arrested and immediately found guilty. Martin claims to have bought the cattle from Kinkaid, but cannot produce a receipt. Meanwhile, the old man tries to save his life by accusing the Mexican of being a murderer. Tetley puts the vote. Against the votes of Mr. Davies, Gil, Art and five other men (including Tetley's son and a Mexican), the majority decides to hang the three men immediately. Martin is allowed to write a farewell letter and the cynical Mexican, who has long since noticed that they had no chance against the preconceived judgment from the start, makes his confession to a compatriot, who is supposed to pass it on to a priest. Tetley forces his in his eyes effeminate son to act as one of the executioners . The three suspects are hanged at dawn.
Shortly after leaving, the sheriff is waiting for her with new messages: Kinkaid was only shot and not robbed, the real perpetrators have long been arrested. The sheriff threatens harsh penalties for members of the group who voted for vigilante justice. One of the men who were quickest to get the lynch verdict now stands out with the opinion that Tetley should be lynched now. When Tetley arrives at his villa, he locks his son out. The latter accuses his father of being obsessed with power and cruel and incapable of feeling pity. Shortly afterwards, Tetley shoots himself. The men involved in the vigilante justice sit in the saloon in silence, they have meanwhile collected money for the widow. Gil reads Martin's farewell letter to his wife to the other men. Gil and Art now want to deliver the letter and the money to Martin's wife.
History of origin and special features
Ride to the Ox-Bow is an extraordinary western in many ways. In contrast to most westerns, the audience is presented with an ordinary character who does not show the typical characteristics of a hero. Gil is a shabby loser who can't stand up to the - obvious or supposed - "wrong" and "bad". Although his mind is clear and his heart is more or less in the right place, he has failed in and because of society. He's a pragmatist . It makes a difference to him whether a man is guilty or innocent - but when it comes to his own life, even if he was not actively involved and opposed to the lynching, he is part of the mob too. Ritt zum Ox-Bow probably also influenced the classic The Twelve Jurors (1957), also a justice drama about prejudice with Henry Fonda in the lead role. But while Fonda's successful architect in The Twelve Jurors can ultimately change people's minds, the much more passive figure of Gil does not.
The novel The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark was published in 1940 and received good reviews. Director William A. Wellman had read the book and had been pushing for a film for several years. The rights were initially with producer Harold Hurley, who wanted to make a film with Mae West as the barmaid. Wellman ultimately bought the rights from him for $ 6,500. However, Darryl F. Zanuck , the boss of 20th Century Fox , initially refused to finance the project because he did not believe in the success of a film about lynching. Only Wellman's reputation as director of many successful films led Zanuck to ultimately agree to a film adaptation. As a prize for being allowed to shoot this film, director Wellman and lead actor Henry Fonda had to work on various of Zanuck's prestige productions, which, however, unlike Ritt zum Ox-Bow, have mostly been forgotten today. In addition, Wellman only had a small budget and relatively little time for the film, which meant that the night scenes were shot in the studio, as only a few outdoor shots could be realized with the small budget. As a result, the equipment looks quite backdrop-like in some places.
When it premiered in May 1943, the film was unique in its kind and something completely new for the western genre. But the US was at war with Japan and Germany , which is why such an accusation against fascist ways of thinking in America was badly received by the public. But the critics were enthusiastic from the start. It was hailed as "a momentous moment in American cultural history" (Manny Farner in The New Republican ). In the preface to a late edition of the novel , the author Walter Van Tilburg Clark pointed out that his book (and later the film) was often misunderstood. It was not an indictment against European fascism, but against the American one. So the film only became a commercial success for a long time. The criticism was particularly impressed by the fact that as an excuse for what happened, hysteria is not brought into play, but is analyzed coldly and clearly and the perversion comes from the inner drive and socialization of the characters. Hysteria is not involved if one can be God , as it were , master of life and death. Because of its dark and critical mood, Ritt zum Ox-Bow is therefore more often viewed as film noir .
Henry Fonda, who was actually with the US Navy , was released from the Navy for the completion of the film. Harry Morgan - here still under his real name Henry Morgan , later supporting actor in various westerns and other films and since the 1970s TV star in series such as Police Report and especially M * A * S * H - has one of his first appearances here in his 50 -year career. Oscar winner Jane Darwell was selected for the role of "Ma" after Sara Allgood was replaced and Florence Bates fell off her horse while filming and was injured.
synchronization
The German dubbed version for Ritt zum Ox-Bow was created in 1964 by Riva Synchron GmbH, Munich, based on the dialogue script and dialogue direction by Joachim Brinkmann .
| role | actor | German dubbing voice |
|---|---|---|
| Gil Carter | Henry Fonda | Helmo Kindermann |
| Donald Martin | Dana Andrews | Ulli Lommel |
| Major Tetley | Frank Conroy | Wolf Ackva |
| Arthur Davies | Harry Davenport | Gustl Datz |
| Juan Martínez, Mexican | Anthony Quinn | Norbert Gastell |
| Monty Smith, village drinker | Paul Hurst | Erik Jelde |
| Judge Daniel Tyler | Matt Briggs | Thomas Reiner |
| Deputy Sheriff Butch Mapes | Dick Rich | Herbert Weicker |
criticism
“It's hard to imagine a commercially less promising film. In just over an hour, he examines most of people's fundamental weaknesses - cruelty, bloodlust, brutality, faintheartedness, and false pride. But he also has the morals, flatly and relentlessly, to display the horror of mob rule. And he has the valor of uncompromising truth. William Wellman directed the film with a realism that is as sharp and cold as a knife, based on a script by Lamar Trotti that is beautifully direct with situations and words. And a consistently excellent cast plays the film brilliantly. Ride to the Ox-Bow isn't a movie that will brighten or cheer up your day. But he's someone who's hard to beat when it comes to sheer, strong drama these days. "
"A classic Western that emerged from the confrontation with American fascism with the timeless message that respect for law and reverence for human life are mutually dependent."
“William A. Wellman's classic about vigilante justice, lust for murder and followerism attracted a great deal of attention due to its socially critical attitude and was considered an 'unwelcome and out-of-date film' in the USA at the time - people were fighting against fascism in Europe. Wellman shot the western based on the novel 'The Ox-Bow Incident' by Walter van Tilburg Clark and for the first time in the history of the genre presented an utterly unheroic hero to the western audience spoiled with heroes. "
“Impressive Western that is less about the usual representation of the milieu than about a conscientious and authentic report on fascist forms of behavior and thought within bourgeois society. The dominant style of presentation and the intellectual honesty of the company make the film, despite minor flaws, an experience that is absolutely worth seeing from the age of 14. "
Awards
The film won the National Board of Review's award for best English-language film in 1943 . In 1944 it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture , but came away empty-handed against Casablanca . In 1998, the film was given the highest award that an American film can get. He was inducted into the National Film Registry of the National Film Preservation Board .
media
literature
- Walter van Tilburg Clark : Ride to the Ox-Bow. Western novel. (OT: The Ox-Bow Incident. ) Heyne, Munich 1966.
- Joe Hembus , Benjamin Hembus (Ed.): The Western Lexicon. 1567 films from 1894 to the present day. 3. Edition. Heyne, Munich 1995, ISBN 978-3-453-08121-5 . (Heyne film library)
DVD release
- Ride to the Ox-Bow . Western Legends No. 9, Koch Media GmbH, 2011
Web links
- The Ox-Bow Incident in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Original quote from the German dubbed version of the film
- ^ A b Paul Tatara: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved October 26, 2019 .
- ↑ IMDb Trivia
- ↑ Ride to the Ox-Bow at the German synchronous file
- ↑ Ritt zum Ox-Bow , review in the New York Times, May 10, 1943
- ↑ Ride to the Ox-Bow. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Ride to the Ox-Bow. In: prisma.de . Retrieved October 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 584/1964