Western Movie Review: PURSUED (1947)

PURSUED (1947)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that Raoul Walsh was as good or better than John Ford and Howard Hawks. He made some memorable crime films (HIGH SIERRA, THE ROARING TWENTIES) and at least one great Western (COLORADO TERRITORY) but most of his films that I’ve seen don’t completely work. They fall short of the controlled, masterful vision on display with those two peers he’s often (and falsely) compared to.

PURSUED had the opportunity to change my mind. The first half is terrific. It’s a dark, not “noir”, Western with a great setup of feuding families, a boy with a hidden identity, and a rivalry between two brothers. More on that noir thing for a bit: I don’t care for the term Western Noir and feel that it gets tossed around too casually when an entry in the genre has shadows and shadowy characters. There are all kinds of Westerns, including dark ones and darkly-lit ones. That doesn’t make them Film Noir.

Back to the film, it’s pretty damn good, featuring a top-form Robert Mitchum, until about halfway through when a pivotal (and predictable) incident changes the narrative. The reversal and counter-reversal of
Teresa Wright’s character didn’t work for me. She too easily changes her mind and heart, then changes it back nearly as quickly. Until then, I wasn’t thinking about the screenplay but from the midpoint onwards, I could feel the film being written and Walsh’s hand guiding the story where he wanted it to go rather than perhaps where it would naturally lead. By the time PURSUED reaches its climax, the film has become over-dramatic and totally cliche. The ending of the film bares no resemblance to the beginning and the promise of a first act which was a fresh, stark take on the genre.

Watched on Tubi.

These reviews were also posted on my letterboxd account and will eventually be published on my Travis Mills filmmaker Facebook page