The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)

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The Ox-Bow Incident (1942) – W. Wellman

There seems like no time like the present to revisit this classic.  Men in a lonesome western town hear that a nearby rancher has been murdered and some cattle rustled. They decide to get together a posse and they have lynching on their minds. We observe these events somewhat dispassionately along with Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan who have just returned to town after some time away.  Soon, however the local shopkeeper (Harry Davenport) questions whether it is a good idea to take the law into their own hands and shouldn’t they just let the sheriff and local judge know?  It turns out the sheriff is out of town and the man he deputised also wants blood.  An old confederate major (Frank Conroy) takes charge. So, off they go and soon they capture Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn and an old codger, seemingly red-handed with some cattle from the dead rancher. The prisoners claim to have bought the cattle fair and square, but no one believes them.  The major declares that they will have a vote to decide whether to lynch them or not – majority rules.  Wellman’s film is a moral challenge to populism, arguing that mob rule cannot be substituted for the rule of law. It’s impossible not to think of the travesties of the death penalty, even with that rule of law, and all the mistakes that led innocent men to the chair (or other horrible means).  Even so, an eye-for-an-eye mentality allows for no mercy, no rehabilitation. A society based on fundamental and fair moral principles knows better.