''Cry of the Hunted'' is a 1953 American
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
film noir directed by
Joseph H. Lewis
Joseph H. Lewis (April 6, 1907 – August 30, 2000) was an American B-movie film director whose stylish flourishes came to be appreciated by auteur theory-espousing film critics in the years following his retirement in 1966. In a 30-year direc ...
. The drama features
Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter.
He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...
,
Barry Sullivan and
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer and entrepreneur.
She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in '' The Helen ...
.
Plot
An obsessive lawman (Barry Sullivan) who works for the state chases an escaped fugitive (Vittorio Gassman) through the
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
bayou.
Cast
*
Vittorio Gassman
Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter.
He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...
as Jory
*
Barry Sullivan as Lieutenant Tunner
*
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer and entrepreneur.
She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in '' The Helen ...
as Janet Tunner
*
William Conrad as Goodwin
* Mary Zavian as Ella
*
Robert Burton as Warden Keeley
*
Harry Shannon as Sheriff Brown
* Jonathan Cott as Deputy Davis
Reception
According to MGM records the film earned $376,000 in the US and Canada and $249,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $179,000.
Critical response
Film critic Hal Erickson, of ''
Allmovie'', has praised the directing of the film, writing, "On the whole, the MGM
B product of the 1950s contained some of the studio's best-ever 'small' pictures...''Cry of the Hunted'' is directed with flair by Joseph H. Lewis, who always managed to rise above the slimmest of budgets and the barest of production values."
''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'' in its film guide also wrote well of the film, "Stylishly directed chase film from Lewis who had previously shown his talent in ''
Gun Crazy
''Gun Crazy'' (also known as ''Deadly Is the Female'') is a 1950 American crime film noir starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. It was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produced ...
''...At one point he is caught but again breaks free, only to be recaptured again at the finale. Interesting subplot has Conrad waiting for Sullivan to make a wrong move so he can grab his job."
Noir analysis
Critics
Alain Silver
Alain Silver is a US film producer, director, and screenwriter; music producer; film critic, film historian, DVD commentator, author and editor of books and essays on film topics, especially film noir, the samurai film, and horror films. Filmm ...
and Elizabeth Ward, in various sections of their analysis of the film, discuss a ''
sub silentio
''Sub silentio'' is a legal Latin
A number of Latin terms are used in legal terminology and legal maxims. This is a partial list of these terms, which are wholly or substantially drawn from Latin.
__TOC__
Common law
Civil law
...
'' theme found in the movie: the homosexual undercurrent of the protagonists; they write, "After an initial scene, in which Sullivan and Gassman wrestle each other to exhaustion and then sit sharing cigarettes like brothers," and, "...even in his sleep
ullivanis obsessive as he dreams of the escapee in homoerotic terms," and, "Gassman too seems drawn to his pursuer."
Film critic
Eddie Muller
Eddie Muller (born October 15, 1958) is an American writer based in San Francisco. He is known for writing books about movies, particularly film noir, and is the host of Noir Alley on Turner Classic Movies (TCM).
Early life and education
Muller ...
, in an interview for ''
Bright Lights Film Journal'', agrees, "I once showed this goofy B film called ''Cry of the Hunted'', with Barry Sullivan and William Conrad — it's swamp noir. In Los Angeles, the audience adored it. They howled, especially at the over-the-top gay subtext between the two lead actors. They fight, and when it's obvious the fight is over, they're still wrestling around the floor. Then they lie against the wall and smoke cigarettes. The L.A. audience ate it up."
Sorrento, Matthew
''Bright Lights Film Journal'', "A Writer's Evolution: An Interview with Eddie Muller," Issue 68, May 2010. Last accessed: February 17, 2011.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cry of the Hunted
1953 films
1950s crime thriller films
American black-and-white films
American crime thriller films
1950s English-language films
Film noir
Films directed by Joseph H. Lewis
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
1950s American films