Ruby Gentry

This well directed film by classic Hollywood filmmaker King Vidor delivers unsettling passions , emotion , meandering drama and resulting in sad tragedy . Enjoyable melodrama set down in the Carolina swamplands , where they have names like Ruby , Jud, Boake , Jewel , Cullen . Despite their different social stratum , white-trash girl Ruby (Jennifer Jones) and upper-class Boake (Charlton Heston) grew up together in the 1950s North Carolina. Ruby Corey lived with her poor family in the swamps while Boake Tackman lived in a mansion with maids . As long as their friendship stayed within the socially decent limits no one objected . In adulthood their friendship becomes a mutual romantic attraction resulting in a passional love story . But then things go wrong when she marries wealthy financer (Karl Malden) and to spite him she seeks a cold comeuppance. So dangerous...destructive...deadly to love! The swamp hellion who wrecked a town - Sin by Sin !. The story of Ruby Gentry, who wrecked a whole town -- man by man ...sin by sin.

Yet another overheated and turgid Hollywood melodrama about a doomed damsel in distress from the wrong side of the swamp . Ordinary plot about a crazy love story in which an easy-virtue Southerner Jones marrying rich Malden to spite Heston , the man she loves . Vintage Southern theme of revenge , nice filmmaking and interpreation loft it a notch . The picture is acceptable , though displays some artificial roles .As Jennifer Jones gives a throughly exaggerated performance as the sexy but poor young girl marries a rich man she doesn't love, but carries a torch for another man . As Jennifer Jones overacting while tosses her hairb tempestuously and making the sultry even if sometimes looks like a re-run from he early character as Perla in Duel in the sun. Along with the two top-drawer actors , Jones and Heston , appearing great secpndary players , such as : Karl Malden , Tom Tully , Barney Phillips , James Anderson , Josephine Hutchinson , among others.

It contains an atmospheric , evocative cinematography in black and white by Russell Harlan . As well as adequate and romantic musical score by classical composer Heinz Roemheld . The picture was competently directed by King Vidor , though it has some uneven scenes . Here King shows some his peculiar visual style . In addition , the picture went on to become a box office hit . King Vidor directed other enjoyable movies as Westerns :¨Duel in the sun¨ , ¨Northwest passage¨, ¨Billy the Kid¨ , and ¨Texas Rangers¨ . And made several classic movies as ¨War and peace¨ , ¨Comrade X¨ , ¨Stella Dallas¨ , ¨Fountainhead¨ , ¨Our daily bread¨ , ¨The citadel¨ , ¨The crowd¨ , ¨Big parade¨ and several others . Rating : 6.5/10 . The flick will appeal to Charlton Heston and Jennifer Jones fans .

Jennifer Jones is so big in this film she makes Charlton Heston appear to be underacting - no mean feat! Nonetheless she's a fascinating actress to watch, and the whole film is fresh. Does it seem like "real life" North Carolina? No, but I don't really think it matters. It's an effective, entertaining melodrama that was a big hit in its day.

Ruby Gentry was filmed on location (mostly in rural California), and what a nice, uncomplicated, outdoor feeling the film has. It's not studio-bound at all, even when the occasional use of process photography is obvious. Who could ever forget that amazing love scene played in the convertible careening down the beach, for example? You can almost feel the fresh sea air and smell the salt water. Heston and Jones, in this and other steamy scenes (at least for the time) make a surprisingly effective team.

Photographed in real light, Jennifer Jones looks just about five years too old for the part; she seems to compensate by overdoing the tomboy aspects, strutting about and speaking too loudly to people standing three feet away from her. Playing a tramp-ish character, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, she's hardly as naturally sultry or sexy as, say, Ava Gardner. She works at it, and works a bit too hard, at times. A scene in which she pours coffee for a group of horny guys, where all she has to do is stand there looking good, is played with so many varied facial tics and expressions. She can't throw away a scene, or a moment.

Yet her performance is appropriate to the character and the film. She commands the screen and is never boring for a second. What's great about Jennifer Jones is her incredible sensitivity, so that when Ruby is slighted by the people of her town for her low social status, despite (and because of) her marriage to Karl Malden's wealthy character, her hurt and rage are palpable. She really lives the part. And this drives the film. She has a great deal of life on the screen.

Charlton Heston is great. Looser than usual, calling his girl, "baby." He doesn't seem to rely as much on his mellifluous voice this time. He plays a regular American guy. It's a shame he didn't get to demonstrate the casual quality of his Boake Teckman, here, in other roles. But I guess when you play Moses and Michelangelo you don't get that much of an opportunity.

Karl Malden was still pretty new to moviegoers at this time but he became very popular, very fast, after his Oscar winning role in Streetcar. In many ways he's always reminded me of Spencer Tracy with his sharp yet warm, human portrayals. Unfortunately he didn't have Tracy's good looks and wasn't in line for leading man parts. But that didn't stop him from becoming a top star. He blends into his part expertly and makes us forget he's acting. He just seems to be Jim Gentry.

The brilliant director King Vidor went through a long melodramatic period and it was most enjoyable. Ruby Gentry was a highlight.

The score (for harmonica and orchestra) is one of the most memorable things about the film, the theme music became a big hit called "Ruby."

In Braddock, North Caroline, the free-spirited and poor Ruby Corey (Jennifer Jones) is a sexy woman in love with Boake Tackman (Charlton Heston), who belongs to a former wealthy family that lost their land that is flooded. Ruby has lived during high-school with the wealthy businessman Jim Gentry (Karl Malden) and his wife Letitia Gentry (Josephine Hutchinson) that had unsuccessfully tried to teach etiquette to Ruby. Later she returned to the house of her father Jud Corey (Tom Tully) and her pious brother Jewel Corey (James Anderson) in the swamps. When Boake decides to marry the rich Tracy McAuliffe (Phyllis Avery), Ruby is courted by Dr. Saul Manfred (Bernard Phillips) but accepts to marry Jim that has recently widowed.

The population of Braddock does not accept the marriage of Ruby and Jim. Then, Ruby dances with Boake in a club and Jim has a fistfight with Boake and calls Ruby a tramp. On the next morning, Jim apologizes with Ruby and they go sailing. However there is an accident and Jim drowns in the sea. Ruby is accused by the population of murdering Jim and she decides to revenge, using the money she inherited from Jim and foreclosing on the debts of the hometowns. But Ruby is still in love with Boake and her behavior will lead them to a tragedy.

"Ruby Gentry" is a melodramatic romance directed by King Vidor, the master of this genre. The melodrama is excessive, with a wild young woman in love with a popular young man in a conservative town. Her revenge against those that blame her is great but the conclusion is silly. Rubby working as a skipper of a fishing boat does not make sense for a woman with her strong personality (and money). My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Fúria do Desejo" ("The Fury of the Desire")

The turbulent life of a female sea captain is revealed. Jennifer Jones does quite well in the meaty leading role of Ruby, a swamp girl from the Carolinas who infiltrates an indifferent high society after marrying wealthy businessman Karl Malden. However, that marriage was just a convenience for this hellcat, who has pined her whole life for intrigued childhood hunting pal Charlton Heston, himself a recent newlywed to a girl who hails from the right side of the tracks. Silvia Richards' screenplay, which originated from a story by Arthur Fitz-Richard, is alarmingly direct, cutting right to the action despite a few well-placed flashbacks. Still, the narrative is somewhat confused (who's telling this story? If it's supposed to be Bernard Phillips' smitten doctor, he isn't around a whole lot). Jones sidesteps camp (just barely) with some enjoyably wild behavior in the film's second-half, and yet this portion of the movie doesn't quite fit comfortably alongside the rest--it plays almost like an unrelated episode. Director and co-producer King Vidor's strongest work comes in the earliest sequences, which have a well-wrought sense of character and pacing which the finale tends to lack. **1/2 from ****

This is the story of Ruby Gentry, as it is told by the town's doctor. Ruby Gentry was born in the wrong side of the town, she never considered herself a lady, and so nobody else did so. When Boake Tackman returns from North America to his hometown, Ruby Gentry believes that their old passion will keep her dreams alive, and that she will finally win his heart. But Boake (Charlton Heston) betrays her love,and marries a wealthy towngirl. Now Ruby marries Jim Gentry, played excellent by Kard Malden, the richest person in the town, but after some months he dies and the whole town turns against her, believing that she has caused his death. Ruby tries to revenge above all, Boake, but with the help of her fanatic christian brother tragedy comes and Ruby looses everything that she wanted.

Jennifer Jones had a big success with this movie, after 5 box-office flops. Its is a well known story, directed very good by Charles Vidor, and supported excellent by Karl Malden. Charlton Heston show the kind of acting that will follow for the rest of his career,and comes out rather convincing.

A good film you would like to see again...(but not a masterpiece)