Track of the Cat

Track of the Cat (1954)

59%
44votes
1popularity
102min

"A love story of real, raw, runaway emotions!"
Budget:$0
Revenue:$0
Release:11/19/1954
Genres:Drama | Western
Original language:English
Spoken languages:English
Countries:United States of America

Overview:

A family saga: In a stunning mountain valley ranch setting near Aspen, complex and dangerous family dynamics play out against the backdrop of the first big snowstorm of winter and an enormous panther with seemingly mythical qualities which is killing cattle.… Expand

Production companies:

Wayne-Fellows Productions
United States of America
Warner Bros. Pictures
United States of America

Videos

Imprint Blu-ray Trailer
7/6/2025Trailer
Track of the Cat - Trailer
6/21/2013Trailer

Videos

Recommendations

Movie
1954
65%
Broken Lance
Movie
1950
71%
The Furies
Movie
1948
62%
Blood on the Moon
Movie
1955
64%
The Tall Men
Movie
1957
69%
Old Yeller
Movie
1951
74%
Along the Great Divide
Movie
1957
67%
Man in the Shadow
Movie
2009
61%
Charlie & Boots
Movie
2017
78%
Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown
Movie
1994
72%
8 Seconds
Movie
1978
61%
Comes a Horseman
Movie
1966
61%
The Rare Breed
Movie
1943
77%
The Ox-Bow Incident
Movie
1957
65%
Forty Guns
Movie
1958
61%
The Proud Rebel
Movie
1958
76%
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Movie
1963
66%
McLintock!
Movie
2006
67%
A Good Year
Movie
1952
67%
The Lusty Men
Movie
1947
65%
Ramrod

Recommendations

Reviews

60%
John Chard
- Created:5/4/2019
- Updated:5/16/2024
Track of the cat, sting in the tail. We are up in the snowy mountains near Aspen, we are in the company of the brooding and feuding Bridges family. Their inner fighting is not the only thing blighting their lives, for a panther is on the loose and as it kills all in its way, it becomes evident that it's also symbolising something deep and foreboding. Track Of The Cat is directed by the highly accomplished William A Wellman and adapted by A.I. Bezzerides from the novel written by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. Hauntingly eerie and dripping with a sense of unease, it's however more triumphant as a technical piece than it is as a crux story driven one. Wellman had long wanted to make a colour film whilst only working from a black and white palette, he does it here and the result is fascinatingly gorgeous, helped no end by ace cinematographer William H. Clothier's CinemaScope cinematography brilliantly bringing the Mount Rainier location to life (the only way to watch this is in widescreen). All the production needed was to get snowy weather, and they got it, and then some! An interesting point of reference to the weather is that lead man Robert Mitchum (Curt Bridges) stated it was the hardest shoot he ever worked on. Some scenes are truly magnificent, atmosphere drips across the sparse snowy ground, with dark trees seemingly waiting to attack the small framed actors, a burial sequence viewed from the POV of the dead is sumptuous - in short the picture looks gorgeous, but what of the core story and acting heart? Frankly the story is guilty of being over talky, because as we marvel at the surrounds and buy into the sense of dread that hovers throughout, we are subjected to what can only be described as over written waffle, making me actually wish that I had read the novel prior to viewing the film. The extensive chatter would have been easily forgivable if the pay off via the panther itself was dramatically impacting, but sadly we are robbed of a crescendo ending - something Wellman would later say was an error of judgement (he is rumoured to have even disowned the film at one point). Of the cast, Mitchum is good, moody and bully like, watch as he baits Diana Lynn (poor) as Gwen Williams, while William Hopper puts in a fine turn as Arthur Bridges. The rest? well they are solid enough, though Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer as a very aged portentous Indian raises an unintentional laugh. After plodding around like a decrepit old crippled specimen throughout the picture, he suddenly turns into an Olympic 100 meters champion at the films finale! Yes it's safe to say that Track Of The Cat is a very odd picture indeed. 6/10… Expand

Track of the Cat (1954)

Cast

Cast

Videos

Videos

Recommendations

Recommendations

Reviews

Reviews

Reviews

Videos

Recommendations

Filmoteka

Track of the Cat (1954)

Cast

Cast

Videos

Videos

Recommendations

Recommendations

Reviews

Reviews

Reviews

Videos

Recommendations