Follow the “Bend of the River” with its three-strip Technicolor 4K restoration

BLU-RAY REVIEW / SDR SCREENSHOTS

James Stewart stars as wagon train foreman Glyn McLyntock in his second of five Anthony Mann Westerns. Most of the on-location footage was captured in the spring of 1951, near Mount Hood and along the Columbia River in Oregon. (2) The green typography during the title sequence has been restored, which was strangely blue during the 2019 KL Studio Classics Blu-ray.

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Screenshots courtesy of KL Studio Classics/Universal Studios - Click for an Amazon purchase

“BEND OF THE RIVER”

Blu-ray; 1952; Not Rated

Best extra: Commentary with film historian Toby Roan

FIVE MONTHS after the successful “Winchester ’73,” the first mid-century Western collaboration between director Anthony Mann, actor James Stewart, producer Aaron Rosenberg, and screenwriter Borden Chase (“Red River”), Universal International greenlit the next Mann/Stewart motion picture. “Bend of the River” became their second of eight motion pictures together, with five captured in the wide-open spaces of the American West.

A newspaper article described their Universal partnership, “Getting to be like money in the bank in picture making.” Stewart himself pocketed $500,000 for his percentage of “Winchester.” The black-and-white action-packed western was mostly filmed in Arizona, with the town scenes on the Universal backlot.

“Bend of the River” would be filmed near the active stratovolcano Mount Hood and along the Columbia River in Oregon, using massive 600-pound, three-strip Technicolor cameras, mounted with a blimp to deaden the noise of the three simultaneous 35mm films running inside. The film stocks would be exposed as light entered the camera lens and then divided by a beam-splitting prism, separating into two paths. One strip would record green, and the other two strips would be sandwiched together with the blue-sensitive front and the red-sensitive back. The format created some of most striking color films ever captured for the silver screen including “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938), “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), “Gone with the Wind” (1939), “Black Narcissus” (1947), “The Red Shoes” (1948), “An American in Paris” (1951), “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) and “Niagara” (1953).

 (1&2) McLyntock rescues Emerson Cole (Arthur Kennedy), accused of stealing a horse, from a lynch mob. (3&4) McLyntock takes an interest in Jeremy Baile’s (Jay C. Flippen) daughters, Laura (Julie Adams) and Marjie (Lori Nelson). (5&6) Cole and McLyntock hear animal noises from the Shoshone Nation, and McLyntock battles one of the warriors. (7) A Shoeshone arrow hits Laura.

But, for decades, the vault-stored three-strip negatives became an archival minefield with varying levels of shrinkage from the three strips, causing out-of-register theatrical prints and home video presentations with the red or blue or green out of alignment. Then, nearly 15-years ago, the folks at Warner Bros. solved the issue with a computer software that could digitally realign newly scanned three-strip negatives.  

Kino Lorber first released “Bend of the River” on Blu-ray in 2019, but sadly, sourced from an old Universal 2K master with out-of-alignment colors. The red was especially hanging out during the opening credits.

VIDEO

But for 2026, Universal and The Film Foundation (founded by filmmaker Martin Scorsese), who also handled the 4K restoration for “Winchester ’73,” scanned the three-strip camera negatives in 4K resolution. The colors were corrected digitally, and the three negative files were perfectly realigned for a breathtaking visual experience. It’s so good that if it had been released on a 4K disc, it would’ve been an early candidate for one of the best 4K UHD of 2026.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray presentation remains exceptional, with on-screen clarity, natural film grain, and color fidelity with stunning imagery from cinematographer Irving Glassberg. One of the big surprises, during the opening title sequence, is the typography for “Bend of the River” changed from a blue tone on the 2019 disc to a green tone in this new restoration. We assume green is the corrected hue?

(1) McLyntock visits Laura, recovering from her arrow wound, after the wagon party arrives in Portland. (2&3) Cole takes on gambler Trey Wilson (Rock Hudson). (4) The wagon party takes the River Queen paddlewheeler up the Columbia River on the final leg of their journey to their new settlement.

AUDIO

The DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track has been restored, removing pops and noise, which puts everything front and center, including the orchestrated score from six-time Oscar-nominated Hans J. Salter.

PLOT/STORY

Screenwriter Borden Chase based his screenplay on Bill Gulick’s novel “Bend on the Snake,” which he twisted into an adaptation of his own Oscar-nominated screenplay “Red River” (1948), directed by Howard Hawks. It featured a cattle-drive mutiny along the Chisholm Trail between the stubborn cow baron Tom Dunson (John Wayne) and his adopted son Matt (Montgomery Clift).

Here, Glyn McLyntock (Stewart) leads a wagon train of homesteaders toward the Oregon Territory, where he rescues Emerson Cole, played by Arthur Kennedy, from a lynching for stealing a horse. Both men have a troubled past; we see McLyntock has a rope burn around his neck. Both take an interest in the lovely Laura Baile (Julie Adams). A mutiny subplot percolates, as Universal contract actor Rock Hudson plays riverboat gambler Trey Wilson, Chubby Johnson as the boat captain, and Henry Morgan as a thug.

(1) McLyntock returns to Portland to find out why Tom Hendricks (Howard Petrie) hasn’t shipped the prepaid winter supplies for the Oregon Territory homesteaders. (2) Laura and Cole, now lovers, work at Hendricks’ saloon. (3) Wilson and Cole join McLyntock to get the supplies on the River Queen. (4) The supplies are removed from the paddlewheeler. (5&6) McLyntock hires men to help transport the supplies through the Cascade Mountains to the settlement.

EXTRAS

• The Blu-ray includes two running commentaries and the theatrical trailer.

  
  

• Commentary with Toby Roan – (also featured on the 2019 Blu-ray). Right out of the gate, Roan explains that Stewart is riding on Pie (half quarter horse and half Arabian), for the second time, which became his onscreen horse for 17 Westerns. Plus, the superstitious actor also wore the same sweat-stained hat in all his Westerns. The detailed track provides a number of backstories, including how the cast and crew of 130, 20 horses, 50 head of cattle, six covered wagons, and cameras and lights had to be hauled to a higher elevation (8,000 feet) than previously planned, because the winter snow had already melted.

  
  

• A new commentary with film historian and former junior publicist at Universal Studios, Jule Kirgo, and author/screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner – a lively track, as the two share stories and laughs. Joyce mentions how cinematographer Irving Glassberg, who had just finished a lecture at Los Angeles City College, started a conversation with a tall business student. He suggested that the young man come to Universal Studios for a test shot. The student – Clint Eastwood, signed a 40-week Universal contract at $75 per week. The studio eventually dropped him in 1956.

  
  

After the success of “Bend of the River,” Mann and Stewart teamed for another three-strip Technicolor Western, “The Naked Spur” (1953), filmed in the Colorado Rockies for MGM. Then, a couple of months later, they did the non-Western “Thunder Bay” for Universal, which became the first Hollywood film focused on offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

This Kino Lorber Blu-ray is a welcome addition to any Western collection, but how much better would it have been in 4K/HDR?

— Bill Kelley III, High-Def Watch producer  

SPECS

• 50 GB disc

• TRUE 4K mastering, but downconverted to 1080p for this Kino Lorber presentation.

• Captured in the 35mm three-strip Technicolor process (1.37:1 aspect ratio).

• Video bitrate: Averages around 38 Megabits per second, and a running time of 91 minutes.

• Box office: $8.33 million domestically, and finished the year No. 18 in the U.S. box office totals. “The Greatest Show on Earth” was No. 1, and the classic western “High Noon” was No. 12.

• Rotten Tomatoes: Critics 100 percent, Audiences 80 percent.

• Awards: Venice Film Festival – Best Restored Film 2024.

• IndieWire.com – The 100 Greatest Westerns of all Time – “Bend of the River” was No. 62. Nicholas Ray’s “Johnny Guitar” (1954) was No. 1, starring Joan Crawford.

• Wild West Magazine 2010 – 100 Greatest Westerns “Bend of the River” was No. 22. “High Noon” was No. 1, and “The Ox Bow Incident” (1943) was No. 2.