Spur in den Bergen (1954)

Spur in den Bergen: Directed by William A. Wellman. With Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright, Diana Lynn, Tab Hunter. Around the turn of the 20th century, during a harsh northern California winter, members of a ranching family are squabbling among themselves while the two oldest sons go hunting for a panther that is killing their livestock.

“A disturbingly dysfunctional family is at the heart of TRACK OF THE CAT, which tries to impose symbolic significance on the threat of the creature that is being stalked by the two oldest brothers. But the tale, filmed in monotonous Bu0026amp;W style with only highlights of real color allowed, is somber, tedious and talky.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe performances are standard except for Mitchum who does a believable job as the loutish oldest brother. TERESA WRIGHT, DIANA LYNN and TAB HUNTER do fairly standard work, under William A. Wellmanu0026#39;s slow-paced direction. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s a stark and brooding story of an isolated farm family living in a remote area and haunted by the symbolic u0026quot;catu0026quot; of the title. Photographed in muted WarnerColor with effective background music by Roy Webb, its somber wintry atmosphere is well captured in the opening scene but becomes tedious before the story reaches a midway point because a real connection with the troubled characters is never really made.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll the cast members have done better work elsewhere. Itu0026#39;s hard to believe how matronly and severe TERESA WRIGHT became for this role, only a few years beyond her delicate work as a leading lady in many films of the u0026#39;40s. WILLIAM HOPPER is effective as Mitchumu0026#39;s outspoken brother.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll the interiors are filmed in a style that seems more like a filmed play than a film. BEULAH BONDI as the embittered mother manages to give some gravitas to the story. ROBERT MITCHUM gives his usual sturdy and colorful performance as the oldest son hellbent on tracking a killer cat. TAB HUNTER as the weakest younger brother has less to work with.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA fairly interesting, harsh, character-driven tale that should have been much more effective with better dialog and family dynamics.”