Both stars played their unsympathetic roles against type - it was Lancaster""s first villainous role as J.And then those woods are real deep.The river""s inaccessible except at a couple of points...This is the last chance we got to see this river.You just wait till you feel that white-water under you, Bobby...I""ll have you in the water in an hour.The first view of the city-dwelling buddies in the film occurs when the vehicles pull into a junk-littered, backwoods area that appears "evacuated already.It was feared they would run out of rations in a few weeks, not see the Blue Star again, possibly sail off the edge of the world, or get eaten by sea serpents (Edmund""s main fear).The camera leaves them and follows he cart as it is wheeled into a warehouse/garage where the suitcases are piled up.