watch pursue tonight i be strike by the fact of how much alfred hitchcock spellbound seem to have influence this film . in the vhs copy i have and martin scorsese do a brief prologue and say this be a film that influence him and he call it a noir western . i think it more of a psychological western in which robert mitchum work out his own salvation rather than get the help of a doctor like ingrid bergman who wouldn not have be available back then because dr. freud be just start to develop his theory around the time this be make . mitchum early recollection and something he dream constantly be him be in a cellar and peer from a trap door a a lad and seeing and hear a gunfight . he rescue from that cellar by judith anderson who take him in and treat him a an equal to her own child who grow up to be teresa wright and john rodney . but mitchum still experience the nightmare and never quite seem to fit in . and he can not get the answer anywhere . mitchum be the third candidate for the role at warner brother for the role of jeb rand . jack warner test and reject first montgomery clift yet to make his screen debut and kirk douglas accord to lee server biography . i think both those actor would have imprint their own personality on the part as surely a mitchum do . play a malevolent and unseen hand in the whole proceeding which run over several year be dean jagger who a a villain seem to be a combination of inspector javert and iago . jagger on screen be equally good in both good guy and bad guy part and except maybe for his role in alan ladd the proud rebel and this just might be the bad he ever be on screen . jagger hat mitchum boy and man and the reason for that hate be not reveal until almost the end of the film . it a lot to do with the family name . niven busch write the script for this unusual western and he be marry to teresa wright at the time so apparently warner brother buy them a a package . she first bill in this picture even though the film be really about mitchum . a for him and he be lent from rko where in fact he have work with a niven busch screenplay and get great acclaim for it in till the end of time . the film bill john rodney who play wright brother a introduce john rodney . his next film be key largo where he play the luckless deputy sheriff kill by edward g. robinson . he never quite make it and but harry carey and jr. in only his second film before he be introduce in three godfather and certainly have have one long and successful career . carey play a luckless storekeeper influence by the cunning jagger to go after mitchum and do well with the part . raoul walsh know primarily for more straight forward action film do all right with his cast in what have to be unfamiliar territory for him . pursue be a good western and but definitely not one for the saturday afternoon roy rogers crowd .