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.

jpdoherty After more than ten years with Paramount Pictures one of their biggest stars Alan Ladd signed a new seven year contract with Warner Brothers. His first movie for that studio was the colourful biopic THE IRON MISTRESS.The star had just completed his masterpiece "Shane" for Paramount which was about to be released but THE IRON MISTRESS reached theatre screens first.Of all the pictures Ladd would make for Warners over the next seven years THE IRON MISTRESS is about the best of them! Beautifully photographed in Technicolor by John Seitz (Ladd's favourite cinematographer) it tells the story of impoverished lumber merchant Jim Bowie (Ladd) who came from the backwoods of 1820's Louisiana and rose to become a property tycoon through land speculation, gambling and - some say - by other unorthodox methods. Along the way he would make some bitter enemies in the resentful New Orleans business world and for his protection he designed the famous knife that bears his name and which gives the film its title. Bowie acquired something of a bad reputation because of some dubious business dealings and also his knife-wielding dispatch of many of his adversaries. Nevertheless, his reputation not withstanding, Jim Bowie's name has gone down in American folklore as one of the heroes who died in the famous Battle of The Alamo in San Antonio Texas in 1836. THE IRON MISTRESS is based on a book by Paul Wellmann and was fashioned into a fairly good screenplay by James R.Webb. Henry Blanke's colourful production was ably directed by Gordan Douglas.However, although John Beckman's Art Direction and George James Hopkins' set designs are spot on for the lavish gambling halls and bars of New Orleans, the picture is marred by too many indoor studio exteriors. A main street scene of the city near the beginning looks like a stage play and Bowie's family home in the Bayou marshland is so unreal it cheapens the movie. Unconvincing also is the scene where Bowie goes to have his famous knife forged! Firstly the blacksmith's name simply couldn't be Mr. Black, could it? And why on earth would the blacksmith (David Wolfe) fuse part of his treasured meteor fragment (which he has under lock and key) into the making of a knife for a complete stranger? ("your knife has a bit of heaven in it sir - or a bit of hell"). Nonetheless there are reasonably good performances throughout! Virginia Mayo steals the acting honours as the scheming, spoilt socialite who sneers at Bowie's marriage proposal ("What do you want me to do - live in a cabin in the wilderness?"). Ladd is his usual laconic self and watch out for the pint-sized actor being surrounded by smaller players particularly the actors Richard Carlyle and Dick Paxton playing his two brothers who are actually smaller than Ladd. And also in the well staged Ballroom sequence Mayo's flat shoes can clearly be seen under her gown in a low angle shot as she dances the aptly titled the Virginia Reel with our star. A plus for the movie is a marvellous climactic set piece of a sword and knife fight in a dark room where only intermittent flashes of lightning make it possible to see the two antagonists in mortal combat.Another plus for the movie is the terrific score by Max Steiner. His main theme is an anthem-like piece which points up, not only Bowie's backwoods antecedents, but his tenacious determination to make something of himself. Then there is the gorgeous theme for Judalon (Mayo) which the composer fashions into a ravishing love theme and we are treated to some wonderful strident action cues in the unmistakable Steiner manner for the various knife fight sequences. THE IRON MISTRESS is not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination but it has good atmosphere and enough flair and colour to hold the interest!

skallisjr As with most films, story details had to be compressed to fit it into a normal running time, but it still catches much of the flavor of the novel. The Alan Ladd portrayal is believable, though Paul Wellman's novel takes the saga all the way to the Alamo and the film ends long before that. However, it has the feel of a good period piece.The manufacture of the famous knife is foreshortened from that of the book, where Bowie discusses the design in detail with Black, the man who forges the knife. The action in the forging of the iron is quite dramatic and worthy of the reputation that the knife .. er .. carved out.The "duel in the dark" sequence was dramatically enhanced by momentary flashes of lightning, which wasn't half as ruthless as in the novel, where the entire duel was fought in pitch black.Major spoiler: The end of the film has Bowie treat the knife in sharp contrast to what happened in the novel, and for that matter, history (he gets rid of it). This may have been to create a Hollywood happy ending, but is a major shift from the novel, and from history.

Jay Harris This is an adventure story using fiction to tell about the early years of James Bowie,prior to his martyrdom at the Alamo a few years after this film ends. This is a typical romantic adventure story with Alan Ladd giving an erstwhile honest portrayal in the role that Richard Widmark did years later in THE ALAMO. Mr Ladd was short in stature,but you would never really know that,. as all of the actors were either his height or 1 or 2 inches either way. Virginia Mayo is as usual very beautiful & well dressed,She was never considered a great actress but she could portray a very selfish woman with perfect ease. The rest of the cast is just what you would expect in this type of vehicle. Good production values with a very good knife fight in a dark room with only lightning bolts to highlight the action. A bit long at 112 minutes, but entertaining. a low *** rating or a 7 on the IMDB scale as always Jay Harris.