Iron Mistress, The (1952)

Steely-eyed Alan Ladd stars as Jim Bowie, famed inventor of the knife – the “iron mistress” – that bears his name, in this would-be rip-roaring Warner Bros adventure.

Bowie arrives in New Orleans and quickly falls under the spell of Southern beauty Judalon de Bornay (Virginia Mayo). Bowie’s actions in his attempt to win Judalon’s love become the stuff of legend.

There’s a fair bit of romantic padding holding up the action, as Ladd gets rejected by Judalon only to fall for Ursula de Veramendi (Phyllis Kirk) en route to his destiny at the Alamo.

Ladd’s blue eyes were made for Technicolor, and the film is well enough mounted by director Gordon Douglas, but there’s a distinct run-of-the-mill feeling to the tale.

Jim Bowie
Alan Ladd
Judalon de Bornay
Virginia Mayo
Juan Moreno
Joseph Calleia
Ursula de Veramendi
Phyllis Kirk
Phillippe de Cabanal
Alf Kjellin
Narcisse de Bornay
Douglas Dick
“Bloody Jack” Sturdevant
Anthony Caruso
Henri Contrecourt
Nedrick Young
James Audubon
George Voskovec
Rezin Bowie
Richard Carlyle

Director
Gordon Douglas

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