Jubal is the kind of adult western that was rare even in the heyday of Western production in Hollywood. A great cast, strong writing, and beautiful scenery makes it that much more enjoyable.Jubal is a luckless drifter, played by Ford who is rescued from exposure and starvation by wealthy rancher Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine soons put Jubal to work as a ranch hand. Borgnine has a very young and beautiful wife, played by Valerie French. She takes a strong liking to Jubal, which not only complicates his relationship with Borgnine, but further strains his dealings with a jealous fellow ranch hand Pinky, played by Rod Steiger. Things go downhill from there.
Add Felicia Farr playing her normal stalwart Western beauty and Charles Bronson as a friend of Jubal's, and you have the making of a great film. It's way past time that this was on DVD.
Add to this mix a group of trespassing Mennonites (or perhaps Quakers) who have in their company Felicia Farr, a godly woman that attracts Ford's romantic interests, and Charles Bronson, another drifter who befriends Ford.
WHAT WORKS: For the first hour and ten minutes or so "Jubal" is captivating cinema of the highest order. Borgnine is simpleminded & naive but likable and full of mirth. Valerie French is fully clothed at all times, yet somehow oozes sexuality with every simple glance or word (proving that sexiness involves way more than merely showing skin). Rod Steiger is perfect as the villainous Southerner-turned-Westerner "Pinky." Felicia Farr is an interesting addition to the story: her godly purity attracts Ford just as much as French's adulterous tactics turn him off.
As for the young Charles Bronson, how can you go wrong? And, lastly, Glenn Ford is perfect as the tragedy-laden drifter.
A big bonus is that the film was shot on location with the mighty Grand Tetons as a backdrop for the entire story. These magnificent Wyoming mountains are nothing short of breathtaking!
WHAT DOESN'T WORK: A little after the hour mark a major character buys the farm, resulting in the last half-hour tying up loose ends and somehow losing the yarn's ultra-captivating charm. I'm not saying the ending is bad, not at all, just that it's mediocre compared to the rest of the film. This is the only reason the flick rates 4-Stars instead of 5-Stars in my mind.
Also, although the opening credits score is understandably dated, the rest of the film is not.
CONCLUSION: Make no mistake, "Jubal" is a powerful psychological Western; there's thankfully no Disney-like unrealistic vibe anywhere to be found. It expertly touches on issues of friendship, envy, jealousy, competition, lust, hate, love, and hope. In light of this, I'm genuinely surprised at how underrated "Jubal" is in the Western genre.
Let me add that Jubal is a man of fascinatingly noble character: he amazingly resists the skilled sexual advances of the luscious Valerie French. Kinda reminds me of Joseph and Potiphar's wife.
"Jubal" is a MUST for every person's Western film library.
Buy Jubal (Criterion Collection) (1956) Now
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".
Read Best Reviews of Jubal (Criterion Collection) (1956) Here
Seems I agree with critic anne on just about anything where this actor is concerned! But in addition to his prowess as a fast gun, watch for the fleeting camera moments that distinguish his acting from others...after he is trapped into shooting his best friend, watch the body language as he bends over the friend, but particularly when he raises his head to look at Bronson and note the shock, pain and grief in his eyes. Also, compare the facial expressions when he is talking to the rancher's wife and when he is talking to his new-found girlfriend. In the former scenes, it appears that he is trying not to be rude, but can't stand her; and in the latter, there is a tenderness that is also seldom seen on the screen. Don't miss this film! It is an above ordinary western!Want Jubal (Criterion Collection) (1956) Discount?
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...
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