The Iron Mistress (1952)

Alan Ladd portrays Jim Bowie during his early days, as a young man who leaves the swamps of Mississippi to sell lumber in New Orleans and meets the woman — Judalon de Borney (Virginia Mayo) — who becomes his love and inspiration.

When she rejects him because he doesn’t belong in her world, nor she in his, he sets out to make it rich, through gambling, land speculation, raising cotton or racing horses.

Along the way, he makes plenty of enemies, too, but manages to survive frequent duels, thanks in part to the one-of-a-kind Bowie knife that he designed. The knife becomes known as his Iron Mistress.

Then, as a favor to Judalon, he challenges a crooked gambler named Jack Sturdevant (Anthony Caruso) to a knife duel. Bowie leaves him crippled and wanting revenge.

Unlike many of his foes, Sturdevant isn’t bound by gentlemanly conventions.

When three of his henchmen leave Bowie lying in the middle of a trail with potentially fatal wounds, he’s rescued by Ursula de Varamendi (Phyllis Kirk), the daughter of the vice governor of Texas.

And she might be the one woman who can help him break free from Judalon once and for all.

Alan Ladd as Jim Bowie insisting John James Audobon introduce him to the lovely lady in one of his paintings in The Iron Mistress (1952)

Virginia Mayo as Judalon de Bornay, getting her first glimpse of Jim Bowie while trying on a dress in The Iron Mistess (1952)

Review:

Overlong tale of Bowie’s entanglement with a woman he falls in love with at first sight. Ladd’s character defies belief as he steps out of a backwoods swamp and straight into high society in New Orleans and becomes a master at everything. Not to mention, one hell of a lucky gambler. And one with a knife made partly from a meteor!

Action highlights include a sword versus knife duel in a darkened room and a knife-to-knife showdown between Bowie and Sturdevant in which the two men’s left arms are tied together.

Thank goodness for Virginia Mayo. She steals the show as the lovely Judalon, who realizes early on that she can twist men — and especially Jim Bowie — around her fingers. Occasionally, she regrets the repercussions, but never for long.

This story ends before the Texas Revolution and Bowie’s death at the Alamo.

Douglas Dick as Narcisse de Bornay, brother of Judalon and a friend of Jim Bowie’s in The Iron Mistress (1952)

Joseph Calleia as Juan Morento and Alf Kjellin as Phillipe de Cabanal, two of Judalon’s other admirers in The Iron Mistress (1952)

Directed by:
Gordon Douglas

Cast:
Alan Ladd … Jim Bowie
Virginia Mayo … Judalon de Bornay
Phyllis Kirk … Ursula de Varamendi
Douglas Dick … Narcisse de Bornay
Anthony Caruso … Jack Sturdevant
Alf Kjellin … Phillipe de Cabanal
Joseph Calleia … Juan Moreno
Anthony Caruso … Black Jack Sturdevant
Nedrick Young … Henri Contrecourt
George Voskovec … John James Audubon
Richard Carlyle … Rezin Bowie
Robert Emhardt … Gen. Cny
Don Beddoe … Dr. Cuny
Harold Gordon … Andrew Marschalk
Jay Novello … Judge Crain
Nick Dennis … Nex Coupe
Sarah Selby … Mrs. Bowie
Dick Paxton … John Bowie
George J. Lewis … Col. Wells
Edward Colmans … Don Juan de Veramendi
Gordon Nelson … Dr. Maddox
Daria Massey … Teresa de Varamendi

Runtime: 110 min.

Phylllis Kirk as Ursula de Varamendi, the young woman who makes sure Jim Bowie is cared for after being wounded by Sturdevant’s men in The Iron Mistress (1952)

Edward Colmans as Don Juan de Veramendi, father of Ursula, questioning Jim Bowie in The Iron Mistress (1952)

>Memorable line:

Jim Bowie, about duels: “A killing is a killing, and there’s no tying a pink ribbon around it. I’d rather be able to say I never killed a man, than brag about the beautiful way I did it.”

Judalon, joining Jim on the veranda: “You danced the reel so wonderfully, I’m sure you could waltz . Would you like a private lesson now?”
Bowie: “Huh?”
Judalon: “Didn’t you hear me?”
Bowie: “Sorry. I was thinkin about lumber.”
Judalon: “Lumber? I scandalize everyone by coming out here with you and you think about lumber?”

Judalon to Jim: “What do you think I am? A bayou woman to be grabbed and carried off at the first kiss? If you want a squaw for your cabin, go back and jump the broom with one of your country wenches, Mr. Bowie.”

Sarah Selby as Mrs. Bowie, about to send Jim on a fateful trip to New Orleans for family business in The Iron Mistress (1952)

Alan Ladd as Jim Bowie gets an earful about Judalon from older brother Rezin (Richard Carlyle) in The Iron Mistress (1952)

Jim Bowie, ordering his famous knife: “I’m seen swords fail. I’ve seen knives fail. I want something that will never fail.”

Blacksmith to Bowie: “For better or worse, you’ve got a bit of heaven in that knife. Or a bit of hell.”

Rezin Bowie to Jim, about Judalon: “She’s like a vine wrapping around a tree. She’ll choke you to death and give you nothing.”

Jim Bowie, about sweeping the married Judalon off to Texas: “They’ll ask questions in any country? But I promise you this: They won’t ask them loud.”

Alan Ladd as Jim Bowie, recuperating from wounds and getting some sound advice from his mother in The Iron Mistress (1952)

George Voskovec as John James Audubon, the painter who introduces Jim Bowie to Judalon de Bornay in The Iron Mistress (1952)

David Bauer as James Black, the blacksmith who makes the Bowie knife for Jim Bowie, partly from remnants of a meteor, in The Iron Mistress (1952)

Anthony Caruso as Jack Sturdevant, the gambler who becomes an enemy of Jim Bowie in The Iron Mistress (1952)

Nedrick Young as Henri Contrecourt, a New Orleans socialite who insists on a duel with Jim Bowie in The Iron Mistress (1952)

Alan Ladd as Jim Bowie, surprised to learn Judalon has married Phillipe de Cabanal in The Iron Mistress (1952)