Perseguido

Described in my TV film guide as a noir Western, I'm not about to argue. Unlike more typical director Raoul Walsh fare this western is far less about rollicking action than psychological drama and is thus a refreshing change from the norm.

That said, Robert Mitchum's about the last person you'd think of being traumatised by childhood nightmares that dog him into adulthood, but elsewhere we get all his usual "ics" - laconic, sardonic, ironic and of course ultimately iconic. The story probably has too many twists and turns for its own good, with Bob's on-off again romance with Teresa Wright, she less convincing in her star-crossed lover role, hard to believe at the best of times. I also couldn't quite swallow badman Cullan's all-powering motive to wipe out every member of Mitchum's family, himself being the last survivor, while the reveal-all conclusion is over and done with too quickly and doesn't really deserve its build up.

I've always been a sucker, mind you, for the then in-vogue use of dollar-book Freud stuff as Orson Welles once described it and other noir conventions like the use of flashback sequences and the persistence of fate are present and correct enhanced by a moodily effective Max Steiner score. No one else in the cast has Mitchum's charisma, but the debut turn by Mitchum's brother is well done and an effective counterweight to Bob's work. Best of all though is James Wong Howe's marvellous photography with wonderful deep perspective interiors and some exceptional night work, particularly the scene where Mitchum is drawn into the fatal gun-fight with his "brother".

There's much to savour then, even if the weakest element is probably the story itself which is really just a typical noir plot backdated to the turn of the century.