The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) Reviews

girl by locker says: While The Oxbow Incident is a solid movie with solid performers, it is another movie about mob psychology. Since we began Cinema Cram, this is our 3rd movie dealing with the subject with Fury even including trumped up charges against newcomers to town. While I can certainly appreciate the movie, I just really wasn't interested in watching it. It is a powerful topic, and one that obviously impacted early American culture. I assume that is why the subject keeps infiltrating movie themes. 


I did love the scene early in the movie when the two drifters roll into town and go to the bar for a whiskey. They observe a painting in which a man is reaching toward and scantily clad woman. One observes how he seems to be moving so slow and the bartender says he feels sorry for the guy - always reaching but never getting what he's after.

I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars on Netflix. The only reason I'm not giving it a 2 is because I would have liked it better if I hadn't watched the other movies. 

Juror #3 says: I would be interested in finding out the real-world events/policies that led to the flood of mob vengeance movies in the 1930's and 40's.  It was clearly a topic on the psyche (which makes me guess that racial inequality and/or class warfare was the subconscious parasite in this case).  The Ox Bow Incident is another example of citizens taking the law into their own hands, only to gain vengeance on the wrong men.  Of course it's always a compelling topic but in this case the twist is seen from a mile away.  

The Ox Bow is dialogue-heavy and I can't imagine it would have been considered a "classic" if it hadn't been for a young Henry Fonda.  The overall movie may have felt a little blah to me but, from a film study perspective, I always enjoy seeing actors and actresses that have "screen presence."  Henry Fonda proves worthy of that definition.  He becomes the focal point of every scene whether it's intentional or not.  How does that happen?  

Overall though the movie was a bit flat to me, too much passive dialogue and an obvious twist.  If you're searching for a mob vengeance movie I'd recommend sticking to "M" or "The Informer."  But good ol' Henry added enough flavor all by himself to compel me to rate The Ox Bow Incident 3/5 stars on Netflix.  

Fury (1936) Reviews

juror #3 says:

The films in the thirties appear to be somewhat fascinated by mob justice.  We referenced this in our review for The Informer, comparing it to the fabulous ending in the movie M.  In Fury, Fritz Lang returns to the popular theme albeit with a twist.  Unlike M where Lang questions our right to judgment, in Fury he makes the decision to confront the viewer head-on with the dreaded “what if”…what if you’re wrong?  Spencer Tracy does a fantastic job playing the moral bond holding his family together, but after he is wrongly imprisoned while on the way to reunite with the love of his life he is “crucified” by the townspeople’s assumptions.  Well, we THOUGHT he was crucified, but Tracy returns from a miraculous escape with a bitter and angry demeanor.  He’s prepared for revenge and doesn’t care the cost.  No mercy will be shown to those who took the law into their own hands. 

I enjoyed Fury for it’s character arc even if I found the end a bit quick and not particularly well developed.  And it’s worth noting that I fell in love with Sylvia Sidney and have since looked up her film resume.  Lang knew what he was doing with his stories and I appreciate the small touches he adds to his films to help round out a scene.  The ending disappointed slightly but overall I was entertained.  I’ll rate it a 4/5.

girl by locker says:

Fury is the second Fritz Lang movie we have watched during our 1930's cinema study. His first movie of our curriculum, M, has so far been my favorite we have seen of the decade and Fury isn’t too far behind. Lang is obviously interested in the study of mob violence and the destructive forces it can unleash in people, as it is a theme we saw in both movies. I wonder if Lang’s escape from Nazi Germany and the mass violence that he presumably witnessed first hand had a lot of influence on the topic. I assume yes.

In the US during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, I generally associate lynching and mob violence with race relations and this movie makes no mention that the majority of this violence was geared toward African Americans. I don’t see that as a huge problem as I think the point of the movie was to look at how humans react to hysteria and not to comment on race. To be honest, I think the movie would have been too controversial to get made had it also dealt with race as well.

I liked how the movie jumped from a bland love story, to an action flick with the mob hysteria and ultimately a courtroom drama. It was an interesting juxtaposition of scenes. I give this a 4/5 stars on Netflix.