Jul. 13, 2003 - 7:41 pm
well, despite our efforts, Greg and i were never able to come up with any sort of current address for Teresa Wright that will actually work out. i was able to locate her ex-husband's mailing address though. i believe Greg's words were "I bet he'd love to give that out." in any case, i thought it best that i continue on trying to see some more of her films. after a search of the library catalog, i came up with this one...also starring Robert Mitchum. and this movie has finally made it evident to me. Robert Mitchum is one of the ugliest leading men to ever grace the silver screen.
Pursued tells the story of an orphan boy who is raised by a somewhat scary, but loving older lady who was an aquaintance of his father. it takes place in New Mexico around the turn of the century. the boy grows up as part of the lady's family along with her own son and daughter, much to the son's dismay. as he grows up, he always feels as though he doesn't really belong. he also begins to feel that there are forces at work against him. we find out that there is an older man, the same age as the mother figure, who for some unknown reason has a vendetta against him and actually does plan to murder him at some point. as everyone grows older, the vengeful man's hate starts to weed its way into the hearts of others and Jeb (Mitchum) is forced to take steps to defend himself. his flowering relationship with his sister/not-really-sister starts to die though as those around Jeb do the same. as the film progresses the viewer begins to wonder where the final bullet will come from for Jeb considering just about everyone and their mother (haha quite literally i guess) wants him dead.
this was rereleased a few years ago as part of the "Martin Scorsese Presents" series of films that were recently restored. he has mentioned this one as being one of the first (if not the only) film noir westerns. it's an interesting combo to make an attempt at. westerns were traditionally so simple and plot-driven, pitting a simple good against a simple evil, that to pair it with something as stylistically intense as film noir was risky at the very least. in any case, it's pulled off quite effectively and we get a good example of how it can be successfully done.
as far as Teresa Wright's performance in this, she was good, but i don't think this is really the sort of part that draws out the best in her. there's a lot of hatred in her throughout the film and not so much of the sweetness that she voiced in earlier appearances onscreen. i hate to sort of advocate typecasting or being a character actor, but maybe it really does work for some people. i'll have a better opinion when i start to see more of her various performances.
oh, and don't forget to hit "previous movie" tonight so that you can check out the latest review on Pirates of the Caribbean (2003).