La vallée de la peur

In the turn of the Nineteenth century, the orphan Jeb Rand is raised by Mrs. Callum (Judith Anderson) with her daughter Thorley and her son Adam. Jeb has a trauma with recollections of boots and flashes of light and Adam envies him. When Jeb is shot by the one-armed Grant Callum (Dean Jagger), Ms. Callum goes to the hotel and tells his relative to stop the family feud and forget Jeb. Years later, Grant is a prosecutor and presses Jeb (Robert Mitchum) to fight in the war against the Spanish. When Jeb returns a decorated hero, he courts Thor (Teresa Wright) and proposes her. But Jeb has an argument with Adam that was poisoned by Grant and Adam snipes his step-brother while he is riding trying to kill him. However, Jeb shots him in self-defense and is declared non-guilty by the court. But Grant has not given-up to kill the last Rand.

"Pursued" is a great western by Raoul Walsh that blends western and film-noir creating an unforgettable film about a family feud with a revengeful man. The locations and the camera work are astonishing and top-notch. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Sua Única Saída" ("His Only Exit")

This is not so much a Western as a film noir that happens to be set in New Mexico around the turn of the century. Dame Judith Anderson steals the film as both the catalyst of all that happens and, in many ways, its hero. Dean Jagger is marvelous as the villainous lawman who cannot leave well enough alone. Harry Carey Jr. scores with a memorable portrayal of a well-meaning milquetoast manipulated by Jagger.

The photography and editing (James Wong Howe and Christian Nyby) are topnotch film noir. Alan Hale (Sr.) is perfect as the wry gambler who recognizes Mitchum's talent and woos him as a partner. Mitchum does a fine job as the emotionally paralyzed Jeb who is basically decent but with a busted emotional compass, he allows himself to be led by the fates. Although I'm not normally a fan of the sleepy-eyed and laconic Mitchum, I thought his signature traits were used to excellent effect here, and well explained by the trauma that eats him apart so much inside that he is unwilling to stand up for himself. Teresa Wright is stunning as Mitchum's foster-sister-turned-object-of-lust-turned-true-love-tuned-would-be-executioner-turned-true love again. What a woman!

One thing that differentiates this 1947 film in my book as a noir not a western is that the two main women are anything but passive -- and even more so -- ANYTHING BUT madonnas or whores. They are unafraid to fire guns or stand up to militias. But they will fulfill what is in their hearts even when it means societal disapproval or death.

Although the plot is full of holes, the storytelling is excellent enough to overcome it. Great pacing too -- a really fun ride.

Pursued (1947), a noir Western directed by the great Raoul Walsh and stars Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright and Judith Anderson.

The plot is simple enough: Set in New Mexico (and shot there too) around the turn of the century and told in flashback, the film tells the story of Jeb Rand (Robert Mitchum) whose family was murdered when he was a small boy. The sight of this haunts him, which manifests itself in bad dreams, into adulthood, as he is brought up by Mrs. Callum (Judith Anderson) and her two children, including Thor (Teresa Wright), whom he falls in love with. When the killers (led by the effectively cool Dean Jagger) discover that he exists and the only Rand left, they vow to kill him too. But Rand also has other problems to sort out, especially his jealous half-brother Adam Callum (John Rodney).

The photography, by the esteemed James Wong Howe is breathtaking, all harsh black-and-white vistas; the editing too, by Christian Nyby (who would later go on to take credit for directing the classic science fiction film The Thing from Another World! [1951]) is above average, and the music by Max Steiner is up to the same high standard of the of his other classic scores. The direction is brilliantly handled by Walsh and the screenplay by Niven Busch throws up more than a few surprises. Robert Mitchum is his usual laconic self (which is no bad thing!), Judith Anderson as always is excellent, Teresa Wright is good as Mitchum's half-sister and love and Dean Jagger, Alan Hale and Harry Carey Jr. all turn in memorable performances. The film itself has been influential, being homage in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West and Martin Scorsese has talked about his great admiration for it. This was also, tragically, the last movie "The Doors" singer Jim Morrison watched before he did on July 3, 1971. Pursued is an extremely good Western noir that deserves to be much more well known than it is and I strongly urge fans of either Westerns or noir's to see it.

Raoul Walsh's strange, noirish Western isn't much seen these days but "Pursued" is still something of a classic. It was an original screenplay by the novelist Niven Busch and is told in flashback by Robert Mitchum who is the pursued of the title. He's the adopted son of Judith Anderson who took him in after his family is killed. The thing is, it was Anderson's brother-in-law, Dean Jagger, who was responsible for the family's murder to begin with. Subsequently, Mitchum is haunted by memories of his past as he finds himself falling in love with his adoptive sister, Teresa Wright.

You might say, then, that this is far from being a conventional western yarn. I mean, in how many other westerns do you find a romantic relationship developing between a brother and sister, even if they are not blood relatives, or where a brother-in-law and sister-in-law can be so diametrically opposed in what is a family feud. The performances are mostly fine but the real star of the picture is James Wong Howe's stunning black-and-white cinematography. This film may not be as well-known as it should be but it has certainly built up a considerable cult reputation.

Interesting camera-work is the main attribute of this late 1940s western. It plays and looks more like a film noir than a western, but there is nothing wrong with that. I enjoyed that aspect, especially the film noir-like cinematography. I say the latter because of all the stark black-and-white contrasts, night scenes and facial closeups. At the same time, it reminded me of a John Ford western with the expansive skies and big rock formations.

I can't say the story is anything special. It's almost frustrating, seeing everyone chase after Robert Mitchum even though the man has nothing wrong! Yes, it's a paranoid viewer's delight but it got to be a little much of a downer for me. However, Mitchum, Teresa Wright, Judith Anderson, Dean Jagger and company all acted well, and I appreciated their talents.