''The Capture'' is a 1950 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

John Sturges John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American film director. His films include ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), '' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), '' The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (19 ...

and starring

Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film '' All Quiet on the Western Fr ...

and

Teresa Wright Muriel Teresa Wright (October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was an American actress. She was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress: in 1941 for her debut work in '' The Little Foxes'', and in 1942 for '' Mrs. Miniver' ...

. The story, told in flashback deals with an ex-oil worker driven by guilt at causing the death of an innocent man to find out the truth about a robbery.

Plot

Lin Vanner is the manager of an oil company. The payroll has been stolen in a holdup. His fiancée urges him to pursue the suspect in hope that he will gain recognition. Deducing the road the robber may have taken over the border with Mexico, he sets out to intercept him. He shoots a man who shouts back at him and does not raise his hands when challenged by Lin. Too late Lin learns that the man could not raise one arm because it was injured and this was the reason for his shouting rather than complying with the demand he raise his hands; he was not guilty of the robbery. Troubled by his action and abandoned by his fiancée, Lin takes it on himself to tell the dead man's wife, Ellen, but is mistaken for an applicant for a helper to keep the dead man's farm going until his widow's son is old enough to take over. Lin believes that this opportunity has been given to him to make amends for his mistake. With Father Gomez at his side, the story that he is being pursued by the police for another killing is told in a flashback.

Cast

as Lin Vanner *

as Ellen *

Victor Jory Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer N ...

as Father Gomez *

Jacqueline White Jacqueline Jane White (born November 23, 1922) is an American former actress, who had a brief career in Hollywood motion pictures during the 1940s and early-1950s working as a contract player at both studios MGM and RKO, and perhaps best reme ...

as Luana Ware *

Jimmy Hunt James Walter Hunt (born December 4, 1939) is an American actor.. He is perhaps best known for his role as David in '' Invaders from Mars'' (1953). In the 1986 remake of the same film he plays the police chief. Hunt has also appeared in films l ...

as Ellen's son *

Barry Kelley Edward Barry Kelley (August 19, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in '' Oklahoma!'' on Broadway. His l ...

as Earl C. Mahoney *

Duncan Renaldo Renault Renaldo Duncan (April 23, 1904 – September 3, 1980), better known as Duncan Renaldo, was a Romanian-born American actor best remembered for his portrayal of The Cisco Kid in films and on the 1950–1956 American TV series ''The Cisco Ki ...

as Carlos *

William Bakewell William Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was an American actor who achieved his greatest fame as one of the leading juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Early years Bakewell was a native of Los Angeles, where he at ...

as Tolin *

Milton Parsons Ernest Milton Parsons (May 19, 1904 – May 15, 1980) was an American character actor. He appeared in more than 160 films and television shows between 1939 and 1978. In 1927, Parsons performed with The Strolling Players of Boston acting co ...

as Thin Man * Frank Matts as Juan *

Felipe Turich Felipe Turich (December 5, 1898 - March 9, 1992) was a Mexican film and television actor. He appeared in numerous films and TV series throughout the 1930s to the 1980s. Biography Turich was born in Hidalgo, Mexico, in 1898. He started his acting ...

as Valdez * Edwin Rand as Sam Tevlin

Reception

Critical response

When the film was released, the staff at ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave the film a generally favorable review, writing "The Capture is an offbeat drama, with psychological overtones, that plays off against the raw and rugged background of Mexican locales. Picture kicks off with a wallop ... Ayres and Teresa Wright are very capable in the lead characters, adding to the general realism given the story because of the locales used. One of the interesting touches to the film is the incidental native music hauntingly spotted with the appearance of a blind guitar player."''Variety''
Staff film review, 1950. Accessed: July 18. 2013.

References

Notes

Bibliography

# American Film Institute. ''AFI Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Volume 1''. ''The Capture'', p. 378. University of California Press, 1971. . # Howard Reid, John Howard. ''Movie Westerns:Hollywood Films the Wild, Wild West''. ''The Capture'', p. 45. Lulu.com, 2005. . # Selby, Spencer. ''Dark City: The Film Noir''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 1984. .

External links

* * * * * * * (film in public domain) {{DEFAULTSORT:Capture, The 1950 films American Western (genre) films 1950 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Films directed by John Sturges RKO Pictures films Films scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof 1950s English-language films 1950s American films