Track of the Cat (1954)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

A.I. Bezzerides (screenplay)
Walter Van Tilburg Clark (novel)

Release Date:

27 November 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

Human Emotion Stripped Raw!

Plot:

A family saga: In a stunning mountain valley ranch setting near Aspen, complex and dangerous family...

Plot Keywords:

Panther | Ranch | Alcoholic Father | Neighbor | Oedipal Complex

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Curt Bridges
Teresa Wright	...	Grace Bridges
Diana Lynn	...	Gwen Williams
Tab Hunter	...	Harold Bridges
Beulah Bondi	...	Ma Bridges
Philip Tonge	...	Pa Bridges
William Hopper	...	Arthur Bridges
Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer	...	Joe Sam (as Carl Switzer)

Directed by
William A. Wellman

Writing credits
A.I. Bezzerides		(screenplay)
Walter Van Tilburg Clark		(novel)

Produced by
Robert Fellows	....	producer (uncredited)
John Wayne	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
William H. Clothier

Film Editing by
Fred MacDowell

Art Direction by
Alfred Ybarra		(as Al Ybarra)

Set Decoration by
Ralph S. Hurst		(as Ralph Hurst)

Costume Design by
Gwen Wakeling

Makeup Department
George Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Margaret Donovan	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Nate H. Edwards	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andrew V. McLaglen	....	assistant director

Art Department
Joe LaBella	....	property man (as Joseph La Bella)
Harold Michelson	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Earl Crain Sr.	....	sound

Music Department
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator (as Maurice de Packh)

Other crew
Sam Freedle	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
• Wayne-Fellows Productions (uncredited)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros.)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. Finland (1955) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)

Also Known As:

William A. Wellman's Track of the Cat (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certicate #17120) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~10 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~9 seconds.

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Big Cat (1949)

Disappointing

Track of the Cat (1954)

** (out of 4)

Strange but ultimately disappointing family drama hiding behind the Western/Adventure genres. The film tells the story of a dysfunctional family stranded on a ranch during the 1880s. The family is bullied around by the middle son (Robert Mitchum) and his mother (Beulah Bondi) but the others begin to rise up as Mitchum is out tracking a deadly mountain lion. Okay, this is a film I had been wanting to watch for many years but within twenty-minutes I knew I was in trouble and the film never picked up. I was really shocked at how boring this film was considering Wellman was directing it and apparently this was a pet project of his. I'm not sure where to start but I guess we can mention all the family drama stuff, which naturally gets blamed on a bully and a religious freak. All of the drama here lacks any real drama and in fact all the characters just come off so obnoxious that I didn't care what happened to them. Another problem is the entire "track of the cat" with Mitchum wondering around without much to do. It seems Wellman never tries to build any tension in these scenes and one has to wonder why it was even in the story. I'm going to guess the cat was used to throw out that "good vs. evil" theme but it never works. I was also pretty disappointed in Mitchum's performance, which was dry and rather dull but then again I didn't care for any of the other performances either. It was strange seeing Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in the role of the elderly Indian and he certainly comes off the best. What does keep the film going is its beautiful cinematography captured in all its 2.55:1 glory. The scenery is another reason to watch the film with the snow covered mountains really coming off quite beautiful.