The Stalking Moon

Scout Sam Varner (Gregory Peck) is retiring from the Army. He guides a squad of US troopers to round up a group of native Indians. Among the mostly women and children are Sarah Carver (Eva Marie Saint) and her half-Indian son Ashki. She is desperate to leave immediately. Only Varner is leaving right away to his new homestead in New Mexico. He agrees to take them to a stage coach station. Death follows her. It's the boy's father, a great warrior named Salvaje.

This is an opportunity to have a great western. If Salvaje is to be feared, his brutal killings need to be shown. The military detachment needs to be massacred. I don't mind the station massacre. It's a nice ghostly affair. This could be a fearsome western but it doesn't have the power of other more modern westerns. Director Robert Mulligan's most famous movie is probably "To Kill a Mockingbird" also starring Peck. Mulligan doesn't have the action thrills. As for Eva Marie Saint, her character is far too quiet. I understand the nature of her plight but she should be talking the native tongue with her son. The movie is a bit too quiet. Instead of increased mood, it slows the pacing. The potential is there for a landmark western.

A tense, fairly realistic, and mature western from 1968, when the genre was on the way to near oblivion, only to be saved now and then by the likes of Peckinpah and Eastwood. Unfortunately, this film is not so well known and has been unfairly characterized as plodding and slow. It definitely has a degree of introspectiveness to it, but their is a gem of a pursuit story. The film does its best not to sugarcoat the west. The locales and people are pretty impressive for their gritty primitiveness and overall authenticity. The central story about a fierce Apache warrior who's waging his own brutal campaign to kill as many whites as he can, chasing the white woman who was his wife and the mother of his son, while an ageing army scout does his best to protect them is framed by some pretty awesome photography of blinding sandstorms, thick vegetation, and lots of rocky cliffs and a fine score.

This is not your common variety of western, it's not even an action entry but presents a thoughtful look at the last days of the Indian tribes before the reservations took hold. It's a plausible story of these times that unfolds at a leisurely pace and builds to a suspenseful climax. It's also devoid of the simplistic over the top foolishness of the Italian spaghetti Westerns. Moon is a violent renegade Indian, who's hunting down a group of people who have rescued his forcefully abducted white woman, along with her/his young son, as they attempt to move them to the safety of civilisation.

Movie making veterans, director Robert Mulligan (To Kill A Mockingbird '60) & director of photography Charles Lang (The Magnificent 7 '60) capture superb mountain vistas along with the murderous 'stalking' being performed by this sociopathic Indian known as the 'ghost of the moon'. An evocative music score by Fred Karlin adds much haunting atmosphere to this seemingly little remembered film.

Stalking Moon should interest patient viewers of the genre & those who follow the careers of Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint, etc - the always interesting and under used Italian/Irish Robert Foster (Pieces of Dreams '70) makes an impression as Peck's half breed tracker friend, along with Frank Silvera as Major. Some have unfairly described this as a racist story but Pecks close friendship with Foster, and many of his comments and actions throughout the film tend to disprove this. Recommended for lovers of the more serious western stories.

From the same folks who brought you To Kill a Mockingbird, a good western thriller The Stalking Moon blends old west action with Alfred Hitchcock type suspense.

Gregory Peck is an old army scout who helped rescue captive white woman Eva Marie Saint and her son Noland Clay by one of the Apache chiefs. The father isn't about to give up his son and he pursues Peck all the way to his ranch after he quit the cavalry. The last 40% of the film deals with Peck and his ranch guests being stalked by a clever and dangerous Indian opponent.

The film itself touches on themes used in both The Searchers and Two Rode Together by John Ford and the fine Joel McCrea-Barbara Stanwyck western, Trooper Hook. But director Robert J. Mulligan took his style cues from Alfred Hitchcock.

We don't ever see the opponent except in long shot right up to the very end. We only know him from what is said about Nathaniel Narciso from what is said and the death and destruction in his wake. The anticipation is all the more terrifying.

Western and suspense, The Stalking Moon is a nice blend of film genres and fans of Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint will be pleased.

Unusual Western deals with a veteran cavalry scout named Sam Varner( a magnificent Gregory Peck) ready to retire to a farm in New Mexico who takes pity and protects a white woman named Sarah Carver (Eva Marie Saint , the unforgettable starring of ¨On the waterfront¨) and her half-breed son (Clay) recently rescued and have been captives from Indians for ten years . He agrees to help them and learn that the woman 's Indian husband nicknamed ¨Savage¨ is hunting them down . The Savage is an avenger and killer Apache and sooner or later a final grisly confrontation is almost inevitable.

This interesting Western contains action , thrills, intrigue , being ravishingly photographed and carefully made . Sensational performance by Gregory Peck plays a mature army scout attempting to save a women rescued and his Indian son from a marauding and feared father . Enjoyable appearance from Robert Foster as scout friend who teaches the little boy to count by means of the rules of poker . Ample support cast in brief acting as Charles Tyner , Joaquin Martinez , James Olson , Frank Silvera , Richard Bull and uncredited Richard Farnsworth , among others . In its initial exhibition the picture had average reviews , accused as racist and failed at the box office ; however , today is best considered with rave critical . It's an offbeat Western/drama/thriller from same tandem , Alan J Pakula-Alvin Sargent-Robert Mulligan who made ¨To kill a mockingbird¨ . Colorful cinematography showing spectacular outdoors by Charles Lang who long time ago won Oscar for his cinematography on ¨A farewell to arms(1933)¨. This motion picture with skeletal plot is well directed by Robert Mulligan , a filmmaker more specialist in human drama and with sure touch in the interior scenes . Mulligan has been out-stripped in reputation by his one time partner/producer Alan J Pacula . Mulligan directed good dramas as ¨A great impostor¨, ¨Love with the proper stranger¨, ¨Inside Daisy Clover¨ and ¨Summer of 42¨ that was extremely successful . His last works as ¨Blood Brothers¨ , ¨Same time next year¨ , ¨Kiss me goodbye¨ , ¨Clara's heart¨ failed to bring the required response from the cinema-goers public . Rating . Above average , worthwhile watching .