Pursued (1947)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This is a troubling and ingenious story set in the New Mexico territories (i.e. before it was a state) at the turn of the 19th century. It is thus a kind of film noir set in the past and out in the wilds of the West. But there are no 'cowboys and Indians'. Robert Mitchum stars as Jeb Rand, a young man whom mysterious people have always been trying to kill. He was saved when he was six by his adoptive 'Ma', Mrs. Callum (Judith Anderson), after a massacre at his parents' isolated cabin 'up in the Butte country'. Mitchum has blacked out the recollections of how his mother, father, sister and brother were all killed by a gang of terrifying men, or what the reason for it all was. He was not meant to survive, but his new 'Ma' pulled him from a hiding place, fled with him and raised him as her own son, along with her real son and daughter. The daughter is played by winsome Theresa Wright, but unlike most of her 'good girl' parts, she is permitted a huge acting range in this film and goes through extreme character changes very convincingly indeed. When she is in her murderous 'hate phase', she is very scary. Mitchum also does some acting for a change, unlike most of his roles where he is just himself. These miracles of thespianism must all have been brought about by Raoul Walsh, the director, who coaxed Mitchum and Wright into territory as unfamiliar, perhaps, as New Mexico itself. Theresa Wright was always a most congenial screen presence and, like Bonita Granville, brought a great deal of normality and good character to a screen full of, let's face it, pretty weird people. It is not for nothing that actresses like Theresa Wright were referred to as 'girl next door types', since we all secretly wished we really had such girls next door. The villain in this film is played by Dean Jagger. He plays a well-mannered man, skilled in all the social niceties, who after smiling at you will without any fuss at all pull out a gun and shoot you dead, then go back to filing his fingernails. Jagger was always good at playing such characters, namely sophisticated psychopaths. He would have made a good 'world leader'. I don't know why he reminds me of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, it must just be my imagination. Anyway, this film is really very good because the mystery of why 'they' are after poor, uncomprehending Robert Mitchum, continues all the way through and right up to the very end of the film. We keep wondering who and especially we wonder why. For once, someone's paranoid fears are shown to be justified. That must give comfort of a kind to us all. These days, of course, it is the IRS, but back then it was humans rather than humanoids who were the threat. The film also has a powerful continuing love story, namely the love between Mitchum and his adoptive sister Theresa Wright, whom he wishes to marry. Judith Anderson plays 'Ma' with grim jaw and a determination to forget the past. But the past catches up with everyone, and it has to be faced, even by her. Finally, at the end, we find out what it is all about, but not until we have run out of ideas of our own as to what can possibly have motivated the relentless vendetta.

Do the sins of the parents fall upon the children? That's just one of the questions this brilliant film noir with a western setting asks as the brooding Robert Mitchum recounts his story to his foster sister (Teresa Wright) while waiting for his enemies to attack. Years ago, the young Mitchum was found by Wright's mother (a mesmerizing Judith Anderson) and brought into her family. Like Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights", Mitchum found resentment by his foster brother (John Rodney) and love with his foster sister. But vengeful uncle Dean Jagger blames Mitchum's father for the death of his brother (and Anderson's husband) and seeks to kill Mitchum to eradicate the survivors of Mitchum's family tree. He uses the envious Rodney as part of his plan after an understanding had been declared by Anderson to make all of their extended family get along. Rodney finds out the truth about Mitchum's heritage and vows revenge, resulting in tragedy that threatens to keep Wright and Mitchum from being together.Only a western because of its early 1900's New Mexico setting, "Pursued" is a brilliant example of how writers could cross film genres to make a powerful statement. Like 1950's "The Furies" (which ironically featured the always brilliant Judith Anderson), "Pursued" is an almost Greek tragedy like drama in its view of a family in turmoil. Mitchum doesn't need to speak much to express his lost soul; It is written in his eyes. Wright becomes almost like "Hamlet's" Ophelia as her hatred descends into a seeming madness in her quest for revenge. Anderson, then starring as the vengeful "Medea" on Broadway, utilized every trick in her brilliant acting brain to make this character both lovable and even somewhat sinister. This is no Mrs. Danvers ("Rebecca") or Big Mama ("Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"), and everything she does will keep you riveted, as she always did on screen, even in the most turgid of movies. It makes me wonder how she would have been as the mother in "Mourning Becomes Electra".While there is one outdoor shot that is obviously a backdrop, everything else technically about this movie is superior. It is a film that seems better with age, and is a must see for fans of the film noir genre as well as those who think that westerns are nothing but cowboys and Indians.

Pursued is a very decent picture, very nicely shot, darkly imaginative, and dripping with Noir style, but if it's actually a Noir film then that really is up for debate, as is, if this film really is a Western? It wasn't quite what I was hoping for, and in truth it was a little too offbeat for the frame of mind I was in, but it's definitely one I'll go back to at some point to re-evaluate prepared with the awareness of what type of film it actually is. Robert Mitchum {excellent} is Jeb Rand, who is constantly pursued by assailants all his life. The film is told in flashback from his childhood tragedy when his family were all murdered, with him being the only survivor. Upon learning that there was indeed a survivor, the killers set about erasing Jeb from the planet, thus Jeb spends all his life trying to find out what the hell is going on, and just why did his adoptive mother raise him in the first place?An oddity of sorts because Pursued is thinly embracing a number of genres, stretching the elements of each strand to create a film that once viewed, leaves one very intrigued as to its purpose......... 7/10

The theme of 'Pursued' is violent revenge. Don't forget that this was made shortly after WWII ended, so that the theme of men returning from combat, and the constant threat of death, was something everyone was conscious of; it's almost as if Jeb has PTSD (the 'black dog riding his back'), and death follows him, through no fault of his own, throughout the movie. The premise isn't complicated at all: a man brought up to love the daughter of his adopted family kills her brother - the fact that her family killed his is a bit irrelevant; see below. When Thorley reveals her intention to murder Jeb on their wedding night, I have to concede that it's a little unconvincing, but this is a limitation of Teresa Wright's performance, which is too wholesome - if she'd played it a bit sexier, more hot-blooded, she'd be much more believable. In terms of the 'operatic' plot, it's completely logical; two men have had a go at Jeb, now it's a woman's turn, and the stakes are even higher. Jeb phlegmatically welcomes death each time, and each time it turns out that he's the only one with the true killer instinct. The posse coming for Jeb is his real nemesis, and it's here that the happy (happy? Your mother-in-law shoots the guy who shot your father just as they're about to string you up?) ending lets the movie down; Thorley should have sacrificed herself to save Jeb and redeem herself and the Callums, but presumably this was thought too depressing for 1947. This would have dispensed with all the desperate last-minute exposition, too. The camera work is sublime, and Judith Anderson does a great Ma-in-law from Hell. I wonder what Elvis Presley would have made of the role...Mitchum shows just how far ahead of the 1950's beefcake field he was.