JohnHowardReid Copyright 8 March 1947 by Hemisphere Films, Inc. Presented by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Strand: 7 March 1947. U.S. release: 2 March 1947. U.K. release: 10 November 1947. Australian release: 24 June 1948. 9,020 feet. 102 minutes. SYNOPSIS: In turn of the century New Mexico, an avenger seeks to kill the last of the Rands. NOTES: Film debut of John Rodney. He followed up his impressive performance here with an unimportant part in Key Largo; and that was followed by Fighter Squadron (1948) and "Calamity Jame and Sam Bass". Which is all I have for his movie career. He then moved over to TV. Locations in Monument Valley.COMMENT: Fascinating variant on Wuthering Heights, superbly photographed, drivingly scored and forcefully directed, with Judith Anderson and surprisingly Dean Jagger and newcomer John Rodney giving forceful portrayals. Mitchum and Teresa Wright are also well cast and directed, with excellent cameos by Alan Hale and Harry Carey Jr. Walsh makes marvelous use both of his broadly scenic natural locations (in awesomely mountainous and rimrock country) and his realistic backlot sets. The action set-pieces are superlatively staged. Impossible to forget such sequences as the rifle ambush from the ridge and the shoot-out with Harry Carey Jr (one of his most unforgettable portraits). Jagger is grippingly malicious as the vengeful Grant Callum, while Judith Anderson's strong portrait is likewise unforgettable. One of Steiner's most appropriately aggressive scores.One of the first of the so-called psychological westerns - and one of the most suspensefully written and directed and spellbindingly produced.

dougdoepke No need to recap the plot. It's an unusual western for the time, with dark psychological undercurrents and noirish stylings. Mitchum carries the movie without changing expression let alone emoting. Not so, Miss Wright who has a little too much malt shop for my liking. Pairing her with the studly Mitchum is risky, to say the least, but she's a good enough actress to manage. The story's dark with some striking b&w visuals, especially those awesome rock monoliths peering down like silent gods. The story's told in flashback such that we're intrigued by the main thread of what it is that haunts Mitchum's character. And that's despite a lengthy and somewhat turgid screenplay given to sub-thread meanderings. I would have liked it better had Mitchum's haunting gotten more screen time. Anyway, the great Judith Anderson gets a sympathetic role for once that also turns out to have some depth. Given the year 1947, Pursued embodies two emerging fashions of the period—concern with psychological afflictions and couched on a background of noirish stylings. The trends characterize many post-war productions, and here even spread into that most conservative of Hollywood genres, the western.All in all, it's a suspenseful story, well acted, with impressive visuals, even though the screenplay could use some tightening up.

Dalbert Pringle There were really only 2 things that this decidedly misguided Western Chick Flick had going for it that prevented me from giving it an even lower rating than 5 stars.One of Pursued's only notable assets was the casting of one of Hollywood's best cowboy/tough guys of the late 1940s, Robert Mitchum, as Jeb Rand (although I've seen Mitchum better cast in other films).And Pursued's other worthwhile bonus was the absolutely wonderful camera-work done by ace-cinematographer, James Wong Howe. Believe me, some of the dazzling shots that were taken of New Mexico's rugged, wide-open country (as well as other shots) improved this maudlin, melodramatic, little soap opera significantly and made it well worth watching right through to its painfully predictable ending.On the other hand, one of this Western's biggest and most damaging deficits was that its story was given over, far too often, to being nothing but a corny Chick Flick that dwelt on a really brain-dead romance that had literally been going on between Thorley Callum and her adopted brother, Jeb, for near 20 years now. (Spare me!) I found that one of the principal problems with this less-than-fiery love affair was the blatant miscasting of Teresa Wright as the now-grown woman, Thorley Callum.Now, I'm not saying that Wright was in any way a terrible actress. That's not the case here.It was Wright's looks that were all wrong. The truth is she was just way too plain and mousy-looking (and sans any sexual appeal, whatsoever) to be at all convincing as the sort of woman whom a man (in his right mind, of course) would be willing to die for.And, besides the above complaint - The other aspect of Pursued that lost it some considerable points was the "big secret" behind Grant Callum's senseless, 20-year pursuit of Jeb Rand. This apparent revelation comes as no surprise at all to the viewer which causes its intended impact to fall flat on its face at the big climatic showdown when all of the facts are finally brought to light.All-in-all - I would never recommend this disappointing Western to anyone who, like myself, is a staunch fan of 1940's cowboy flicks. Regardless of its obvious big budget, when it comes to worthwhile "Old West" drama, there are certainly plenty of very entertaining B-Westerns out there that surpass Pursued by a literal country mile.

jeromec-2 Before tonight, I'd never seen this underrated western. It is a complex morality play as well as being a film noir. The film begins with a young boy (Jeb Rand) being rescued from a house destroyed.He becomes part of the family, sort of headed by Ma Callum (wonderfully maternal by the skilled Judith Anderson). He is well loved by this woman, and should have grown up a normal hard working individual if she'd had her way, much like his stepbrother Adam (John Rodney). To all outward appearances, he did. He universally accepts his fate when he loses a coin toss. As the loser, he goes to a war he has neither interest in or understanding of. He comes back a hero. The ranch has been very profitable and the girl he left behind loves him and wants to marry him.Again, everything seems good.The tranquility is only on the surface, held together by the love of the mother matriarch. The natural son is insanely jealous of the adopted son. We never really find out why, nor does it matter. All the courtesy and soft-spoken talk is all veneer. Everyone has twisted emotions except Jeb (Robert Michum), who has problems, which he never denies, nor does he easily relate his problems.After two very ugly killings, Thor (Teresa Wright) hatches a plot. She consents to being courted and married.There is revenge in her heart. She is not the naive girl who wants the three of them to live together guided her mother's love and powerful moral upbringing. Thor is consumed by a Gothic kind of hatred. The hatred is so deeply ingrained that the mother, herself filled with a disappointed and mourning hatred, cannot stand to watch what the Thor has planned: she wants to kill Michum just as he thinks he has everything.Michum persists, but not stupidly. He confronts her hatred. Incredible as it may seem, he forces her to back away from killing him and to let her love surface in its place, which he knows is there.That is the complex characterization of the first half of the movie. The second part has to do with the Callum gang (headed by Grant – played by an amazingly sinister Dean Jagger) that tries to kill Michum on his wedding night at the old Rand ranch.The rest of the movie is all gun shooting and melodrama, which I won't reveal more about.The photography is astonishing with its shadows and light, which is like choreography. Wright is like a salad with ingredients that don't look they should go together but do. She is an underrated actress who must convey complex emotions, which not only contradict one another, but also are sometimes also false. It is to her credit that she does this easily. She is as Michum says, quite beautiful from a small distance. Close ups reveal how consumed she is in her depravity. If you don't believe this, watch her in the pride the Yankees. Close ups or shots taken from a distance show the same thing: a radiant vibrant woman transparently in love. This movie shows quite different side.I can't quite bring myself to give this a 10, because the plot suffers the same way all morality plays do. Let us say it is an interesting eight with subtleties that make it very engaging.An interesting 8 (out of 10).