Cry of the Hunted (1953)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A Major Disappointment

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

I actually enjoyed this film more than I expected. In contrast to other reviews here, I thought the writing was quite snappy and entertaining. I thought the cast was good in all the major roles and the chemistry between the characters was strong. In particular, Barry Sullivan was a good leading man, and his relationship with his wife (Polly Bergen) was good. I haven't seen many films with those two so it was interesting to see them. I believe that Polly is the mother of Candace Bergen, and you can see some resemblance in her face and attitude. Vittorio Gassman and William Conrad were also strong supporting roles.It's not the best noir, but certainly worth seeing. I'm so glad I was able to find it on You Tube since my local library and my local video store had no copies of it....

I like crime films a lot. So, the idea of a film about an escaped convict and a cop who doggedly follows him is one I'd probably like. However, "Cry of the Hunted" turns out to be pretty poor--mostly because the writer was 'slap-happy'--literally! Characters in the film are pretty one-dimensional and spend a lot of time slapping folks around--and they way the slap-ee (is this a word?!) reacts is even more bizarre. For example, early in the film, Lt. Tunner (Barry Sullivan) wants some information out of a prisoner--so he beats the crap out of him. Then, later in the film, after this prisoner escapes, the prisoner refuses to harm the Lieutenant when he has a chance! You'd think he'd at least deck him for having worked him over earlier--but instead he inexplicably likes him! And, when Tunner and his assistant (William Conrad) are out in the bayou looking for the escapee, the assistant takes a local behind his shack and slaps him around to get information! Only moments later, the prisoner and his woman get in an argument and, surprise, surprise, he slaps her across the face--at which point she kisses him very passionately!!! I tell you, the writer was slap-happy--and reinforced some bizarre clichés about violence!This is not my only complaint about the movie. Much of the dialog is bad but the plot really doesn't make any sense. A prisoner from the bayou escapes back to the waterways he knows so well. So, the Lieutenant and only one assistant follow him--determined to get him. This makes no sense, as the Louisiana back country is a maze of waterways, islands and ferocious creatures. Yet, two lawmen are going to somehow find a man who grew up there AND who is being aided by the locals. Yeah, right. And this makes sense to whom?!The bottom line is that the film is chock full of bad writing. Despite a decent story idea, the film manages to blow it.

Vittorio Gassman is a Cajun who escapes from the law in Los Angeles and heads for home and family in the Louisiana swamps. Barry Sullivan is the police officer sent to retrieve him, accompanied by William Conrad.You have to love that funicular railway on which Gassman gets away, but the movie has to small a budget for what it wants to do. That long, dangerous trip that Sullivan and Conrad take through the bayous of Louisiana needed to be shot on location, preferably in color. As it is, we get the impression of Simi Valley or Griffith Park, with a couple of potted tropical plants added by the greensman.Gassman is always a little hard to take seriously. He overacts outrageously. His physical movements lack grace. Maybe that's why he was outstanding as the boxer with the glass jaw in "Big Deal on Madonna Street." Here, one must put up with him as he looks tortured.Barry Sullivan has never been a bravura actor but he's always reliable, and there is no one quite like William Conrad for suggesting a kind of sweaty malignancy.Polly Bergen is pretty and her character is likable. She's Sullivan's caring wife. But, my God, you ought to see the wife that Vittorio Gassman has rushed home to see. The poor woman belongs in a B movie about vampires who earn a living as dominatrices. She scowls and hits good people over the head (twice). But if SHE looks spooky, the swamp lady who sits in the graveyard at night and howls for "Raoul" is right out of MacBeth.What keeps the movie perking is the occasional wit in the dialog. For the trip through the swamp, Sullivan's wife has packed lunch in a picnic basket. As they putt along down the streams, Conrad rags Sullivan for carrying an old-fashioned basket instead of a manly paper bag. In an amusing and somewhat extended scene, Sullivan goes through the carefully wrapped and beribboned contents of the basket glumly -- tuna fish sandwich, ham sandwich, cookies, and a meatloaf that he "won't even unwrap." Later, when they encounter the howling woman in the middle of the night, Conrad asks shakily, "How're we gonna get rid of her?" "We'll give her the meatloaf," replies Sullivan.I thought it was pretty standard otherwise, but I was called away for the last fifteen or twenty minutes, so I might have missed something of importance.

At first glance a rather ordinary thriller with a disillusioned cop (Barry Sullivan - pretty good) chasing an escaped con (Vittorio Gassman) deep into the swamps of Louisiana. However, delve a little deeper and you find a dark and cynical meditation on fear, obsession and personal honour.Unlike ‘The Fugitive' this con is guilty but his crime, although serious, barely gets a mention. The script instead concentrates on the two protagonists and their similarities. Although on different sides of the law, both believe in family and personal honour and cannot compromise their beliefs. Both suffer as a result.The justice system is portrayed as idle(a Prison Warden only interested in golf), bigoted (a Southern Sheriff who pre-dates ‘In the Heat of the Night') or just plain nasty (William Conrad scoring well as the cop's partner.)On the down side, the female roles are seriously underwritten (virtuous wife & bayou trash hellcat) and the resolution is implausibly upbeat.Overall, however, a good ‘B' thriller of its' day, surprisingly violent in places. Director Joseph H Lewis made better movies (‘Gun Crazy', ‘The Big Combo') but this one still begs the question; ‘How in hell did someone so talented end up making episodes of ‘Rifleman'& 'The Big Valley'?!'