by Judy Geater
Director William Wellman made two Westerns adapted from novels by
Walter Van Tilburg Clark. The first and best-known, of course, was
‘The Ox-Bow Incident’ (1943), a devastatingly bleak drama crammed into
just 75 powerful minutes. Bleak is also the word to describe the
second film where this writer and director joined forces, ‘Track of
the Cat’.
However, rather than being short, this is a film which seems to go on
and on, like the prints of the cat which Robert Mitchum follows
through the snow. It comes as a surprise to realise that this Western
actually only 102 minutes long, because the repetitive, bitter
conversations and recriminations make it feel more drawn out. This is
a dark, psychologically turbulent movie, one of the many 1950s films
to open up a dysfunctional family and show the rivalries and hatreds
simmering under the surface.
The book and film have both been compared with ‘Moby Dick’ because of
the theme of obsession – though in this film the creature which must
be caught and killed is a black panther, which killed some of the
family’s stock, rather than a whale. If it really is a panther, that
is. Nobody sees it close up and lives to tell the tale. The decision
never to show the cat makes it all the more frightening, and hints
that it is a symbol, though, again as with the whale in ‘Moby Dick’,
that symbol’s significance constantly shifts.
Again and again, it is said that the cat is “black”, uttered in a way
suggesting that it has supernatural powers. At times the cat seems to
represent the darkness surrounding the family and inside them too,
while at others it is the vengeful version of God that bitter
matriarch Ma Bridges (Beulah Bondi) uses to keep her offspring in
line. But it also represents wild and uncontrollable nature, as
suggested by the way that elderly Native American Joe Sam, fears it
and carries out rituals designed to ward it off. However, the
character whose life becomes one long Ahab-style hunt for the cat is
Curt Bridges (Mitchum), the swaggering, bullying eldest son of the
family.
The cat’s blackness might never be seen, but the most immediately
striking thing about the film is the fact that it is a
“black-and-white film in colour”, as Wellman himself described it.
Cinematographer William H Clothier created a strange, surreal
landscape by bleaching out almost all the colours. Most of the time
there are none at all to be seen except for the skin tones of the
actors moving through the black and white sets. Outside, the trees
look black against the snow, while, inside, almost everything in the
house is black, white or grey, including the clothes worn by the
Bridges family.
Wellman had wanted to make a film with this visual quality, and saw
his opportunity with ‘Track of the Cat’ – much to the dismay of the
studio. However, the strange and haunting rejection of colour is not a
gimmick, any more than the invisible cat. The insistence on the
monochrome colour scheme is there in the book too, and it gradually
becomes clear that the black and white reflect the way in which Ma has
leached out all of the colour from life with her religion of fear.
Fire is one of the only colourful items which does appear, but usually
suggesting violence or desperation rather than warmth.
The first time I saw the film, I felt that it was dominated by
Mitchum, so, on subsequent viewings, I was surprised to realise how
much of the time he is absent and looming from a distance, like the
cat. He uses every minute to effect, however, and makes such a
powerful impression that it is still his film all the way. Mitchum
brings the most vivid splash of colour into the film, wearing a
blood-red coat with a black line across it – which makes Curt the
focal point of every scene he appears in, and suggests just how sexy,
angry and threatening his character is. He constantly belittles the
other three grown-up children, and flirts slowly and deliberately with
youngest brother Harold’s new girlfriend, Gwen, delighting in the pain
he is causing all round.
However, later all this macho swaggering falls away from Curt, when
his gentle brother, Arthur (William Hopper), dies in pursuit of the
cat, and he is left to battle on alone through winds and blizzards.
The commentary on the DVD points out that Curt puts on his brother’s
soft black and white coat rather than his own red one, and seems to
take on some of his personality.
In the book, Curt’s gradual disintegration goes on and on, as he gets
hopelessly lost in the snow and tries to measure out his days and
nights by the intervals between smoking cigarettes or eating small
amounts of food, only to lose track of time and place completely. A.I.
Bezzerides’ screenplay cuts short this slow decline, crystallising it
into key moments. At one point Curt finds a volume of Keats’ poems in
Art’s coat, and tries to read one of the poems (“When I have fears
that I may cease to be”), but chokes up, and turns his head aside into
his brother’s fur hood to hide his tears.
After seeing these later scenes, I found that, watching the whole film
again, Curt seems vulnerable even early on, when he is taunting and
terrorising his family. Even that red coat can’t disguise the fact
that his life is every bit as lonely and limited as those of his
siblings. When his mother tells him off for swearing, he snaps “I
ain’t a kid, I’m 37,” But he is still sitting at her table, taking her
orders, and one reason he flirts with Gwen is that he has no
girlfriend or wife himself.
Gwen (Diana Lynn) also brings colour into the film, with a yellow
blouse which echoes the blond of Harold’s (Tab Hunter) hair,
suggesting how the young couple still have the potential to enjoy
life, unlike the others, who have all been left stranded. Perhaps the
most pitiful figure is Joe Sam (Carl ‘Alfafa’ Switzer), who lost his
own family to violence and is now tolerated and patronised by the
family. However, all the characters are sad and isolated in different
ways, from sister Grace (Teresa Wright), nourishing a barely-hidden
incestuous love for her brother Art, to cold-hearted Ma and drunken,
self-pitying Pa (Philip Tonge).
The way in which the mother gets the blame for so much could be seen
as misogyny, but, against that, Gwen is seen as a different type of
potential mother, bringing in warmth and colour and in the end taking
care of things as Ma Bridges never did. Similarly, Harold – the one
who actually kills the cat – is a different type of son and potential
father. The young couple give the one note of hope in this unsettling
picture.
Wellman is sometimes said not to be a stylish director, but even his
detractors would surely have to admit that this particular film is
full of style. He made several fine Westerns during his career,
including Yellow Sky, Westward the Women, Buffalo Bill (actually the
ending of that one is terrible, but the rest of it is pretty good!)
and pre-Code The Robin Hood of El Dorado. They are all very different
from each other, but they are all worth repeat viewings, as there are
so many little touches that can be missed first time around.
I remember the color in this film was striking and the film was perhaps the most stylish Wellman ever made. Yet another terrific countdown essay! Never realized that ‘Moby Dick’ was a comparison point in theme.
Thanks, Frank – I’m not sure now where I first heard the ‘Moby Dick’ comparison mentioned. I agree this might be Wellman’s most stylish – I’d also be interested to see more of Clothier’s work.
Judy you touch on all the fascinating elements of this film and I hadn’t realized the source material was based on the same writer from Ox-Bow. There are some tonal similarities. I was surprised by how biting and angry this script was when I saw it. I initially sat down and was watching it with my children, but it turned out much darker and not quite age appropriate for them. It is almost Bergmanesque at times and is somewhat like a chamber western. I do like the visuals and the cinemaScope framing is great. Considering this was produced by John Wayne’s Batjac company it is also important to note how subversive this film is compared to most of the films Wayne’s company produced, which were more traditionalist in nature. I would place this film second amongst the films he produced behind Seven Men From Now.
Jon, the book of this is really gripping – I haven’t managed to read the novel of ‘Ox-Bow Incident’ yet but hope to do so. Definitely agree that this is a dark Western, and you make an interesting point there about Wayne’s Batjac company – I’m very glad they did produce it, since that company treats UK buyers to exactly the same DVD releases as in the US, complete with all the host of extras and commentaries! I love your phrase here ‘a chamber western’. Thanks for the comment.
Oh and as for Wellman’s westerns, I’m glad you mentioned Westward the Women, which I think is Wellman’s most underrated one.
I agree it is very underrated – such a moving scene where they list all the names. Time for me to watch that one again!
Cinematographer William H Clothier created a strange, surreal
landscape by bleaching out almost all the colours. Most of the time
there are none at all to be seen except for the skin tones of the
actors moving through the black and white sets. Outside, the trees
look black against the snow, while, inside, almost everything in the
house is black, white or grey, including the clothes worn by the
Bridges family.
Judy, as always you are the consummate Wellman scholar, and you have offered up as magnificent a study of this surreal, almost experimental work with exceeding clarity and fascination as any that has been published. TRACK OF THE CAT is unlike any other film Wellman has ever made -indeed it’s unlike any other western ever made- and the visual tapestry that you so well delineate is alone worth the price of admission. Definitely a film to watch over and over, as there is always some new revelation.
Really great stuff here!
Thanks very much for the kind words, Sam, and for organising the countdown so well. “Surreal, almost experimental” is right, and I agree this is one to watch over and over – Samuel and Drew’s comments below are already pointing me to more things to look out for next time around.
There’s not only the chromatic abstraction but a deliberate staginess to the exteriors on the Bridges property that clashes with the mountain scenes.It is odd to think of a classicist like Wellman as an experimental stylist, but think of his use of necessarily artificial rain in so many of his films. There’s a precocious revisionist streak in a lot of his westerns, including the problematic 1942 film The Great Man’s Lady. Yellow Sky is his best western but Track climaxes his revisionism in memorable style.
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On a tangent, the Western countdown is probably the best place to note the death today (in a car accident) of spaghetti western star Giuliano Gemma, who starred in The Price of Power, Day of Anger, and the original Ringo films, among many others. R.I.P.
Samuel, you make some great ponts here – must agree that the revisionist streak is there in Wellman’s Westerns, including ‘The Robin Hood of El Dorado’, which you reviewed at your blog a while back. I forgot to mention ‘The Great Man’s Lady’ but that is another interesting Western – it’s a long while since I’ve seen it but I do remember it is “problematic” in several ways, as you say. I’d also agree the artificial rain in so many films feels experimental – I sometimes wonder which of his films has the most rain, and am not sure what the answer is.
Jean-Pierre Melville was another director who aspired to make a b&w film in color; he also always wanted to make a western, which never happened, and if it had I’m not sure it would have looked or felt anything at all like TRACK, but Melville is nevertheless someone I think of when I watch this movie.
Beyond the most obvious experimental flourishes there are just so many little creepy things going on with sound (that offscreen laughter in the beginning) and angles (the funeral!), things are being pushed pretty hard in all directions at all times and it’s so staggering this thing got made in the first place. It’s brilliant and one of my very favorites, glad it landed on the list.
Drew, that’s interesting about Melville, thanks. Your description of the film’s weirdness with all those ‘little creepy things going on’ is spot on and makes me want to watch it again soon – great comments here. And it definitely is staggering that it got made in the first place, as you say.
The film is obscure but brilliantly allegorical and the effect of the visual design is unsettling. Comprehensive and authoritative review.
‘Unsettling’ is right – it’s a film with scenes that keep coming back into the mind. Thanks so much, Steve.
A beautiful essay on this dark, brooding, almost gothic western. I am intrigued by the Moby Dick connection as I am preparing myself for a reread of Melville’s masterpiece. It has been a very long time since I last saw this film. It is time to see it again.
Duane, thank you – I only read ‘Moby Dick’ a few years ago, but definitely a novel to reread. I must read more of Melville, as so far I think I’ve only read that and ‘Bartleby’. I am sure you will enjoy (though that isn’t really the right word) revisiting both novel and film.
Excellent review. I saw this for the first time recently and it definitely made an impression. I’m not sure it quite manages to be the masterpiece it’s obviously aiming for, but it’s so unique, gorgeous, and often powerful that it absolutely deserves a spot on this list. The drawn-out, repetitive conversations might hae benefited from one more rewrite, but the fact that they are drawn-out and patience-trying is part of their fascination–it’s so unlike any other American film of the time (that I’ve seen) that you feel it’s constantly reaching for new levels of expression. It very much reminds me of Dreyer and Bergman.
Pity about the ending, though–I don’t know what happened there, but after dragging out and building up everything for so long, suddenly Curt’s dead and Harold has killed the cat and is coming home and then the credits are rolling. I thought there was a scene missing or something–perhaps the studio had chopped up the film–but on looking into it it appears that was the way Wellman wanted it. One more minute of Harold discovering Curt’s body and finally coming into his own manhood would have closed things out much better, I think.
Interesting point about the repetitive conversations, Stephen…I’ve just read a great essay by Bertrand Tavernier about Wellman where he says: “Writer A.I. Bezzerides’s reservations are understandable: out of enthusiasm, Wellman allegedly shot the first draft of the screenplay without waiting for rewrites.” If that’s the case, then it does suggest he wanted the conversations to go round and round in exhausting circles, as they do. However, Tavernier also thinks, like you, that the talkiness works well, though he says not showing the cat was a mistake – something I can’t agree with.
Here’s the link to Tavernier’s piece for anyone who wants to check it out:
http://filmcomment.com/entry/from-the-archives-william-wellman-by-bertrand-tavernier
I’ve also just looked back at the book’s ending, and there it ends with a moving passage where Harold picks up Curt’s body and puts it on his horse to take it home. I must compare the film ending again. Thanks for your comment.
We still have Jesse James to come (I am assuming anyway) but I can’t imagine a more revisionist (yes experimental too) western than this one. Definitely a change of pace for Wellman. Judy Geater has the pulse of this director of this film. One of the best reviews of the countdown so far.
Tim, it seems to me as if Wellman was always changing pace and maybe that is one reason why he has sometimes been overlooked compared to some of his contemporaries. However, he does seem to be coming into his own more now, with many more of his films on DVD and the recent retrospective at the Film Forum. Thanks for the nice comment – much appreciated.
I’ve always bought into this as a Gothic western too. Definitely a one-of-a-kind film that always rewards new viewings with further insights. Outstanding review by Judy Geater.
I definitely agree that it rewards re-viewing. Thanks, Peter.
I thought I’d never heard of this western, but the reference to “black-and-white in color” reminds me that it was featured in Richard Schickel’s documentary on Wellman, which I saw years ago on TCM. I think the director is very underrated, and that plus Judy’s evocative descriptions make me want to see this.
Joel, I totally agree that Wellman is underrated, but I think there is starting to be more interest in his work – thanks to the efforts of Frank Thompson and John Gallagher. Hope you get to see this Western, and thanks for the kind comment.