Pursued

Handsome star Robert Mitchum was just starting to make his mark when he took on the role of a young orphaned man haunted by traumatic childhood memories in this offbeat 1947 film directed by Raoul Walsh. Part noir and part frontier Freud, this revenge thriller is one of the darkest and most unusual Westerns of its era, thanks to James Wong Howe's shadowy cinematography, Walsh's understated direction, and Mitchum's effective portrayal of Jeb. Mitchum's sleepy eyes communicate a tortured helplessness as everyone around Jeb, including his adoptive family—protective mother (Judith Anderson), jealous “brother” (John Rodney), and devoted “sister” (Teresa Wright), who loves him as more than a sibling—all turn against him for reasons he can't comprehend, until he revisits his past in order to understand the foggy images in his mind. Dean Jagger, so often a bastion of morality, plays against type as hateful, one-armed Grant, who has dedicated his life to hunting down and murdering Jeb. With its ominous atmosphere, flashback structure, and Freudian imagery, Pursued is an evocative and engaging melodrama that is a lesser-known American classic. Making its second appearance on DVD and debuting on Blu-ray, extras include an intro by Martin Scorsese. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)