THE IRON MISTRESS
US, 1952, 107 minutes, Colour.
Alan Ladd, Virginia Mayo, Joseph Calleia, Phyllis Kirk, Alf Kjellin, Douglas Dick, George Voskovec.
Directed by Gordon Douglas.
The Iron Mistress is a colourful period 19th. century melodrama - a star vehicle for Alan Ladd. He is teamed with Virginia Mayo as a haughty New Orleans belle. Phyllis Kirk is the romantic Mexican heroine and there is a character performance from Swedish actor director Alf Kjellin.
The screenplay is by James R. Webb, an adaptor of many westerns for the screen, and direction is by Gordon Douglas who specialised in action films - from early '50s James Cagney vehicles to Frank Sinatra detective stories in the late '60s. There is a romantic score by Max Steiner.
The film purports to be the biography of Jim Bowie - he is a laconic man of action and business as portrayed by Alan Ladd - with an ability to create, it seems, one special knife. Bowie was portrayed by Richard Widmark more actively in The Alamo.
1. Entertaining period action film, western overtones?
2. Colour photography? The re-creation of New Orleans? Louisiana in the 19th. century? The contrast with Texas and the open spaces? Action sequences? Max Steiner's romantic score?
3. Conventional western material? The portrait of the hero and his drive towards success? Disappointment in romance? The fickle but glamorous heroine? True romance? The difficulties of law and lawlessness in the West? The emerging hero?
4. The film as a biography of Jim Bowie? man of the West? Insight into his times? His skills? Business? Weapons? Texas? His place in American western history?
5. Alan Ladd as Bowie? His work as a lumber man? His family at home and the domestic sequences? His travelling to New Orleans? The attraction to Judalon De Bornay? His selling the lumber? Gambling? For Judalon? The many enemies in New Orleans society? His friendship with Audubon, the naturalist and artist? Sharing the room? His fitting into New Orleans society? The clashes? The return home? His success in business? His brothers joining with him? His mother's support? The clash with the Louisiana businessmen and the lengths to which they would go to prevent him: violence, gambling, assassins? The buying of the horse and the gaining of the money? His friends and their forming the business syndicate? Success? Judalon's fickleness and her marrying Felipe? The life on the riverboat? Bowie and his going to Texas? The pursuit of the vindictive moneylender? The killing of Felipe by mistake? Bowie and the encounter with Ursula, the Vice- Governor of Texas, the return to Judalon and his rejection of her? The happy ending? Alan Ladd and his style for portraying Bowie? The contrast of the ladies? Virginia Mayo and her fickleness as Judalon? Her being shown as reckless, double-dealing? Costumes, aristocracy in the city? Home and her behaviour? Throwing herself at Bowie? Continually throwing herself at him get wanting to use him? Her lies? The importance of New Orleans honour and the duels? Bowie’s resistance but his being involved? His success and her jealousy? Her finally using him - even after her husband's death? A strong but self-centred woman? The contrast with Ursula and her aristocracy but simplicity, attraction to Bowie, love? The lifestyles of New Orleans and Texas?
7. New Orleans aristocracy, honour, duels? Bowie's friendship with Judalon's brother, his death? Felipe and his weakness and gambling? Honour in name only? The businessmen of Louisiana and their clashes with Bowie and his company?
8. Bowie and his company, friends, associates, the building up of financial capital, the threats, the racehorse, the gamblers? Ultimate success - the newspaper collage? A sketch of the history of a successful American family and its heritage?
9. The violence in Louisiana - from honour and duels to cut-throat violence? The violent deaths - the attack on Bowie in his travels to Texas, Felipe's death?
10. The style of life in Texas - and Bowie's moving to Texas, where he actually met his death?
11. An enjoyable film? Action? Character? Americana? Heritage and history?
