Search - The Ox-Bow Incident on DVD

Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children Movie Release: 1943 DVD Release: 11/04/2003 Format: DVD - Black and White - Closed Captioned Edition: Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 15 mins Studio: 20th Century Fox Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Western, Message Movie, Psychological Western

This now-classic indictment of mob rule was a pet project of both star Henry Fonda and director William Wellman, both of whom agreed to work on lesser 20th Century-Fox projects in exchange for this film. After a hard winter on the range, cowboys Gil Carter (Fonda) and Art Croft (Harry Morgan) ride into a fleabitten small town for a drink. Within minutes, they get mixed up in a barroom brawl, which earns them the animosity of the locals. By and by, word reaches town that a local rancher has been killed by rustlers. With the sheriff out of town, a lynch mob is formed under the leadership of Major Tetley (Frank Conroy), a former Confederate officer who hopes to recapture past glories. Worried that they'll be strung up, Carter and Croft reluctantly join the mob and head out of town. In the dark of night, the group comes across three sleeping transients: a farmer named Martin (Dana Andrews), a Mexican (Anthony Quinn), and a senile old man (Francis Ford). The fact that Martin carries no bill of sale written by the so-called murder victim is evidence enough for Tetley to demand that the three men be hanged on the spot. Carter knows that this is a gross miscarriage of justice, but he's helpless to intervene. Resolving himself to his fate, Martin gives Carter a letter to deliver to his wife. The three unfortunates die at the end of the rope, and the mob rides off, only to discover that there never was a murder of any kind. Based on a novel by Walter van Tilburg Clark, The Ox-Bow Incident is not so much a western as a gothic melodrama, with deep, looming shadows and atmospheric underlighting worthy of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Though the film lost a fortune at the box office (a fact that Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck never tired of pointing out to Fonda and Wellman), it gains in stature with each passing year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Henry Fonda - Gil Carter
Dana Andrews - Donald Martin
Mary Beth Hughes - Rose Mapen
Anthony Quinn - Mexican
Jane Darwell - Ma Grier

Henry Fonda gave one of his finest performances in this classic Western drama, which has been given a fine presentation for this DVD release. The Ox-Bow Incident has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Viewers can choose between the original audio track in Dolby Digital Mono, a remixed version in Dolby Digital Stereo, and a dubbed Spanish track in Dolby Digital Mono. The disc also includes optional subtitles in English and Spanish. Bonus material for this edition includes a commentary track featuring film historian Dick Eulain and William Wellman Jr., son of the film's director William Wellman; a documentary on Henry Fonda produced for the television series Biography; a gallery of production stills; and a short feature on the restoration of the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide