A boy haunted by nightmares about the night his entire family was murdered is brought up by a neighboring family in the 1880s. He falls for his lovely adoptive sister but his nasty adoptive brother and mysterious uncle want him dead.
Cinematography
James Wong Howe's chiaroscuro makes the desert feel claustrophobic.
Acting
Mitchum's sleepy menace vs. Judith Anderson's glacial maternal dread.
Score
Max Steiner's orchestral guilt trip never lets you relax.
Director
Raoul Walsh
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This is widely considered the first 'Western noir,' blending German Expressionism's shadowy psychology with frontier mythology.
Mitchum and Walsh fought constantly; Mitchum called Walsh 'the Slavedriver' and Walsh called Mitchum 'that big sleepy lug.' Their tension fueled the paranoia on screen.
US
