Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

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

Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

museumofdave I would watch this film merely to revel in the lush black and white cinematography of James Wong Howe, who captures the splendor of the Western landscape as well as the dark shadows that haunt the childhood home of the main character when he, as a child, is traumatized by marauders; this film was made about the same time film noir began to assert itself, about the same time Western characters were no longer just good or bad people, but individuals with deeper lives and more complex problems. Indeed, it doesn't take a stretch to see major Oedipal issues here between Robert Mitchum's troubled adult and his stepmother, played by theatre actress Judith Anderson, who had been Oscar nominated for her turn as the evil Mrs. Danvers in Hitchcock's Rebecca You can just enjoy this as a traditional suspense Western, or if you wish, find deeper levels of enjoyment--underscored by the lush harmonics music of Max Steiner's masterful music.

mark.waltz 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.

JohnWelles 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.

jeromec-2 Before tonight, I'd never seen this underrated western. It is a complex morality play as well as being a film noir. The film begins with a young boy (Jeb Rand) being rescued from a house destroyed.He becomes part of the family, sort of headed by Ma Callum (wonderfully maternal by the skilled Judith Anderson). He is well loved by this woman, and should have grown up a normal hard working individual if she'd had her way, much like his stepbrother Adam (John Rodney). To all outward appearances, he did. He universally accepts his fate when he loses a coin toss. As the loser, he goes to a war he has neither interest in or understanding of. He comes back a hero. The ranch has been very profitable and the girl he left behind loves him and wants to marry him.Again, everything seems good.The tranquility is only on the surface, held together by the love of the mother matriarch. The natural son is insanely jealous of the adopted son. We never really find out why, nor does it matter. All the courtesy and soft-spoken talk is all veneer. Everyone has twisted emotions except Jeb (Robert Michum), who has problems, which he never denies, nor does he easily relate his problems.After two very ugly killings, Thor (Teresa Wright) hatches a plot. She consents to being courted and married.There is revenge in her heart. She is not the naive girl who wants the three of them to live together guided her mother's love and powerful moral upbringing. Thor is consumed by a Gothic kind of hatred. The hatred is so deeply ingrained that the mother, herself filled with a disappointed and mourning hatred, cannot stand to watch what the Thor has planned: she wants to kill Michum just as he thinks he has everything.Michum persists, but not stupidly. He confronts her hatred. Incredible as it may seem, he forces her to back away from killing him and to let her love surface in its place, which he knows is there.That is the complex characterization of the first half of the movie. The second part has to do with the Callum gang (headed by Grant – played by an amazingly sinister Dean Jagger) that tries to kill Michum on his wedding night at the old Rand ranch.The rest of the movie is all gun shooting and melodrama, which I won't reveal more about.The photography is astonishing with its shadows and light, which is like choreography. Wright is like a salad with ingredients that don't look they should go together but do. She is an underrated actress who must convey complex emotions, which not only contradict one another, but also are sometimes also false. It is to her credit that she does this easily. She is as Michum says, quite beautiful from a small distance. Close ups reveal how consumed she is in her depravity. If you don't believe this, watch her in the pride the Yankees. Close ups or shots taken from a distance show the same thing: a radiant vibrant woman transparently in love. This movie shows quite different side.I can't quite bring myself to give this a 10, because the plot suffers the same way all morality plays do. Let us say it is an interesting eight with subtleties that make it very engaging.An interesting 8 (out of 10).