A veteran of numerous decent films noirs and westerns (even by 1947), Robert Mitchum was the perfect choice of lead for a western utilising such typically noirish devices as flashbacks, a voiceover and moody, high contrast photography, courtesy of James Wong Howe. There's also a strong biblical flavour to the picture,
with the Cain vs. Abel sparring of Mitchum and his adoptive brother, and a plotline concerning the sins of a father being visited on his son. Events do get a little repetitive in the middle and I enjoyed the first half better than the second, though there is a lovely late scene, beautifully acted by Teresa Wright, in which Mitchum calls round to court her and she invites him in and treats him like a stranger, even though they grew up together as brother and sister, under that very roof. Teresa even gets to practise her femme fatale chops for a moment or two, which is a sight I thought I'd never see!
May 18, 2009
