The Chase

Much sexual water has gone under the bridge since the 1960s, and more than a few installments of "The Playboy Philosophy." So now, at the millennium's turning, a tale in which the prejudices, cynicism and sexual infidelities of a small southern town's dissolute ruling class figure prominently seems dated, even quaint. Yet such is the terrifyingly plausible spiral into anarchy depicted in 1966's The Chase that Arthur Penn's controversial film remains a disturbing piece of cinema. A thinner (but still imposing) Marlon Brando plays Sherrif Calder, a lone, laconic voice of reason in a town rapidly going insane on a hot summer's night. E.G. Marshall is Val Rogers, bank president and town monarch, suitably surrounded by fawning lackeys such as Ed Stewart (Robert Duvall, uncharacteristically loathsome as a milquetoast cuckold aching for revenge). The spark for the climactic firestorm is the return of "Bubba" Reeves, who has escaped from prison after being sent away for joy-riding in a stolen airplane. Everyone assumes he is coming back to avenge himself on Rogers' son, who has been keeping company with Reeves' wife Anna (Jane Fonda). The film's weakest performance is, arguably, turned in by Robert Redford, who is much too pretty and soft-spoken to be convincing as the fugitive hellion, Bubba. Overall, however, The Chase features some memorable performances, including those of Brando, Duvall and Janice Rule as Duvall's slutty wife, Emily. In addition to the fearsome inevitability of its violence, The Chase is notable for the horrific realism of the beating inflicted on the sherrif by a couple of corporate good 'ol boys - almost certainly the most graphic beating Hollywood had ever dared to put on film, and possibly unrivalled to this day for its sheer ferocity. Critics may have made much of the film's flaws, but as a study of a dysfunctional society poised to explode, The Chase still stands up as a sobering and powerful movie experience.

The lukewarm reviews and comments led me to expect less than what I found in this decent movie of small-town corruption. Most of it is probably due to a pretty good cast - Brando is excellent, and Duvall, Dickinson, and E.G.Marshall put in good work. Redford's part is too small to do much with. I too was astounded at James Fox's pretty darn good Southern accent; it was so good that at first I couldn't place him, and then all those British roles came back to me in surprise. The script is ok too, and one would like to know more about the backstage fighting that went on over it between Hellman & company. The Panavision color is excellent; far better than what we have today. The portrayal of small-town bigotry, duplicity, jealousy, betrayal, and infidelity is well-done, and the spectacular junkyard Gotterdamerung is a chilling finale. The flick is definitely worth seeing.

I was interested to watch 'The Chase' for three reasons. First Brando. Brando is regarded by most movie fans as one of the greatest actors of all time, but people usually only mention a handful of his films - 'A Street Car Named Desire', 'On The Waterfront', 'The Godfather', 'Last Tango In Paris' and 'Apocalypse Now'. Without a doubt they are all fine movies but what about his equally worthy performances in his lesser known films (e.g. 'One-Eyed Jacks', and 'Burn!')? Secondly, Arthur Penn. An extremely underrated director in my opinion, especially for his almost forgotten 'Mickey One' and 'Night Moves'. Thirdly, the first rate supporting cast which includes Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, E.G. Marshall, James Fox, Jane Fonda, Angie Dickinson and Clifton James. Apparently there were lots of behind the scenes problems with this movie, but despite a few flaws it's definitely worth watching. The sexual and racial themes were pretty daring for the mid-60s, and while I can see what some people are saying about its "soap" feel, it's quite compelling. Brando plays a small town farmer turned sheriff who is despised by many of his contemporaries because they think he is the puppet of the local millionaire Val Rogers (Marshall). Rogers' son Jake (Fox) is having an affair with a local woman (Fonda) who is married to a convict Bubba Reeves (Redford). Bubba escapes from prison and an innocent bystander is killed by his fellow escapee. Bubba initially plans on heading to Mexico, but he desperately returns to his home town for help, not realizing that he is being hunted as a murderer. News of his escape causes tensions to explode in the town, with catastrophic results for everyone. Brando is terrific throughout, and reason enough to watch this, but Fonda is surprisingly good, Robert Duvall is memorable as a cuckold, and character actor Clifton James ('Cool Hand Luke', 'Live And Let Die', 'The Last Detail') almost steals the movie as a hot headed drunken redneck. 'The Chase' may not be as great as it could have been, but I still think it deserves more attention than it gets. Brando fans shouldn't overlook this one!

The Chase did get pretty awful reviews when it was released but this is a movie to seek out, if for nothing else the performances. A young Richard Bradford is extremely believable as the town bully and womanizer. Robert Duvall as a henpecked husband. Jane Fonda and Robert Redford in early roles. The real reason to catch this one, however, is Brando's performance, which (as noted by another reviewer) is one of his better ones. I saw this movie when it was released and left the theater feeling exhaustion as well as an inner turmoil because the movie made me so mad! The fight scene at the sheriff's office was pretty violent for it's time and was quite upsetting. Great acting all around. Check it out.

A town in the southern United States is presented as a kind of microcosm in which hypocrisy, class struggle, lust, the cult of power and money, jealousy, but also dignity, common to all societies, coexist. As the minutes go by, the townspeople become increasingly brutalized and debased, on a Saturday night that will end in tragedy. Robert Reford's character is a born loser, who has escaped from prison and returns to the only place he knows, his hometown, where his wife Jane Fonda lives, or his parents, rude people who have not given him the affection necessary to make him a worthwhile man. Marlon Brandon and his spouse Angie Dickinson, they are without a doubt the most humane couple in that 'wretched' town. The direction is sublime, with no concessions to any kind of unneeded 'joy'.