Jubal

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.