otrnepodahl Although not as long as films like "Gone With The Wind" or "Duel In The Sun", it still had an epic feel to it. Virginia Mayo's character was cunning in the way that Vivien Leigh's Scarlet was to that film, but not as sympathetic or likable. I like Alan Ladd as an actor, but he was no Clark Gable. All in all this is an enjoyable Technicolor feature, with the same composer of GWTW, Max Steiner as a nice bonus.

pensman I suspect the screen writer owes a lot to F. Scott Fitzgerald for this script. Jim Bowie, Alan Ladd, is a bit of a backwoods bumpkin who meets Judalon de Bornay, Virginia Mayo, while on his first trip to the big city of New Orleans. Blinded by her beauty he fails to discover her true nature as a highly manipulative Daisy Buchanan who uses him to obtain her own ends. One has to enjoy how she manipulates him to provoke a knife fight which win or lose may end the thrall her husband Phillipe de Cabanal, Alf Kjellin, owes to gambling and Black Jack Sturdevant, Anthony Caruso. There may be some history in this film but very little. As the movie progresses even the most credulous viewer has to be willing to suspend all belief. You may not be able to repeat the past but you certainly can redress plots in new periods. And the scene, big spoiler, where Phillipe de Cabanal and Black Jack Sturdevant kill each other while believing their opponent is Bowie is over the top. At least Bowie finally has an epiphany as he states, "No woman is worth the lives of eight men." And there is even a little Titanic here as Bowie tosses his knife into the water and goes on to marry Ursula de Varamendi, Phyllis Kirk. Confused? Wait for a rainy day and hope TCM is running the film.

carl170 Great Movie.. with the legendary Character Jim Bowie, and the legendary Knive, and how it came to be.Tales of how Jim Bowie came to become the legend; and how not to fall for the wrong women.If only he had listen to his brother/s and family about his love. Alan Ladd was excellent in this, as was Virgina Mayo....and he rest of the cast.Great movie. It really is.Is this released as a DVD yet? Please can someone tell me...???? I would love to get this film on DVDMaybe even this film could be remade for a new generation with even more detail given to how the knife was made etc, etcBut who would star????

Davo-CC I've never really been a fan of westerns, I didn't grow up with them and I always thought the genre was overrated personally.Occasionally however a film comes along which has distinct appeal despite its genre, this is such a film. I'm not 100% sure why I liked it or why it stood out from the pack, there is a certain intangible aspect to it which really appeals; the closest thing that I can think of is `The Mountain' (1956, Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner), it is a film which I believe has that same intangible quality.I'd recommend this one for both western fan and non western fan (like myself) alike.