Bottom Of The Bottle (1956)

Set in an Arizona border town separated from Mexico by a river, a wealthy and respected rancher (Joseph Cotten) finds his escaped convict brother (Van Johnson), a recovering alcoholic, hiding in his garage and asking for help. He needs to cross the river where his wife (Nancy Gates) and children are waiting but the river is flooded. The past animosities and bad blood between the brothers come to a head and Johnson falls off the wagon. This rather intimate story about two brothers and whether one is or should be "thy brother's keeper" seems dwarfed by the CinemaScope format and color by Deluxe, it would have been better served in black and white though Lee Garmes' handsome landscape shots are well composed. Johnson is very good here though he plays the his alcoholic scenes more like a mental case than a drunk. The film also allows a solid role for the undervalued Ruth Roman as Cotten's wife, a woman who covers up for an unhealthy marriage by being the life of the party. Based on the novel by the French novelist Georges Simenon and directed by Henry Hathaway. The effective underscore is by Leigh Harline. The large cast includes Jack Carson, Margaret Hayes, Bruce Bennett, Peggy Knudsen, Brad Dexter, Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Sandy Descher and Margaret Lindsay.