Pantera brava

Operating with a limited in number but generally talented group of eight actors, director Phil Karlson, soon to be known for his essays into noir, here creates an engrossing adventure film set in 1933 depression and drought wracked southern Utah, and incorporates many of the elements which later will prove vital to his deserved reputation as an important narrator of urban crime. Residents of a small secluded valley are being tormented by a large mountain lion which, due to a shortage of water, has invaded their region to prey upon livestock, and the bounty for the beast of $150 is coveted by two long-feuding neighbours, one of whom, Tom Eggers (Preston Foster) provides a place to live for a city-bred young man (Lon McCallister), the son of the former love of his host and also the nephew of Eggers' rival, Gil Hawks (Forrest Tucker). The well-crafted scenario includes elements of romance, suspense and humour to the basic plot, and a certain darkness of tone has raised the work above most others of its stamp, with crisp editing (Karlson and Harvey Manger) prevailing, and we enjoy particularly fine performances from Foster and McCallister, with a pleasingly large role for veteran character actor Irving Bacon, a standout as a farmer doubling as a preacher.

Young Lon McCallister has trouble making ends meet in depression-era Philadelphia, so he returns to his dead mother's rural hometown. There, he becomes involved with the town folk's soap opera past, and catches the eye of Peggy Ann Garner. Due to drought, a menacing cougar is on the scene, making the outdoors very dangerous for the movie's characters...

There is a lot of fighting, with and without the cougar; but, that's not the film's most interesting feature. More interesting is that the movie features a few "child stars" past their "Hollywood Prime." On hand: Lon McCallister, from 1943's "Stage Door Canteen" and others, Peggy Ann Garner from 1945's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and others, Skip Homeier from 1944's "Tomorrow, the World" and others, and Gene Reynolds from 1938's "Boys Town" and others. Mr. Reynolds won huge fame later, as a producer ("M*A*S*H").

"The Big Cat" and the family dog win big acting honors.

**** The Big Cat (4/49) Phil Karlson ~ Lon McCallister, Peggy Ann Garner, Preston Foster, Forrest Tucker

Were it not for a rather cheesy romance between the hapless, suit and tie wearing "Danny" (Lon McCallister) and the terribly chintzy "Doris" (Peggy Ann Garner), this might have made for quite an exciting mountain adventure. The former arrives from the city to the area where his late mother grew up. The area is suffering not just from the depression, but from a drought and his welcome is not as warm as he might like. He takes up with "Eggers" (Preston Foster) who is set on hunting down a local cougar that is wreaking havoc on the local farming community, but he is soon embroiled in some local shenanigans with the "Hawks" family - "Gil" (Forrest Tucker) and his two yokel sons. Some of the hunt scenes are quite good fun, though the cougar seemed a little unenthusiastic to me; and there is quite a fun waterside brawl. Sadly, though, there is just way too much sentimental guff (usually with a gently accompanying string score) to sustain the theme for me. There's a bit of a twist at the (really quite implausible) end, but despite some fairly decent, active, photography, I felt it ran just a bit low on gas.

Hi, Everyone, Lon McCallister shines as a newbie to the Utah drought stricken badlands of the 1930s. He has left his Eastern digs to get away from the Depression. When he meets Peggy Ann Garner he wishes he could get back to the squalor he left. Her jawbone never stops when she is on screen.

This movie is not great by any means, but it has some good moments. There are only a few human actors in this drama. The Big Cat does a good job of hitting his marks and growling. The best scenes by far are the fights. They seem real. Not just the human, but the animal fights are well done for 1949 when George Lucas was not available for a light show or animation.

In one fight scene between Preston Foster and Forrest Tucker you can almost feel the pain. Lon McCallister manages to get into a fight with his two cousins and they don't hold back. The cat has a scrape or two with a beautiful white dog and all of it is photographed to show how rough it is to survive in an environment with limited water and food and money sources.

Lon had a true screen presence that did not last long enough. If they quit using him because of his short stature, it was a loss to the fans. Skip Homeier is good as a rotten kid. Forrest Tucker is easy to dislike and he carries off the villain honors well here. Preston Foster does an excellent job of being a less than likable hero.

The best acting here is by Sara Haden as the mom of Peggy Ann Garner. She reminds me of my aunts of the 1950s. The worst singing in movie history might be the acappella ditty offered up by Irving Bacon as he approaches Lon McCallister who is walking down the road with his suitcase.

Lon McCallister and Skip Homeier both should have had long careers similar to Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. They had a good hero/villain chemistry. Somehow it just didn't happen.

When you watch this and see Forrest Tucker in 1949, you are seeing F Troop's Sgt. O'Rourke just 16 years before he became known for his comedic fights.

I recommend Stage Door Canteen with Lon McCallister (5'6") and Sunset Carson (6'4"). You will see the same boyish charm of McCallister 6 years before The Big Cat was made.

Tom Willett

A young easterner returns to the drought affected valley where his mother grew up, aggravating the already intense feud between his mother's ex-fiancé and his estranged uncle. Complicating things even more is a huge mountain lion that holds the small community virtually hostage, killing precious livestock.

Though not exactly politically correct, this is an outdoor adventure with a whole lot of heart. A simple folksy script, earnest performances, and excellent location photography make this almost impossible to resist.

With all the limited resources of a low-budget film in nineteen-forty-nine, director Phil Karlson managed to pull off a minor miracle by getting believable performances out of the animals.