Robert Mitchum puts in an outstanding performance here as the mean son at the head of a dysfunctional family in a harsh snowy landscape at around the turn of the century. Mitchum's is a detailed performance worth watching very closely to observe a great actor in action.
The film is fascinating boasting several strong characters at variance to each other, including an extrovert but unrealistic alcoholic father, a dried-up, sniping bible thumping mother and a thoughtful, kind older brother as well as Mitchum. Then there is the startling outdoors photography in the snowy mountain landscape. Mitchum remembered the film as the toughest he had ever been through. The snow is the backdrop for a panther legend believed by the old Indian help and played out for real as a panther is known to be in the area attacking the livestock. Two of the brothers try to track it down while the remaining family members in the home experience shifts in the balance of power.
Track of the Cat is a stylised, expressionistic film that reminds of Charles Laughton's film with Robert Mitchum, The Night of the Hunter. So many of even Mitchum's best regarded films are very flawed, but Track of the Cat has many strengths not least a star on searing top form.
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