Beyond the River (1956)
"The Bottom of the Bottle" (original title)

Patrick Martin (Joseph Cotten), known as P.M., is a wealthy attorney and rancher big-man-in-town in the border town of Nogales, Arizona. He returns home to find his brother Donald (Van ... See full summary »

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Sydney Boehm, Georges Simenon (novel)

Stars:

Van Johnson, Joseph Cotten, Ruth Roman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Van Johnson	...	Donald Martin / Eric Bell
Joseph Cotten	...	Pat 'P.M.' Martin
Ruth Roman	...	Nora Martin
Jack Carson	...	Hal Breckinridge
Margaret Hayes	...	Lil Breckinridge
Bruce Bennett	...	Brand
Brad Dexter	...	Stanley Miller
Peggy Knudsen	...	Ellen Miller
Jim Davis	...	George Cady
Margaret Lindsay	...	Hannah Cady
Nancy Gates	...	Mildred Martin
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez	...	Luis Romero (as Gonzales-Gonzales)
John Lee	...	Jenkins
Tod Griffin	...	Rancher (as Ted Griffin)
Ernestine Barrier	...	Lucy Grant

Storyline

Patrick Martin (Joseph Cotten), known as P.M., is a wealthy attorney and rancher big-man-in-town in the border town of Nogales, Arizona. He returns home to find his brother Donald (Van Johnson)hiding in his garage. A former drunkard, Donald had been sent to the penitentiary five years previously for killing a man in a barroom brawl. It was in self-defense but P.M. hadn't defended his brother and he was convicted. Donald has escaped and wants his brother to help him across the Santa Cruz River into the Mexico-side Nogales, where his wife (Shirley Patterson as Shawn Smith)and children (Kim Charney and Sandy Deschler) are in dire straits. The straits get even dier when P.M. tells him the river is flooded and it will be days before anyone can cross. And P.M. is all a'twitter because his wife Nora (Ruth Roman), whom he married after Donald had gone to prison, doesn't know about his jail-bird brother. He introduces Donald to Nora and the rest of his Cadillac Cowboy and ranch society friends...

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Plot Keywords:

river | lawyer | theft | alcoholic | fugitive | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 1956 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Gefangene des Stroms

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System) Mono (optical prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The chimes on the doorbell to Joseph Cotten (Pat Martin)'s house play "How Dry I Am". Quite fitting considering Van Johnson (Donald)'s drinking problem and the "lushy" household guests that tempt him.

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Soundtracks

"I Had the Craziest Dream"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played when the men are playing poker at the party

User Reviews

Le Fond De La Bouteille

"Le Fond De La Bouteille" is based on a true story ;Georges Simenon remembered his own past:he was the one who made it big whereas his brother Christian ,his mum's favorite ,was a washout,someone who always failed.Like the movie,the novel takes place on the Mexican border and that's why ,unlike other Simenon American adaptations ("The man on the Eiffel Tower ") it was successful because it' s hard for an American director to recreate the Parisian atmosphere.

And of course there is Henry Hathaway !When will they give this great director the place he deserves?I have seen many of his movies,some are among my favorites ("Peter Ibbetson" "lives of a Bengal Lancer" "Niagara").

Joseph Cotten was ideally cast as the "good " "Abel-like" brother ;and who could play his fallen brother but Van Johnson?Ruth Roman is less cold than usually :the actress is believable as a -apparently- frivolous party woman who helps her husband discover forgiveness and compassion.Hathaway makes a good use of the wide screen ,particularly in the scenes on the river -which recall those of "Niagara" which Cotten's presence reinforces.He also strikingly contrasts the luxury house and the seedy room Mildred and her children pack into.

Georges Simenon spent a part of his life not far from the Mexican border;his book was probably a catharsis.