The Ox-Bow incident isn't really a western. It's a polemic on mob-rule, set in the old west. It uses many of the classic westerns symbols but is practically devoid of any of its narrative structure.
This film is one of the great genre-benders of all time, smart enough to recognize that the strengths of a genre need not be limited to telling only one type of story. Like a comedy masking a horrific tale (Dog Day Afternoon, Dawn of the Dead), The Ox-Bow Incident, to be followed years later by Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, tells a hyper-political tale using the images and language of the old west.
The moral centre of the film is a black man, the most educated a Mexican. For 1943 this must be considered an extraordinary achievement. Leigh Whipper's role and performance is notable for black actors in the "golden age" of Hollywood, and is a precursor to Canada Lee's stunning work in Rossen's Body and Soul.
Anthony Quinn provides his role with a diginity not present, to my knowledge, in any Mexican character of its day in any Hollywood production, let alone a western. Quinn knows he is the smartest, bravest man on the scene and expresses this with his silence. He recognizes and later acknowledges that a man who is given no voice only hurts his cause when he attempts to speak. Quinn feigns ignorance for much of the film then explodes to life, altering the other characters' and the viewer's perception of the man.
Henry Fonda offers one of his finest performances, expertly subtle and contained. A lesser actor might have been tempted to recreate his role in The Grapes of Wrath, as the character is similarly shady, attempting to reform, and the script does demand a speech not dissimilar to Tom Joad's "I'll be there" heartbreaker.
Director Wellman rather audaciously chooses to shoot the speech with Fonda's eyes completely hidden behind the brim of his partner's hat. While perfectly interpreting the speech's plea for the blind eye of justice, Wellman is also declaring the rather half-hearted courage of his central character. And how many A-list actors in today's star driven industry would allow their best "Oscar moment" to be hidden from view? Forget hogging the key light, this is true generousity from an actor. He allows nearly every scene to be stolen by his surrounding cast, yet in the end, somehow, it is Fonda we remember.
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