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Ruby Gentry

Wildes Blut
Retrospective 2020
Source: Deutsche Kinemathek
Ruby Corey, whose father runs a hunting lodge, spends part of her youth in the home of the wealthy Jim and Letitia Gentry. She begins a relationship with Boake Tackman, a young and ambitious entrepreneur. But he spurns her to marry a rich heiress. Ruby is out for revenge and marries the newly widowed Jim Gentry. A tragic accident soon after leaves her with the means to carry out her plans for vengeance … Despite certain parallels with King Vidor’s Duel in the Sun, this film is actually closer to Hallelujah, even adopting pieces of its dialogue and the setting for the finale. Ruby Gentry represents something of a round-up of Vidor’s work – humans battling with nature, including their own; the grabbing of land for cultivation; blazing passions; and the presentation of almost all forms of wet elements (water, fog, mud, sea) – they all epitomise key leitmotifs in the director’s oeuvre. Ruby is presented as a provocative icon, as purposeful as she is sensual, armed with a Winchester, melding the melodramatic elements of his films with the parts dedicated to the American pioneer spirit.
by King Vidor
with Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston, Karl Malden, Tom Tully, Bernard Phillips, James Anderson, Josephine Hutchinson, Phyllis Avery, Herbert Heyes, Myra Marsh USA 1952 English 82’ Black/White Rating R16

With

  • Jennifer Jones
  • Charlton Heston
  • Karl Malden
  • Tom Tully
  • Bernard Phillips
  • James Anderson
  • Josephine Hutchinson
  • Phyllis Avery
  • Herbert Heyes
  • Myra Marsh

Crew

Director King Vidor
Screenplay Silvia Richards
Story Arthur Fitz-Richard
Cinematography Russell Harlan
Editing Terry Morse
Music Heinz Roemheld
Sound Jean L. Speak
Art Director Dan Hall
Costumes Valentina, Marie Hermann, Bill Edwards
Assistant Directors Milton Carter, Bert Spurlin
Producers Joseph Bernhard, King Vidor

Produced by

Bernhard-Vidor Productions, Inc.

Additional information

Print: Swedish Film Institute, Stockholm