From legendary director Raoul Walsh (High Sierra, White Heat) comes what Martin Scorsese hails as Hollywood’s first “western noir.” Screen icon Robert Mitchum (The Night of the Hunter) plays Jeb Rand, one of Hollywood’s early anti-heroes—an orphan-turned-war-hero caught in the middle of a violent family feud. Written by Niven Busch (Duel in the Sun), Pursued is the story of Jeb’s love for his stepsister, Thorley (a terrific Teresa Wright, Shadow of a Doubt), which triggers a fatal gun battle with her brother Adam (John Rodney, Key Largo). Despite this tragedy she marries Jeb, intent on avenging the death on their wedding night. But Jeb’s dark past closes in with the arrival of a stranger with a score to settle who sets off a brutal climax of treachery, murder and shocking revelations. Judith Anderson (Rebecca) plays Mrs. Callum, the widow who takes in young Jeb; Dean Jagger (Dark City) plays Grant, a one-armed stranger who seems bent on tormenting Jeb; Alan Hale (The Crusades) plays Jake Dingle, a casino owner who becomes Jeb’s business partner; and Harry Carey Jr. (Man of the East) plays Prentice, a young man also in love with Thorley. Gorgeous black-and-white cinematography by James Wong Howe (Hud) and a rousing score by Max Steiner (Casablanca) further enrich Walsh’s brilliant blending of two distinctly American film genres.

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Video Quality

Kino Classics presents Pursued with a lovely Blu-Ray in 1.33:1 from a 2022 4K scan conducted by Paramount Pictures of the 35mm Original Camera Negative, Dupe Negative and Comp Print. The film was previously released on Blu-Ray over a decade ago in 2012 by Olive Films, but we do not have that release to compare. That being said, when studios get involved in the restoration process, you are usually in for a nice upgrade. The presentation is a looker throughout the duration of the runtime with image stability and delineation being handled carefully.

This transfer retains the natural film grain of the presentation with moments rarely seeming clumpy or swarming. We did not notice any unexpected softness in the transfer as the sumptuous black-and-white photography shot by James Wong Howe has a firm grasp on the gradients. Black levels hold up favorably with next to nothing in the way of crush. Instances of print damage such as nicks and lines have been cleaned up considerably with overall clarity and detail remaining high. Kino Classics has brought new life to this classic western noir.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a consistent DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that translates the material well. This track shows no serious signs of age-related wear and tear such as dropouts, hissing or popping. Dialogue and background noises stay in decent harmony with all complementary elements. The Max Steiner score maintains a worthy fidelity as it enhances the mood of the narrative. Despite the strength of this element, nothing ever drowns out the dialogue or other important information. All of the sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the intent of the creative team. This is a good showing from Kino Classics. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith provides a very informative commentary track in which she discusses the state of the studio system at this time, the concept of western noir, how this fits into the career of Raoul Walsh, the background of the performers, the narrative structure, and much more.

Introduction From Martin Scorsese: A nearly three-minute introduction from filmmaker Martin Scorsese in which he discusses why this film is a classic, the themes of the film, and more.

Trailers: There are trailers provided for When The Daltons Ride, The Shepherd of the Hills, The Ox-Bow Incident, Canyon Passage, Duel In The Sun, The Virginian, Yellow Sky, Rawhide, Not As A Stranger, The Night of the Hunter, Man with the Gun, and The World In His Arms.

Final Thoughts

Pursued is often discussed due to its blend of western and noir elements, but the film thrives for a multitude of reasons beyond that. First and foremost, the direction of Raoul Walsh is outstanding as every element comes together to create a rich mosaic. The performances are in top form, as well, including the always-dependable Robert Mitchum. The antagonists truly make you want to sock them, so they must be doing something right. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a cool couple of features. Fans of darker-tinged westerns should give this a shot. Recommended

Pursued is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.