Purely Joyful Movie!

Perfect cast and a good story

Fantastic!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This script is as exciting as watching paint dry. I'm glad I didn't sit through it in a movie theater in '68. It's as slow as a story can be. Then there is the illogic. I reckon they are called plot holes. The characters don't behave as one would expect. For example, why would Salvaje stalk the party alone and not bring his braves?

Prior to the vastly overblown and disappointing Greg Peck western, McKenna's Gold, was this quiet gem of humanity, romance, redemption, and terror. Its two stars, Peck and Eva Marie Saint, carry the film beautifully. There is little dialog, but such fine actors don't really require it to make their parts human and believable. The story is original and timely. There are stunning locations, lushly photographed by the great Charles Lang, and the sure directorial hand of Robert Mulligan (To Kill A Mockingbird.) Fred Karlin's music, like the rest of the movie, is understated and effective. Underscoring it all, is the invisible predator, Salvaje, who carries them all- and us- inexorably, to a hold-your-breath conclusion. Like a good Hitchcock film, The Stalking Moon is rooted in the familiar, juxtaposed with the extraordinary.Very highly recommended.

The Stalking Moon is directed by Robert Mulligan and adapted by Wendell Mayes & Alvin Sargent from the Theodore V. Olsen novel. It stars Gregory Peck, Eva Marie Saint and Robert Forster. Fred Karlin scores the music and cinematography comes from Charles Lang. It's a Technicolor and Panavision production. Plot sees Peck as veteran army scout Sam Varner, who agrees to escort former Apache captive Sarah Carver (Saint) and her half-Indian son to safety. Easier said than done, for as they make their way across the sprawling terrain of the Southwest, they are being tracked by a savage renegade Indian who is intent on getting the boy back.Along with producer Alan J. Pakula, the Mulligan and Peck teaming sees the three principals involved in To kill a Mockingbird reconvene for this late 60s Oater. Coming out at a time when the Western was fast becoming a fading genre, it's a film that has largely been forgotten about. Garnering mixed reviews from those that have seen it, it's a film that frustrates and enthrals in equal measure. From the outset it's probably best to put out there that it's very much a slow build piece, one that is more about dealing in suggestion and anticipation than it is in actual events.There's a strong lead performance from Peck, a performance he was privately said to have been fond of, and the photography from Lang, as he sumptuously brings to life Red Rock Canyon & Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, gives a nice contrast to the grim mood generated by the protagonists' journey. There's also an interesting score from Karlin, not very traditional, but it does work and leaves a favourable impression. While there's enough tension throughout, born out of Mulligan smartly keeping the villain off screen for the majority of the picture; letting it play out as if there's some sort of supernatural foe in the midst.However, if the ending, though, pays you off after your patience? And after having got you to buy into the slow build? Well that's the deal breaker as to if you can give this film two thumbs up or not. Personally it held no surprise for me, and that was a bit of a let down. You sense the makers wanted to make something a bit different as the genre was beginning to wane, instead they revert to type and it hurts the film considerably. A shame is that. 6.5/10

From the same folks who brought you To Kill a Mockingbird, a good western thriller The Stalking Moon blends old west action with Alfred Hitchcock type suspense.Gregory Peck is an old army scout who helped rescue captive white woman Eva Marie Saint and her son Noland Clay by one of the Apache chiefs. The father isn't about to give up his son and he pursues Peck all the way to his ranch after he quit the cavalry. The last 40% of the film deals with Peck and his ranch guests being stalked by a clever and dangerous Indian opponent.The film itself touches on themes used in both The Searchers and Two Rode Together by John Ford and the fine Joel McCrea-Barbara Stanwyck western, Trooper Hook. But director Robert J. Mulligan took his style cues from Alfred Hitchcock. We don't ever see the opponent except in long shot right up to the very end. We only know him from what is said about Nathaniel Narciso from what is said and the death and destruction in his wake. The anticipation is all the more terrifying.Western and suspense, The Stalking Moon is a nice blend of film genres and fans of Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint will be pleased.