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directed by Joseph H. Lewis
USA 1953

 

At first glance a rather ordinary thriller with a disillusioned cop (Barry Sullivan - pretty good) chasing an escaped con (Vittorio Gassman) deep into the swamps of Louisiana. However, delve a little deeper and you find a dark and cynical meditation on fear, obsession and personal honour.

Unlike ‘The Fugitive' this con is guilty but his crime, although serious, barely gets a mention. The script instead concentrates on the two protagonists and their similarities. Although on different sides of the law, both believe in family and personal honour and cannot compromise their beliefs. Both suffer as a result.

The justice system is portrayed as idle(a Prison Warden only interested in golf), bigoted (a Southern Sheriff who pre-dates ‘In the Heat of the Night') or just plain nasty (William Conrad scoring well as the cop's partner.)

Excerpt of review from Ale fish for imdb.com located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 8 May 1953 (USA)

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DVD Review: Warner Home Video (Warner Archive Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Review!

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Distribution

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC

Runtime 1:19:09
Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.13 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)
Subtitles None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Warner Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
� None

DVD Release Date: October 13th, 2015
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Chapters 10

 

 

 

Comments

One of the true auteurs of film noir is Joseph H. Lewis and Cry of the Hunted is perhaps his least remembered addition to the dark cinema. Set and filmed around Louisiana bayou, it is the finest example of "swamp noir", also represented by such diverse films as Jean Renoir's Swamp Water, Louisiana Hussy, Lure of the Wilderness (1952), Lure of the Swamp (1957) and Bayou (1957); even Lewis' own Gun Crazy ends in the swamp.

Barry Sullivan (The Gangster, Cause for Alarm, Loophole, Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires) stars as a cop Lt. Tunner on a hot pursuit of a fugitive Jory, played by Vittorio Gassman (Bitter Rice, The Glass Wall, Big Deal on Madonna Street, Il Sorpasso) in his third English-language role. Polly Bergen (Cape Fear) and Mary Zavian (in her only credited role) are love interests for the detective and the fugitive, respectively, and William Conrad (Cry Danger, director of Brainstorm, Two on a Guillotine) provides great support as Tunner's partner, but this is by far Sullivan/Gassman show. Some critics see homosexual undertones in the relationship between the two men - from the filmmaker who gave us Fante and Mingo (played by Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holliman) in The Big Combo, this reading is not too far-fetched.

Except from rare TCM screenings and appearance at Noir City 7 Film Festival in 2009, Cry of the Hunted has been impossible to see in acceptable quality - until this made-on-demand DVD from Warner Archive in 2015. The progressive newly-mastered transfer looks especially well, with very little damage, very nice contrast and grain structure. The mono soundtrack is fine, but per usual standard for Warner Archive releases, there are no subtitles or captioning and this release does not have any extras. Still, the film itself and transfer quality make this single-layered disc an attractive and recommended release.

  - Gregory Meshman

 


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DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

 

 

 

Distribution

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC


 

 




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