Track of the Cat **** (1954, Robert Mitchum, Tab Hunter, Teresa Wright, Diana Lynn, William Hopper, Beulah Bondi) – Classic Movie Review 1148

Director William A Wellman’s 1954 Western stars Robert Mitchum as Curt Bridges who is hunting a symbolic panther in this beautiful and splendidly haunting Eugene O’Neill-style drama about a squabbling, snow-bound 1880s northern California farming family. It’s a really rich and strange movie, all deep, brooding emotion, mysterious atmosphere and astounding show of visual flair.

Beulah Bondi plays the bigoted religious zealot matriarch Ma Bridges, who has pushed the whole family to the emotional or spiritual edge, including her talkative, self-pitying drunk of a husband Philip Tonge, bitter old maid of a daughter Teresa Wright and three troubled sons, played by Mitchum, Tab Hunter and William Hopper. 

Mitchum plays the crude and quarrelsome middle brother Curt, who bullies his noble, unselfish eldest brother Arthur (William Hopper), while the gentle youngest brother Harold (Tab Hunter) endures Curt’s abuse in silence. Their sister Grace (Wright) is temporarily cheered up by the arrival of Harold’s fiancé, spirited Gwen (Diana Lynn).

The family’s ancient Native American hired hand Joe Sam (Carl Switzer) alerts them to a panther prowling the hills. Curt and Arthur split up to track it, while the rest of the family tensely waits on their remote ranch for their return.

Apart from Mitchum’s extraordinarily fine performance, as well as those of the rest of the distinguished cast, the other main outstanding points of interest are the atmospheric score by Roy Webb and especially William H Clothier’s spectacular bleached CinemaScope colour cinematography of the harsh winter snow-scapes.

Wellman’s experimental idea was to film a black and white movie in colour. So it was mostly shot in monochrome shades, with colours used sparingly to highlight key elements like the blue matches, the fire and Mitchum’s red coat for dramatic effect. And very effective it is, too.

A I Bezzerides comes up with fine dialogue and bases his excellent screenplay on the 1949 adventure novel by Walter Van Tilburn Clark, who was also the source for another Wellman film, The Ox-Bow Incident. It’s produced by John Wayne and Robert Fellows for their Wayne/Fellows production company.

Reviews and box office were moderate at the time, but it’s true worth has come to be recognised over the years.

The outdoor scenes were filmed on Mount Rainier, Washington. Mitchum named the filming conditions in the deep snow and cold as the worst he ever experienced.

Tab Hunter (aka Arthur Andrew Kelm) came out of the closet in a tell-all memoir on his Hollywood years in 2005. The book entitled Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star outlines his relationship with actor Anthony Perkins that lasted several years in the late 1950s. Other flings he mentions include dancer Rudolf Nureyev, actor Scott Marlowe and ice-skater Ronnie Robertson.

Hunter and his lifelong companion Allan Glaser met in 1983. The couple co-produced Lust in the Dust (1985) and Dark Horse (1992).

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1148

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