The Chase
Directed by Arthur Penn
Written by Lillian Hellman from a novel by Horton Foote
1966/USA
Horizon Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Emily Stewart: Shoot a man for sleeping with someone’s wife? That’s silly. Half the town’d be wiped out.[/box]
Despite the sterling cast, this is a case of too much plot chasing too many characters culminating in a stupid inferno. Add in some sadistic graphic violence and I was completely turned off. Your mileage may vary.
Bubber (Robert Redford) was sent to prison for a crime committed by his wealthy so-called friend Jason Rogers (James Fox doing a pretty good Southern accent). Since Bubber was incarcerated, Jason started an affair with Bubber’s wife Anna (Jane Fonda). Now Bubber has escaped and his attempt to go to Mexico has ended him up on a train headed back home.
Calder (Marlon Brando) is the town’s sheriff. He is widely believed to be in the pocket of Val Rogers (E.G. Marshall), James’s father. The town is full of racists and sadistic idiots. Calder needs to capture Bubber before the bad guys do. He also must protect Bubba’s black friend. There is a subplot which I really couldn’t follow having to do with yet another love triangle between characters played by Janice Rule, Robert Duvall, and Richard Bradford. The various story threads build to a climax. But that was not enough for this very lame movie so we are treated to a massive fire and series of explosions. With Miriam Hopkins as Bubber’s mother and Angie Dickinson as Calder’s wife.
Marlon Brando complained that all he did in this movie was “wander around” and Arthur Penn disowned it. Take their advice, and mine, and don’t bother. Or do. IMDb inexplicably has this rated at 7.3/10.
