BEND OF THE RIVER (1952)
ANTHONY MANN
Plot
The second of the terrific Stewart/Mann Westerns is characteristic of their pairings: adult themes played out against prairie vistas in which betrayal and violence can erupt at any time. Formerly a vicious Missouri raider, Stewart now leads an Oregon bound wagon train that, having brushed aside ineffective Native American resistance to the invasion, becomes embroiled in a conflict over resources between farmers (decent folk) and miners (womanising, drinking, thieving, scumbags). Welcome to Middle America.