a5c7b9f00b The life of nineteenth-century pioneer Jim Bowie is portrayed. In 1825, Jim Bowie travels to New Orleans to sell the output from the sawmill he runs with his brothers. He soon meets the beautiful Judalon de Bornay who seems to have most men wrapped around her little finger. She clearly likes him but when he tells her he&#39;s leaving, she manipulates one of her beaus into challenging him for a duel. Bowie survives the confrontation but devises a plan to sell the not only his lumber but also the family mill and invest it in land. Within a couple of years, the Bowie brothers are quite rich and Jim meets Judalon again - only this time she is married. It doesn&#39;t stop her from manipulating those around her. Jim&#39;s business interests lead to a bloody duel where several people are killed and a confrontation with local saloon owner and crook Black Jack Sturdevant. After Sturdevant tries to kill him on the trail, Bowie is rescued by a beautiful Mexican woman and decides to make his home in Texas. You got to like Alan Ladd first off. He gave a good show in this performance and with a good story and supporting actors, this remains premium entertainment. In addition to the Bowie legend, we are introduced to the Bowie knife. A large no-nonsense will get the job done specially made knife that in the right hands can do quite a bit of damages if you are a master of said knife. Alan Ladd is that man. In addition to a nice flowing story-line, we are introduced to many memorable scenes which make this a must see movie again and again. We get a glimpse of the way it was way back when the country was young, Way back when, there was opportunity everywhere, brave men who took risks and danger to put them in their place if they made one wrong move. Many did. The movie emphasizes a moral code in its story of which men will duel over if not honored and obeyed. It wasn&#39;t enough to win or kill but how you win and kill that mattereda mans reputation was the most important asset he had. Banks would loan on it, people would support it and others would imitate it making a person&#39;s character very valuable. Boy has that been compromised over the ages but not wiped out. If one finds an honest man who practices righteousness, faith is restored and good will toward men takes place. If many are found keeping this, then we are either closer to paradise or we are in Christmas! Pay attention to the leading ladies vanity. She has everything yet she has nothing and we are treated to a close-up glance of vanity at work and even more, pride in large doses too. Worthy time spent on this little gem. I have seen it perhaps ten times and am watching it now. What joy. Waste no more time reading this. Go and be entertained. Highly recommend eating while watching, a decent snack and a tasty drink. Please enjoy and if you recorded this off of TCM, watch it and save it and watch again in about 3 weeks. You will thank me! 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,.all of the actors were either his height or 1 or 2 inches either way. Virginia Mayo isusual very beautiful &amp; 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<br/><br/> always<br/><br/> Jay Harris.
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