Simply Perfect

Good movie but grossly overrated

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

I have been quite impressed with this one; genre-wise, it's a romance. It's a noir western, but essentially a romance, and a very wholesome and lovable movie. John Sturges made this charming and very stylish noir western with an interest in rocky landscapes and generally a very good sense of the places, and a very intriguing lead character: the oilman, successful as an one man posse, then turned cowboy to help a needy family, but firstly to redeem himself, and to expiate, and also strongly drawn by the sick passion for a widow, this with a cheap script, and happily it's not Ford's sometimes extrinsic religion (even Jory doesn't play as one of the conventional priests of that age: Fonda or Malden), and, this strangely, not the religious behavior as a distorting and possibly misguiding of the white man's conscience. The style of the movie is very grounded (from the Spanish spoken by the Mexicans in the opening scenes, to the landscape and the unflattering style of the cast's acting); everything, very cinematographic, and very appropriate. It's a director's movie, of one who turns everything into straight cinematography.The plot is quite tenebrous. The leading character resembles physically his victim, and their relation is interesting, unto tenderness, as the chased man reposes peacefully. There's the character's narration, yet some things are understated, and he might be unreliable, to the effect of ignoring himself. What does he wish? He let go his fiancée, then all of a sudden falls in love with a widow.His wedding party was so endearingly modest; and once married, he starts his chase.Though given only a supporting role, Jory is the best of the cast.The special effects were done by the Lydecker brothers. And it's a very good looking movie.

The Capture is a neat little modern western where Lew Ayres in the space of the 90 minute running time learns what it's like to be the hunter and the hunted. The film was written and produced by Niven Busch, screenwriter and husband of co-star Teresa Wright.A tired, bedraggled, Lew Ayres staggers into the mission of Padre Victor Jory and tells him he's hunting by the police in Mexico where this story takes place. He explains to Jory just how this happened.A year earlier Ayres was the foreman in a Mexican oilfield with mixed Yankee and native crew and his payroll is robbed. Ayres deduces that the posse organized is doing it wrong and he decides to become an unofficial peacemaker and bring in the bandit himself. And he finds such a suspect where he thinks he should be in the person of Edwin Rand. Rand is wounded in The Capture, but later dies after police interrogation.Ayres quits Bolsa Grande Oil and breaks off his engagement to Jacqueline White. Circumstances bring him to the small ranch of Rand's widow Teresa Wright and their boy Jimmy Hunt.I won't say any more other than the plot takes a turn from the Graham Greene novel and film, This Gun For Hire. As for the personal relations between Ayres and Wright, the plot elements from the future John Wayne classic Hondo are used.The film was shot on location and was an independent production released by RKO Pictures. Ayres, Wright, and the rest of the cast give good accounts of themselves. And the ending is rather unusual for 1950 in that you really don't know what everyone's fate will be in the end as the film ends somewhat abruptly. Abrupt, but still effective.

"The Capture" is the most frustrating story to watch, as it is a pretty good film....through the first 3/4 of the movie. Then, when you are invested in the darn thing, it ends oh so stupidly....very stupidly. As a result, I am doing something I rarely do--telling you not to bother with this one! The film begins with Lew Ayers on the run somewhere in rural Mexico. When he meets up with a priest (Victor Jory), he begins telling him the story of how he got to be on the lam from the law. It seems that some time ago, Lew was reluctantly goaded into helping look for a man accused of stealing the company's payroll. On his own, he catches up to the guy and accidentally kills the suspect. While he's considered a hero, he can't live with himself and quits his job--even refusing the reward money. So far, so good--I liked the story and the idea that he felt so torn apart by this. While it strained disbelief A LOT, I even got into the film when Ayers tracked down the dead guy's widow (Teresa Wright) and young son and moved in as a hired hand.Late in the film Ayers gets the idea that the man he killed was not really guilty and investigates. This is a great idea--and a great way to throw the plot up on its end. HOWEVER, when he has a big confrontation with his ex-boss, the plot goes straight down the toilet. The last 20 minutes of the film make no sense at all--especially when he kills the man in self-defense yet runs away and makes himself look 100% guilty! Why do this--he seemed to have a good case to prove that his ex-boss was a crook and the gun the ex-boss tried to use on him was ample evidence he was defending himself. And from there, it only gets worse...much, much worse. You simply cannot believe the story at all and it made me mad by the time the stupid final showdown occurred.Okay acting and it was apparently written by lemurs! There just isn't enough in the first half to make it possible to ignore the last!

Wounded fugitive Lew Ayres (as Lin Vanner) finds refuge in the company of convenient priest Victor Jory (as Father Gomez); in the latter's home, he relates, via flashback storytelling, his unfortunate story. Mainly, Mr. Ayres' tale concerns his stay as ranch hand for new widow Teresa Wright (as Ellen Tevlin) and her son, Jimmy Hunt (as Mike). Despite revealing he was responsible for her husband's death (after a payroll heist) Ayres wins Ms. Wright's hand in marriage.Most enjoyable during Ayres' sleuthing, after he weds Wright; during this time, there is a neatly directed John Sturges hanging. Still, this is a more unsatisfying than not film; it doesn't ever find a balance between psychological swerving talk, and occasional action. "Cisco Kid" Duncan Renaldo (as Carlos) can be spotted among the supporting players.