Jubal (1956) User Reviews

Another Fine Fifties Western.

[jpdoherty · 6/10 · 13 April 2010]

A novel called "Jubal Troop" by Paul Wellman was the basis for a fine screenplay by both Russell S.Hughes and director Delmer Daves for the Columbia Pictures' stylish western JUBAL (1956). Produced for the studio by William Fadiman it had all the skill and talent director Daves had injected into previous and future western assignments such as "Broken Arrow" (1950), "The Last Wagon" (1956) and his masterpiece "3 Ten To Yuma"(1957). Photographed by ace cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. on beautiful locations in Wyoming the imposing Grand Tetons make for some amazing backdrops in many scenes. Seven years later Daves and Lawton would return to the same stunning locations for the spectacularly photographed Warner picture "Spencer's Mountain".

JUBAL stars Glenn Ford as Jubal Troop a wandering cowhand who is rescued from near freezing on a mountain trail by passing rancher Shep Horgan (Ernest Borgnine). The rancher takes him back to his spread where he is taken care of and revived. The next day Horgan offers him a job to the chagrin of another cowhand Pinky (Rod Steiger) who has taken an instant dislike to the stranger and even suspects that he could be a sheepherder ("he stinks of sheep dip"). Trouble really begins when Shep's new wife - the flirtatious May (Valerie French) makes a play for the new cowboy. Jubal - being too fond of and grateful to Shep - will have none of it ("you're the boss's wife" he tells her as he walks away from her). But Pinky's hatred and jealously of Jubal sees him plant the lie in Shep's head that his wife is having an affair with the stranger. A furious Shep unwittingly confronts Jubal with a gun in the saloon ("get up Jube or I'll give it to you where you sit") but with the help of his friend (Charles Bronson) Jubal manages to out shoot Shep but regretfully kills him. Pinky now has the reason to round up a posse and go after Jubal who has taken refuge in a pilgrim's wagon train. The picture ends with Pinky beating up May but before she dies she informs the attending doctor (Robert Burton) that it was Pinky's lie that caused all the trouble and not Jubal.

Performances are generally good throughout! Ford gives his usual dependable portrait of a likable western hero. Borgnine is good too in a big co-starring role after his Acadamy Award winning performance in "Marty" (1955) and Valeria French is excellent as the alluring and flirty wife. Wasted though is Felicia Farr making her debut in a syrupy and poorly written role as a pilgrim girl who takes a shine to Jubal. (She made up for it the following year when she and Ford were the brief bar-room lovers in Daves' brilliant "3 Ten To Yuma"). But the acting honours in JUBAL has to go to Rod Steiger as the mean-spirited and contemptible Pinky despite the actor's ill-advised use of a dubious southern accent. Others in the cast are likable bit players such as John Dierkes, Noah Beery Jr. and Basil Ruysdael. And holding the whole thing together nicely is the splendid music score by David Raksin. There is an infectious and jaunty main theme heard first over the titles and carried through for the early scenes. Then there is some exciting cues for the chase sequences and tender music plays under the picture's softer moments. The music from JUBAL is one of the composer's better scores.

JUBAL is a fine memorable western and a splendid addition to the great classics of the fifties.

Beautiful Scenery and Wonderful Acting

[jpholt1 · 8/10 · 29 November 2004]

This dramatic western is just what the doctor ordered. As fresh today as it was in 1956 when I was 2! The scenery alone is so impressive that watching Glenn Ford is just icing on the cake. These titanic actors really nail it on this film. I imagine the 'behind the scenes' horseplay was probably as good as what was captured on film. Ford is handsome as ever and decent down to his toes. Borgnine is a teddy bear that gets burned in the end. Steiger is the bad guy and is perfect for the role. A young Bronson in a small part shines. I watched this on the Western channel, which endlessly plays the same movies over and over. However I had never heard of this movie. Being a Glenn Ford fan, I figured that I'd at least watch the beginning. This film will not disappoint anyone who likes good writing, beautiful scenery and wonderful acting.

Absorbing western tale with spectacular Wyoming scenery and good cast...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 14 August 2007]

JUBAL takes about forty-five minutes to set up its tale of revenge and murder and lust in the dust, but once the plot gets into high gear it becomes highly watchable until the conclusion.

GLENN FORD is an unhappy man on the run who's taken in by rancher ERNEST BORGNINE and his wife VALERIE FRENCH, earning his pay as a helper and suddenly promoted to foreman, much to the annoyance of ROD STEIGER, who wanted the job and also has his eyes on Borgnine's wife.

Ford spends most of the story trying to fend off the advances of Valerie French, who turns out to be a real Jezebel creating trouble between Ford and Borgnine when she makes her hubby believe the lies that jealous Steiger has told him. Before you know it, Ford is in deep trouble with nowhere to run except to seek the help of some peace loving pioneers on a wagon train, and a woman (FELICIA FARR) who wants to help him fight injustice.

Delmer Daves directs the actors through their paces with skill, except that he allows ROD STEIGER to chew too much of the scenery. Steiger struts about as if he's still playing Jud in OKLAHOMA! and never lets up for a moment being a nasty, snarling, cowardly villain. He's so despicable you can't help hating him.

On the other hand, CHARLES BRONSON shows considerable skill as Ford's friend, a gunslinger who saves Ford's life at a crucial moment. The film starts off a little too slowly before it gets to the mid-section where things really start to heat up. From then on, it's a top-rate western with strong performances from most of the cast.

Borgnine may be playing a "nice guy" for a change, but he's still obnoxious and boorish in his behavior and he sometimes overdoes the hearty laughter. His admission that he knows nothing about women or how to treat them, reminds me that "Marty" had the same problem.

Summing up: Good western, excellent photography, nice scenery and one of Glenn Ford's most underrated performances.

Underrated

[dougdoepke · 6 October 2009]

In the mid-1950's writer-director Delmer Daves made a series of superior westerns for Columbia studios. Too bad these films have not gotten their critical due from movie historians or critics. Perhaps it's because they lack the thematic continuity of a Buddy Boetticher or a John Ford to tie them together. Still each entry presents its own distinct virtues and all are greatly entertaining. If the compact, and tautly told "3:10 to Yuma" is the best of the lot, the scenic and sprawling "Jubal" runs a close second. This mid-series film features Glenn Ford's easy-going charm, a rowdy Earnest Borgnine, a luscious Valerie French, and the panoramic backdrop of Jackson Hole Wyoming. And in an odd piece of casting, which Daves seems fond of, method actor extrordinaire Rod Steiger appears as a treacherous ranch hand named of all things, Pinky! Following the dueling styles of Ford vs. Steiger is at least as interesting as the otherwise well-staged outbursts of gunplay.

Judging from other entries, such as 1958's "Cowboy", Daves seems genuinely intrigued by the real life of cowhands. Thus the cowhands in Jubal are more vividly drawn and distinctively presented than their usual role as faceless stage props. The story itself features a fairly explicit (for its time) woman in heat (French), whose scheming shenanigans set off a plot- driving chain of events, while shifting alliances among ranch hands and settlers round out a sprawling and sometimes over-generous plot. And, oh yes, making a sudden appearance half way through, a lonesome Charles Bronson in a tacked on role that perhaps provided a needed payday, (Daves and Bronson had been together in the earlier, oddball essay "Drumbeat".) If none of this sounds good, then just sit back and take in the beautifully photographed alpine landscape that has salvaged many a western much less worthy than "Jubal".

Great Cast of Veteran Actors

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 26 March 2007]

Have not seen this film in years and enjoyed this story in which Glenn Ford, (Jubal Troop) is injured and falls onto a dirt road and is discovered by Ernest Borgnine,(Shep Hogan) and he takes him back to his ranch and in time offers him a job and then a full time position as his top ranch hand. This quick decision causes problems among the other ranch hands who have worked for Shep Hogan a very long time. Rod Steiger,( Pinky Pinkum) instantly resents Jubal Troop and suspects him of being a sheep herder and constantly tells him he smells like sheep poop. Valerie French (Mae Hogan) is a woman who likes to fool around with other men and has tried out most of the ranch hands and she instantly gets hot over Jubal Troop which starts another side to the story.

Good dramatic Western with nice acting and spectacular lanscapes from Grand Teton National Park

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 8 July 2019]

Very tough Western with great acting and masterfully made , it stars Glenn Ford as Jubal. Jube Troop emerges from the dust to stop awhile as a hired hand for jolly rancher, Ernest Borgnine, as he is a cowhand who drifts into trouble with his boss and the boss's seductress wife, the tempter and dissastified Valerie French. As the rancher seeks advice from a foreman about pleasing his spouse, but another cowhand, Rod Steiger, implies him that Jubal is extremely advising his wife. Along the way Jubal falls for a drippy Mennonite, Felicia Farr.

This movie has a formidable combination of fine performances, intense drama and spectacular outdoors. Director Delmer Daves aims for psychological realism with a contemporay treatment of adultery and about an innocent man being hounded and harassed. A blending of talent actors with great leading players of whom Steiger, perhaps, holds the plum character as a two-fisted cowhand, though he delivers an overacting, playing an "Yago" alike figure from play ¨Othello¨ by William Shakespeare, that threatens to overbalance everything. The hothouse plot drives mercilessly forward with twists and turns . The tale is strong one and the yarn is wonderfully located against a background of Montana mountains . Very good main cast , as Glenn Ford , Ernest Borgnine , Valerie French , Felicia Farr , including Rod Steiger who gives a hyper-neurotic interpretation as a cowhand with a lemon-sour nature and a sadistic streak . Support cast is frankly well such as Charles Bronson , Basil Ruysdael , Noah Beery Jr. , John Dierkes and Jack Elam . The literate storyline sustains interest thanks to the twisted relationships and enhanced by cinemascope cinematography by cameraman Charles Lawton Jr. Containing gorgeous outdoors exteriors from Grand Teton National Park . Being well accompanied by a sensitive and moving musical score by David Raskin.

The picture was compellingly directed by Delmer Daves. He was a fine filmmaker who mingled moral or ethic analysis , documentary , lyrism , and large open spaces . Daves made some Western masterpieces , he was one of the greatest directors . As he was a western expert, including titles as ¨Broken arrow¨, the first pro-Indian western with James Stewart , ¨Drum beat¨ with Charles Bronson, ¨The last wagon¨ with Richard Widmark , ¨The badlanders¨ with Alan Ladd and Borgnine, ¨3:10 to Yuma¨ with Glenn Ford, ¨Cowboy¨ with Jack Lemmon, ¨The return of the Texan¨ with Dale Robertson , and ¨The hanging tree¨ with Gary Cooper , among others . Rating 7/10. Better than average

Brooding machismo

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 8 April 2006]

Western drama verging on cowboy soap opera, given typically florid, overheated Delmer Daves direction. Ranch-hand Glenn Ford attempts to avoid the flirtatious advances of his boss's wife, but lingering doubts and gossip eventually turn the situation violent. If this sounds familiar, think Shakespeare's "Othello" in chaps. The terrific male stars (Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, and, in a lesser role, Charles Bronson) are much better than the screenplay, which has them arguing over a woman (Valerie French) who hardly seems worth the trouble. Still, it looks good and builds to a tense, if overripe, conclusion. **1/2 from ****

You know, sometimes I think it's givin' the good Lord the worst of it to say he invented people.

[hitchcockthelegend · 9/10 · 30 January 2011]

Jubal is directed by Delmer Daves and adapted by Daves and Russell S. Hughes from the Paul Wellman novel Jubal Troop. It stars Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, Charles Bronson, Valerie French & Felicia Farr. David Raksin scores the music and Charles Lawton Jr. is the cinematographer. Out of Columbia Pictures it's a CinemaScope/Technicolor production, and location for the shoot is Jackson Hole, The Grand Tetons, Wyoming, USA.

Jubal Troop (Ford) is found exhausted out on the range and given shelter at a nearby ranch owned by Shep Horgan (Borgnine). Shep oversees Jubal's recovery and offers him a job as part of his ranch team. This is met with objection by Shep's leading man Pinky (Steiger), but Shep is undeterred and Jubal goes on to prove his worth in the position. Shep and Jubal get on great, but trouble is brewing because Shep's pretty Canadian wife Mae (French) has taken quite a shine to Jubal. This further enrages Pinky and a hornets nest is stirred, spelling trouble for practically everyone.

Delmer Daves' (Dark Passage/Broken Arrow) Jubal is often likened to William Shakespeare's Othello, that's something that, whilst being flattering, is best ignored. For Jubal, and its makers, deserve credit in their own right for producing such a tight, tense, adult Western. It's a film that's driven by characters who are caught in a web of jealousy and suppressed emotions, with the underrated Daves bringing some psychological dimensions into the narrative. He's also a director who knows that such a story benefits greatly by not including action and violence just for the sake of upping the tempo. He paces this film to precision, winding up the tension to breaking point, then to unleash all the pent up fury on the viewers - and even then he (correctly) chooses to keep some critical moments off the screen, gaining results far better than if stuff had actually been shown the audience (two shots in the finale are stupendously memorable).

This griping human drama is played out in front of magnificent scenery, where Daves and Lawton Jr. (3:10 to Yuma/Comanche Station) utilise the CinemaScope and Technicolor facilities to their maximum potential, filling the widescreen frame with majestic mountains,vibrant slanted forests and rolling grassy hills. The Grand Tetons location had previously been used in other notable Western movies such as The Big Trail, The Big Sky and famously for George Stevens' Shane, while post Jubal it served as a considerable purpose for Dances with Wolves. All of this grandeur for the eyes is boosted by Raksin's (Laura/Fallen Angel) score, with gentle swirls for the tender Jubal/Naomi thread and rushes for the posse sequences, it's an arrangement very at one with the mood and tempo of the story.

The cast list oozes star power and gets performances to match. Ford is a master at roles calling for underplayed intensity, and that's exactly what he gives Jubal Troop. Keeping the characters' cards close to his chest in the beginning, Ford pitches it perfect as the emotionally bottled up drifter. Borgnine, a year after his Oscar win for Marty, is perfect foil to Ford's calmness, he's in turn big and boisterous, often crude, yet under the bluster is a sweet and honest man. And there in the middle of the three men is Steiger bringing the method. Pinky is brooding, devious and one pulse beat away from being psychotic, but Steiger, with a menacing drawl flowing out of his mouth, is creepily mannered. Steiger and Daves clashed over how to play Pinky, the director wanting something more akin to Ford's serene like role play, but Steiger wanted it played bitter and coiled spring like - the actor getting his way when producer William Fadiman sided with him.

Valerie French (Decision at Sundown) looks beautiful in Technicolor, and in spite of an accent problem, does a neat line in how to play a smoldering fuse in a box of fire crackers. Felicia Farr (The Last Wagon) is the polar opposite, religiously comely and virginal, she's a touch underused but the play off with French impacts well in the story. Key support goes to Charles Bronson (The Magnificent Seven) as Reb, loyal friend to Jubal. Played with laid back machismo, it's something of what would become the trademark Bronson performance. Other notables in the support cast are the always value for money Noah Beery Jr. (Wagons West), John Dierkes (The Hanging Tree) and Jack Elam (The Man From Laramie).

Damn fine film that's worthy of being sought out by those interested in the best of the 1950s slew of Adult Westerns. 8.5/10

The cowboy Othello

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 30 September 2018]

Jubal is really Othello goes out west. The casting of Rod Steiger also reminds you of the jealous ranch hand he played in Oklahoma.

Shep Horgan (Ernest Borgnine) is a kindly wealthy jolly ranch owner who hires the down on his luck drifter Jubal (Glenn Ford) to work for him. Shep has not been long married to wife Mae (Valerie French) who was attracted to his money but no his looks or slobbishness. Pinky (Rod Steiger) is the mean envious cow hand who is attracted to Mae and fools around with her.

Pinky is the Iago who sows suspicion in Shep that Jubal is messing around with his wife. In truth Mae has flirted with Jubal and he had always rebuffed her, in due respect to the kindness shown to him by Shep.

Once Shep is out of the way, Pinky gets the the other farm hands to go after Jubal by spreading further lies.

This is a melodrama about deceit and jealousy. There are nice sensitive performances from Borgnine, Ford and Charles Bronson. Steiger is rather unrestrained in his scenery chewing, it is a wonder he was not called out earlier for stirring the pot.

A great and sadly under-valued western

[MOscarbradley · 9/10 · 7 July 2009]

Othello out West. Delmar Daves' great and unjustly neglected western finds Glenn Ford's title character falling prey to ranch-hand Rod Steiger's Iago-like jealously when Ernest Borgnine's Othello-like father figure picks him as his foreman and surrogate son. Throw in the machinations of wife Valerie French who has the hots for Ford and it isn't difficult for Steiger to convince Borgnine that there's something going on.

If Shakespeare's play is the blueprint, Daves' film is suitably complex in its own right and if Steiger displays a tendency to chew the scenery as he was wont to do, both Borgnine and Ford are outstanding, with Ford in particular proving something of a revelation. He has a terrific scene with Felicia Farr in which he describes his appalling childhood and how it made him the man he is. It's also magnificently photographed in cinemascope by Charles Lawton Jr; the exterior scenes are often breathtaking while the interiors use the widescreen to superb spatial effect.

Othello Out West

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 26 July 2014]

Solid western directed by Delmer Daves. It tells the story of a cowboy named Jubal (Glenn Ford) who is hired by rancher Shep (Ernest Borgnine) and catches the eye of Shep's young wife (Valerie French). This doesn't sit well with Pinky (Rod Steiger), who works for Shep and has been having an affair with his wife.

Essentially a western reworking of Othello with Ford as Cassio, Borgnine as Othello, French as Desdemona and Steiger as Iago. The leads are all terrific. Fine direction, script, music, and beautiful Wyoming location shooting. Nice supporting cast includes Charles Bronson, Jack Elam, Noah Beery Jr., and Felicia Farr. A very good western from a decade full of them. Definitely recommended.

I can't help but think of other films..

[schappe1 · 8/10 · 24 March 2007]

I love discovering old films that I'd never seen before. It's as if the stars became young again or alive again and made another film just for me. Glenn Ford, Rod Steiger, Charles Bronson, Jack Elam and others are gone now, (and I haven't seen Ernie Borgnine in anything in years-although he's still working per the IMDb), but there they are in a very fine wide-screen western from 1956.

The Western hit a peak in the 1950's. In the pre-war period, it was a specialty genre that was mostly for juvenile audiences with singing cowboys and such. Occasionally there was an historical epic. What was missing were A-level pictures with top stars, strong stories and good production values. When John Ford, after several years doing other types of films, returned to the Western with "Stagecoach" in 1939 that began to change. He and Howard Hawks and others proved the Western could be a major adult genre that major stars would want to be a part of. By the 50's every major star and most of the top directors did westerns on a routine basis. There must be three dozen 50's westerns that are at least three star movies on a scale of four and Jubal is certainly one of them. The era ended when the adult western on TV started giving people for free what they were getting on the big screen. Then the times changed and westerns started to seem passé'. Looking at the really good ones from this era shows us what we've lost.

Still, despite the quality of this film, you can't help but think of other films as you watch it. There's the Grand Teton scenery, reminiscent of the greatest of all westerns, Shane. The story is alternately out of Othello or maybe the Bible, whatever you prefer. Rod Steiger is basically playing the same character he did in the previous year's Oklahoma. But the thing that really jumped out at me is that here we have the two Marty's. Steiger played the Bronx butcher in the original 1953 teleplay and Borgnine won an Oscar for it in the 1955 film. He's picked it up on 3/21/56, two weeks before this film opened. One wonders how Steiger, who surely wanted the role, and Borgnine, who got it, got along with each other during the filming of Jubal. They even have a fist-fight scene. But they were two professional actors playing roles other than Marty, so it probably made no difference.

Actually, the roles they play kind of parallel their performances as Marty. Steiger in most of his roles is a tortured introvert. Borgnine is a misunderstood extrovert. That's how they played Marty and that's how they play their roles here. It fits the story like a glove. There's even several references to how Valerie French finds him ugly and repulsive. Maybe he should have married Clara, (the girl from Marty).

well worth seeing

[rupie · 7/10 · 19 November 2012]

I caught this on Comcast's list of free movies, and considering the overall quality level of the flicks Comcast offers for free, I wasn't expecting much. However, I watched it after reading the generally positive comments here, and those comments were correct.

There are so many westerns that, just by the law of averages, most of them are mediocre, but "Jubal" is an unexpected standout. The plot - a reworking of "Othello" as has been noted - is a disquisition on the themes of jealousy, loyalty, honor, betrayal, and friendship. Those themes have been done ad infinitum in other movies but I think two things stand put in "Jubal." First is the very high quality of the script. The dialogue is spare, straightforward and free of the hackneyed prose so endemic to most westerns. Second is the outstanding level of the acting, which is perhaps not unexpected with the likes of the great (and greatly underrated) Glenn Ford, Rod Steiger, Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson. Another factor that doesn't hurt is the outstanding cinematography of western vistas.

A surprising sleeper, not to be missed if you get the chance to see it.

Meh

[zetes · 5/10 · 29 March 2015]

I did not like this at all. At best, it might have been a serviceable Western. Glenn Ford plays Jubal Troop (amusing name), who stumbles upon a ranch run by Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine hires him and likes him so much he soon makes him the foreman. Unfortunately, there's a jerk who's been there a lot longer than Ford who resents him. Even more unfortunately, he's played by Rod Steiger with a Cajun accent. Steiger absolutely stinks this film up. Every moment he's on screen I hated it. There's not too much interest besides that, though. Ford's character is mostly a bore, really disappointing considering how awesome he was when they gave him something to work with in 3:10 to Yuma the next year. A lot of the plot revolves around Borgnine's whore of a wife, Valerie French, who isn't very good, either. Ford's love interest, Felicia Farr, is a bore, too. Charles Bronson also appears. The color cinematography is pretty good.

A tragically underrated film

[MisterMickey · 3 July 2002]

is a perfect way to express how I feel about JUBAL. Director Delmar Daves takes an outstanding Western cast & takes a Shakespearean tragedy, then mixes the two elements. The result is not only one of the best westerns of the 1950s, but one of the best films of the decade, & one of the best westerns ever. From the performance of the entire cast, to Raskin's score, it's outstanding all around.

Don't miss this one. Just see it again & again.

Glenn Ford has done better Westerns

[jordondave-28085 · 6/10 · 12 May 2023]

(1956) Jubal WESTERN

Said by several movie critics that it works, partially because it was like a play from a Shakespeare play called "Othello" even though it's originally adapted from a novel written by Paul Wellman, co-written and directed by Delmer Davies, the movie stars Glenn Ford coincidentally getting picked up while passed out lying on the ground by a person who happens to be passing through while riding a wagon by cattle owner Shep Horgan played by film veteran Ernest Borgnine. Anyways, as he's hanging around in a cabin it is soon revealed that he used to work as a sheep man and gets scolded by other worker Pinky (Rod Steiger) setting the stage for tension and for total control. Theirs also a woman involved in this set up as well who happens to be the wife of the cattle owner her name is Naomi (Felicia Farr) but does not seem to be in love with the person she is married to. I have to say while I was watching this, the movie didn't remind me of "Othello" but two previous movies also starring Glenn Ford,. From the movie's point-of-view, this film reminded me of "Gilda" because it too was also that film which the male star refuses intimate advances from the owners wife which almost works in the same manner as the character played by Rita Hayworth and the other movie is another Western movie called "Sheepman". I just thought much of the third act was predictable which was the reason why it deserves just a pass.

Two - Step Shooting

[ragosaal · 6/10 · 28 November 2006]

This is an unpretentious and entertaining western shot on open wide-location in beautiful color that deals with friendship, loyalty, jealousy, treason and killing.

But what demerits the film in my opinion and makes it just a standard one in its genre is that sort of "two-step shooting" style Glenn Ford and his friend Charles Bronson use whenever Ford needs to get into action. What if Bronson is not around when Ford is in trouble? isn't it more reasonable for the man to carry his own gun as everybody else does? if Ford hates guns, why he doesn't hesitate when he has to use one? This whole thing is not very believable and totally unnecessary.

As for the rest, the film is watchable and has some good and strong moments. Good cast too with convincing performances out of Ford, Rod Steiger and Ernest Borgnine. Valerie French and Felicia Farr are alright too each one in her own character's style.

Just for the record: in Argentina "Jubal" was renamed as "El Hombre Pacífico" (something like "The Peaceful Man").

a near-perfect Western that benefits enormously from gallant scenery and a plethora of solid performances

[TheUnknown837-1 · 7/10 · 13 February 2011]

When Shakespeare's "Othello" met the Western movie in 1956 with director Delmer Daves commanding a cast and crew in the Grand Teton Range, the result was "Jubal": a solid, near-perfect gem that benefits enormously from gallant scenery and a plethora of solid performances. It derives from a Paul Wellman novel, about a cow hand who is found on the road by a cattleman. The cattleman hires him on his ranch and later promotes him to foreman, much to the disdain of his best hand and to the pleasure of his unhappy wife, who has taken a shine to the stranger.

The title character is played by Glenn Ford, the same wonderful actor who appeared in such movies as "Gilda," "Cowboy," and "3:10 to Yuma" another Delmer Daves classic. As with all of his performances, Mr. Ford plays his character with a steady, calm, and naturalistic manner. Throughout his career Mr. Ford would tell people that he never really acted; he only played himself. Well, he certainly must have been a real charismatic personality, because that is evident in all his roles, especially in this one. He plays the noble cowboy in a believable, non-hyperbolic manner and that is what, I think, carries the whole movie.

It also benefits from some other very good performances by Ernest Borgnine as the cattleman, the lovely Valerie French as his wife, and Rod Steiger as the jealous ranch hand. Mr. Ford has great interaction with all three of these characters, especially with Ms French. Their scenes together are the best and they do not go in the direction that one expects them to. By doing so, somehow they are more moving and charismatic that if they had taken the conventional route. I won't give away how so; I want you to see for yourself.

The four leads are very good. I've already touched on Mr. Ford. Mr. Borgnine is his usual self, I doubt he ever gave a less-than-satisfactory performance or ever will. Ms French is beautiful but more than scenic in the role of the leading lady. Mr. Steiger is unnerving, just as his role requires him to be. Charles Bronson plays a supporting role that I wish had been larger, but does so with conviction as usual. If there's a weak performance in the movie, it's by Felicia Farr as the rawhider girl who Jubal takes a shine to. But apart from her, you get your money's worth in the acting department.

"Jubal" is not an entirely perfect movie because there are a few supporting roles and story lines that are not as furthered as they should have been, but the movie overall is very beneficial by what it has and is first-class entertainment for Western fans.

Three Into Two Won't Go

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 27 July 2004]

Well you've got three men out at the Horgan Ranch, Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, and Rod Steiger. And you got two gals on the scene, Felicia Farr and Valerie French. Valerie is married to Ernie, been fooling around with Rod and suddenly drops Rod when Glenn arrives, having been rescued by the Horgan cowhands. Ernie, who hasn't a clue what's going on with Valerie, takes a liking to Glenn and makes the stranger his foreman. Glenn in the meantime takes a shine to Felicia who's with some kind of Mennonite group traveling west. Rod's upset because Valerie's dumped him and Glenn already has a girl. And that sets the stage for the later events.

This may be a glib synopsis, but this is a nicely photographed adult western with some themes not usually explored in the Saturday matinée shoot-em-ups. The whole cast fills their roles very well and among the supporting players, particular kudos should go to Charles Bronson as Ford's friend and Basil Ruysdael as the leader of the Mennonites.

This film was made in the afterglow of Borgnine's Oscar win with Marty and he was starting to get some good parts, not your standard movie thugs. It's also interesting to compare Ford, Steiger, and Borgnine playing three different types by three very different actors.

Two Words: Valerie French

[jcremona · 7/10 · 15 August 2007]

Valerie French as "Mae" is smokin' hot in this film, and a good thing she is. You see, the plot pivots on whether you believe there is a strong temptation for Ford or any other red-blooded male who comes in contact with her. She's a total sexpot and she really works it well on screen. I wonder why she didn't become a bigger star?

Earnest Borgnine does a great job with Shep, making him a very likable character, not forced or overacted.

Good, solid film with a unique breakdown of Ford's character when he talks to Felicia Farr's "Naomi" about his relationship with his mother. Rod Steiger is outstanding as usual.

The music caught my attention as this powerful adult Western in constant suspense...

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 8/10 · 22 August 1999]

When a Wyoming cattle king, Shep Horgan (Ernest Borgnine), receives Jubal Troop (Glenn Ford) in his ranch, his presence arouses strong emotions for his attractive young Canadian wife Mae...

Shep, a friendly good-natured husband and the best loved man in the territory, offers his help and trust to Jubal and names him his foreman... Shep was proud of the "sheep-herding friend" who got lost in the blizzard, and came over the pass from Montana, running from "bad luck."

Mae (Valerie French), a rancher's wanton wife, spins the plot by her attentions to the disinterested cowboy Jubal, which further stirs up the surly range rider (Rod Steiger) with whom she had previously been carrying on an affair, unknown to her genteel husband...

Truthful and straightforward, Jubal is caught between a loyal friend and an insistent desirous unfaithful wife who considers her husband's fine ranch a "10,000 acres of lonesomeness."

Mae was not in love with her unattractive husband... She thought she just picked the right guy to patch it up with... She even considered an evil plan in her mind... Maybe another affair, a new love, a murder...

One night, she went crazy... She lied to Shep telling him that Jubal was here in their room, in their bed... She yelled angrily in pain: "I'm sick to my stomach every time you kiss me. Let go of me. I hate you. I hate the way you look at me. I hate every single thing about you. I love him. Do you hear? I love Jube."

In that moment, Mae inflames a torrid fuse of sex, jealousy and revenge which make of Delmer Daves' "Jubal" a rather engrossing piece of adult entertainment...

Glenn Ford was honest in his feelings toward his boss ("Shep made me feel like somebody. Shep gave me a reason for living.") ignoring that he was caught in a net of lies, murder, and uncontrolled passions...

Rod Steiger was exceptional as the sadistic top hand who strongly disliked Jubal's gizzard... Pinky spots Mae's sights on Jubal... His jealous was so great as his strong sexual desire for the ex-lover...

In her film debut, Felicia Far was the radiant and beautiful as the little Rawhider responding to expert handling...

"Jubal" returned Charles Bronson to the West and to the company of director Delmer Daves, with whom he had made "Drum Beat." Cast as a ranch-hand friend of Ford's in the employ of Borgnine, Bronson contributes his natural masculine presence to this psychological Western...

Set against the mountainous fertile valley of the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, and beautifully photographed in CinemaScope and Technicolor, "Jubal" is a powerful adult Western in constant suspense...

Keeps you interested.

[qormi · 6/10 · 16 December 2012]

Pretty good oater. Rod Stieger is authentically hateful as the scheming,conniving, lying,cowardly bully. Borgnine is solid as the crude but nice rancher. Ford should have just opened up to the boss and told him what was going on with his flirtatious wife. You have to be pretty dumb to stand by and let it play out like that. Also, he should have just shot Stieger in the gut after he fired a bullet close to his head with a rifle and then gloated about it. He should have at least have beaten him senseless well before things got out of hand....Like when they first met and Stieger kept insulting him and calling him names; even burning his clothes while Ford slept.....time to pound some face. Not much credibility here. Beautiful scenery. The story was engrossing and well- paced.The film was not hampered by silly soundtrack music typical of the times. It was suspenseful; the tension made me feel uncomfortable, and the film built up empathy for the characters. But in the end, it seemed too fabricated...not really all that intelligent.

Glenn Ford and Charles Bronson

[NewEnglandPat · 8/10 · 24 June 2003]

This western is a rewarding film that has a great cast and the wonderful scenery of Wyoming's Grand Tetons. The tragic elements of high drama are here in this solid adult western where a wife's unhappiness and flawed values conspire to make an innocent man a fugitive from justice. Glenn Ford is the traditional western cowboy, a man of strength, toughness, and character who becomes a trusted ranch foreman while spurning the advances of an amorous but insecure married woman. Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, and Charles Bronson are great in this film. Felicia Farr and Valerie French are also excellent in romantic angles as women with very different approaches to relationships with men. This western deserves greater popularity than it has received.

"I wouldn't come too close to this if I were you. You might get burned."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 12 April 2014]

About a week before seeing this film I caught Ernest Borgnine in his Oscar winning performance in the 1955 picture "Marty". So with that still fresh in my mind, I was struck by a comment Borgnine's character Shep Horgan made in this picture when he stated that he 'can't change his ugly face none'. That was the whole idea in "Marty", how a less than attractive man in his mid Thirties had a hard time finding someone that he could fall in love with and eventually marry.

Well I guess the film makers took that problem out of Shep Horgan's hands by pairing him up in an unlikely marriage to the vivacious Valerie French. They're an obvious mismatch, and Horgan doesn't do his wife or himself any favors by treating her like any other piece of property on his ranch. So when Jubal Troop (Glenn Ford) shows up and takes a job with Horgan, wife Mae (French) starts flashing her sparkling eyes and curvaceous body in his direction. All enough to create a palpable tension between Jubal and Horgan's top hand, Pinky Pinkum (Rod Steiger).

I have to admit, the name Pinky took me off stride for a while, and I had to wonder how a tough ranch hand would allow himself to go by that name. Steiger's character was a roughneck from the word go, and the name just didn't fit, so that was a bit of a distraction for me. He was also pretty much a jerk for most of the picture, squaring off against Ford's character and behaving shamefully as a suitor for the boss's wife. She must have been REALLY bored to put up with him before Jubal came around.

As expected, the story sets up a compromising situation for Jubal, and things get more complicated when Jubal shoots his new boss in a forced showdown. A better alternative might have had Ford go up against Steiger with guns blazing, but in any event, Pinky got what was coming to him.

Overall, not a bad little Western, with players other than Ford that you generally don't see in the genre. Adding a nice touch in support was Charles Bronson who made quick friends with Jubal, and Jack Elam as foreman of the Bar-8 Ranch. who I would have liked to see have a larger role in the story.

Ho-hum characters in an unrealized tale set in beautiful Wyoming

[davdecrane · 5/10 · 20 March 2010]

A stolid Western offering minor interest because it focuses more on love and jealousy than action and violence, Jubal still feels like a long day in the saddle. The acting is generally according to type and nothing more: Glenn Ford is laconic if not emotionally stunted, with eyes that never display any emotion; Ernest Borgnine is better, a bit tamped down from his usual volatile self, though he stills careens from best-buddy to big threat; Valerie French is terrible as the bad Canadian (!) hussy but the role is mostly a device to animate Rod Steiger's jealous Pinky. He's the best character in the movie, but still one dimensional with no arc: bad to the bone from beginning till the end. Ford's eponymous Jubal character actually has a backstory out of Sergio Leone (a mother who wanted him to drown) but he reveals it in an unmotivated scene with Felicia Farr's young Mormon. (As always, the real fault lies with the screenwriter.) More interesting to watch than the characters is the beautiful Jackson Hole scenery, a welcome change from the dusty California backdrop of most oaters.