“Jubal” is an enjoyable film, mostly thanks to the great performances by Glenn Ford (Jubal), Ernest Borgnine (Shep), and Valerie French (Mae). Rod Steiger (‘Pinky’ Pinkum) is not bad as the jealous bad cowboy who hates sheepherders but a bit over the top at times.
Other highlights:
The catchy music by David Raksin.
The Technicolor CinemaScope photography by Al Clark.
French’s gowns by Jean Louis, who also designed Rita Hayworth’s Gilda’s dress, and Gloria Graham’s “In a Lonely Place” clothes.
At times, writers and directors challenged the Hays Code when it came to punishing bad guys/gals. I think this was easier to achieve in the ‘darkness’ of film noir. “Jubal” has some noir characteristics, but it’s after all a Western, so the flirty woman (spoiler alert) had to be punished and beaten to death. And of course, she couldn’t be from the United States, she’s Canadian.
I watched “Jubal” the day after seeing “Man Wanted” (William Dieterle, 1932). Both films had extra-marital affairs and sexy, strong women, although magazine editor Lois Ames (Kay Francis) in the pre-Code film is definitely more emancipated. A plus for the romantic comedy is that no one has to die at the end for being bad. I like that better.
Nevertheless, I’d still watch “Jubal” again.
DWith classic noirs like Dark Passage (1947) and The Red House (1947) under his belt, Delmer Daves in the late 50’s directed a number of noir western crossovers, including Jubal, a tense drama about a dejected drifter named Jubal Troop (Glenn Ford) who befriends and takes a job with cattle ranch owner Shep Horgan (Ernest Borgnine), whose much younger, sex-starved wife Mae (Valerie French) has her own ideas. While the setup brings to mind The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), the story takes a Shakespearean turn when the evil Iago-like character, in this case the jealous ranch hand Pinky (Rod Steiger), plots to destroy Shep’s trust in Jubal by whispering deadly lies in his ear. Felicia Farr plays Jubal’s actual love interest, a young girl from a Christian wagon train; some may find the romantic subplot extraneous, but Daves uses it effectively to reveal Jubal’s backstory and psychological complexity. Cinematographer Lawton’s mountain vistas are breathtaking, and his nighttime lighting traps characters in plenty of noir corners, but the highlights are the performances: French is a ruthless but believable nymphomaniac, Steiger is a uniquely fascinating scumbag, and Ford does some of his best acting here. Even Charles Bronson turns up.
