Vengeance knows no age

Anthony Quinn, left, Dana Andrews, Henry Fonda and Frank Conroy
contributed wonderful performances to The Ox-Bow Incident.

The Ox-Bow Incident

(1943, Twentieth Century-Fox)

Starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews,

Anthony Quinn, Harry Morgan, Harry Davenport

Screenplay by Lamar Trotti

Directed by William Wellman

“A man just naturally can’t take the law into his own hands

and hang people without hurtin’ everybody
in the world.” — Gil Martin

Classic films often are “classic” because they continue to be relevant long after their release. That’s certainly the case with The Ox-Bow Incident, a 70-year-old picture that resonates with today’s headlines. In an age when terrorist attacks prompt a fearful populace to demand the instant identification of the perpetrators, regardless of the innocent lives that are ruined before the true killers are captured, this study of how prejudice and the often irresistible thirst for vengeance takes a heavy toll on everyone deserves attention.

The film is classified as a western because of its setting, but few of the usual conventions found in westerns are present. And the wide-open spaces so common of films in the genre are mostly exchanged for obvious studio and backlot sets, whose close quarters add to the claustrophobic feel of the tragic story.

It all starts in a small Nevada town, where a report of a popular rancher’s murder sparks the formation of a posse to track down the alleged killers and lynch them, despite the urging of a judge and a store owner to bring the offenders in to face trial. Eventually, the posse stumbles upon three sleeping men with a herd of cattle, and circumstantial evidence points to them being the killers. Donald Martin (Dana Andrews), the boss of the outfit, unsuccessfully pleads their innocence.

The shop owner and Gil Carter (Fonda) are moved by Martin and try to persuade the others to do the right thing. But the majority votes to hang the men, and the deed is carried out in a scene in which the dreadful act isn’t pictured, but the impact certainly isn’t lessened. Of course, the men are innocent, as it’s soon revealed the rancher is still alive and those responsible have been arrested.

The Ox-Bow Incident features a well-written, dark and compelling story of the danger of mob rule, as well as some striking performances, especially by Andrews. Fonda’s character is a witness as some individuals in the mob have other motives for committing the lynching while most were easily led down this slippery slope. Eventually, Gil stops being a witness and tries, in vain, to halt the inevitable.

Heavy stuff, I know, but great films often challenge audience members and enlighten those who take up the challenge.