Western Noir: Pursued

Darkness and ambiguity in the Old West

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s there were a number of westerns that adopted elements of Film Noir: use of cinematography to portray psychological states, morally shaded protagonists, and settings that were bleak and harsh. But there were a few that were just outright Noirs, stories that could easily have been transferred to the urban streets of the 20th Century. Perhaps the best of these was 1947's Pursued.

The movie unfolds as a flashback with Jeb Rand (Robert Mitchum) hiding out in a burnt out farmhouse in the New Mexican desert, waiting for men to ride over a rise to come in and kill him. He is joined by his new wife, Thorley Callum (Teresa Wright) who urges him not to make a stand, to run away with her. The flashback opens with a scene of him as a young boy, hiding under the floorboards of the cabin as his whole family is slaughtered. Once the danger has passed, he is taken in by a neighbor, Wright's mother (Judith Anderson), who raised him as her own.

As Mitchum's character grows into manhood, his adoptive mother is warned by her brother-in-law Grant Callum (Dean Jagger, in an untypical dark role) that the Rands are evil and that he intends to wipe out the last of the family by killing the boy, as he previously murdered the family. She begs him to leave him be and he agrees – for the moment.

When Mitchum reaches adulthood, he is confronted by Army recruiters, who demand that either he or his adoptive brother Adam Collum sign up for the Spanish-American War. Back at the ranch, they toss a coin to see who goes, and Mitchum loses. He goes off to war, is wounded and wins medals, while his brother Adam stays behind to run the ranch alone.

When Mitchum returns to local fanfare for his war service, he finds his brother Adam embittered and angry. He set aside some of the profits from the ranch for Mitchum, but complains that he didn't earn any of it. Mitchum proposes that they flip a coin again, and the winner gets the ranch and profits. Mitchum loses, and agrees to leave, but promises to return the next day to take Wright away and marry her. This results in a brutal fist fight between the brothers.

From this point forward in the movie a series of tragic events unfold, seeming to prove that Jagger's prediction of inherent evil in the Rands is coming true. Mitchum winds up estranged from his family, buying into a gambling house with Jake Dingle (Alan Hale) and living the life of a professional gambler. All the while, Jagger works to stoke hate against him and maneuver to get him killed.

The movie climaxes with a very dark turn from Wright's character and the inevitable showdown with Jagger at the burnt out cabin. It ends on a hopeful note, but it's impossible to forget the tragic mayhem that preceded it. I won't go into detail to avoid spoilers, but let's just say things turn bad about halfway through and there is no going back from the consequences. There is a critical reveal that helps to explain things, but doesn't wash away everything that led up to it.

Unlike many Noirs of the 40s, which were B pictures or productions of Poverty Row, Pursued was an A picture from Warner Brothers. It featured top talent of the studio: director Raoul Walsh, cinematographer James Wong Howe, top star Teresa Wright and top supporting actress Judith Anderson. All of them are at their peak here, each contributing strongly. Screenwriter Niven Busch was one of the best in his field, penning classics like The Postman Always Rings Twice, Duel in the Sun, The Westerner, and Pride of the Yankees.

Howe's use of classic Noir shadowing and framing is a main character of the movie, alongside the powerful cast. He was perhaps the greatest of his craft of the Golden Age and it shows here. The lighting and framing of a tense scene late in the movie between Mitchum and Wright in their bridal chamber could be used in a masterclass.

Mitchum does a good job embodying a man who doesn't understand his past and fears that all the aspersions cast on he and his family as bad seeds are justified. He is constantly trying to do the right thing but somehow fate lines up against him. This ambiguity lasts all the way to an ending where he is ready to surrender to his fate but is saved by the intervention of others.

This is classic, peak Mitchum. What a year 1947 was for him; in addition to Pursued, he also starred in the classic Noirs Crossfire and Out of the Past. In fact, 1947 may have been the greatest year ever for Film Noir. Born to Kill, Brute Force, Dead Reckoning, The Devil Thumbs a Ride, Framed, Kiss of Death, The Lady from Shanghai, Nightmare Alley, Possessed, T-Men, just to name a few. The sheer volume is staggering.

Pursued compares very favorably to Out of the Past. I would even say it is as great a movie as it's Film Noir counterpoint. The only thing differentiating them is an end for the Western that isn't quite as sharp, dark, and satisfying as the Film Noir masterwork.

I cannot recommend this forgotten classic enough, especially if you are a Robert Mitchum fan.

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