''The Iron Mistress'' is a 1952 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in ...

and Virginia Mayo. It ends with Bowie's marriage to Ursula de Veramendi and does not deal with his death at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...

in 1836. It was the first film Ladd made at Warner Bros. after spending a decade at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

In the early 19th century, Jim Bowie leaves his home in the

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

to sell lumber in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He inadvertently offends Narcisse de Bornay by defending the future famous artist James Audubon and is challenged to a duel, but charms his way out of it, and Narcisse becomes his friend. Narcisse notices that his sister Judalon has caught Jim's eye and is concerned, knowing how haughty and spoiled she is. Henri Contrecourt, a man who has been courting her, kills Narcisse and challenges Jim to a fight, his sword versus Bowie's knife. To the surprise of everyone, Jim kills him. When Judalon declines Jim's marriage proposal, he returns home and grows wealthy from the cotton business, upsetting Juan Moreno, a wealthy

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

cotton grower. Later, Jim enters a horse in a race in which there is heavy betting. At the race, Jim learns that Judalon has married wealthy Philippe de Cabanal, someone of her own elite social class. (Privately, Judalon says she plans to obtain a divorce, a difficult undertaking at the time.) Moreno's steed comes a close second, and he and other losing bettors seek to have Jim's horse disqualified, claiming he does not own it. Jim produces a bill of sale but has to travel to Nashville to have the signature of the previous owner verified. On the way, Bowie asks a renowned blacksmith to create a special new knife for him; the blacksmith is intrigued by the challenge and uses the remains of a

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

to help strengthen the blade. Jim learns that Judalon has been seeing Moreno. When the last of the losing bettors pay up, he insults Jim's friend, causing a duel to which Jima and Moreno are opposing

seconds The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

. When the duel ends after the participants miss each other twice, Moreno shoots one man and stabs Jim with his sword; Jim kills Moreno with his new knife. Afterward, Judalon tells Jim that she was cultivating Moreno because he had the political influence to obtain a bill of divorcement for her. She remains with Phillipe. Jim is seriously wounded while traveling to Texas. He is nursed back to health by Ursula Veramendi, daughter of the Governor of the

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

province of adjacent

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. When he returns to New Orleans to wrap up his affairs, he encounters Judalon and Phillippe aboard a luxurious steamboat. Phillippe has lost his money playing against

card sharp A card sharp (also card shark, sometimes hyphenated or spelled as a single word) is a person who uses skill or deception to win at card games (such as poker). "Sharp" and "shark" spellings have varied over time and by region. The label is not a ...

s. Jim exposes one of the cheaters and returns Philippe's money to him. Judalon then tells Philippe that she is leaving him for Jim. Both Philippe and Bloody Jack Sturdevant come to kill Jim and unintentionally murder each other instead. When Judalon shows no regret at all for her husband's death, Jim abandons her, throws his knife into the river and marries Ursula.

Cast

as Jim Bowie * Virginia Mayo as Judalon de Bornay * Joseph Calleia as Juan Moreno *

Phyllis Kirk Phyllis Kirk (born Phyllis Kirkgaard or Kirkegaard; September 18, 1927 October 19, 2006) was an American actress. Early life Kirk was born in Syracuse, New York, although some sources state her birthplace as Plainfield, New Jersey. She contra ...

as Ursula Veramendi * Alf Kjellin as Philippe de Cabanal *

Douglas Dick Douglas Harvey Dick (November 20, 1920 – December 19, 2015) was an American actor and occasional screenwriter. His most famous role came in the 1948 film ''Rope''. In 1971, Dick left the entertainment industry to work as a psychologist. Earl ...

as Narcisse de Bornay * Anthony Caruso as Bloody Jack Sturdevant (credited as "Tony Caruso") * Nedrick Young as Henri Contrecourt (credited as "Ned Young") * George Voskovec as John James Audubon * Richard Carlyle as Rezin Bowie * Robert Emhardt as Gen. Cuny * Don Beddoe as Dr. Cuny (credited as "Donald Beddoe") * Harold Gordon as Andrew Marschallk * Gordon Nelson as Dr. Maddox * Jay Novello as Judge Crain * Nick Dennis as Nez Coupe * Sarah Selby as Mrs. Bowie

Original novel

Paul Wellman's novel was published in 1951. The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "a rattling good story". The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it "an excellent quasi fictional biography from that skein of tangled legend and fact." The book became a best seller. Warner Bros bought the film rights and

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

was mentioned as a possible star. However

had also signed a contract with Warners; he read a copy of the novel and wanted to do it.

Production

Henry Blanke was the producer and James Webb was assigned to do the screenplay. During filming a fire swept through the Warner Bros lot but the unit for ''Iron Mistress'' was on location at the time. Alan Ladd injured his knee during the shoot and broke his hand on the last day of filming. Gordon Douglas later said he "loved" filming the scene where Ladd duels in a darkened room. "There were other things in the picture that were nice", he added. "I always liked Virginia Mayo, she was a wonderful gal."

References

External links