“The Chase” is a crime drama film about a prison escapee who returns to his home town to find most of the town folk are not crazy about his homecoming, with the sympathetic town sheriff caught in the middle. What seems like a promising drama turns out to be a big bore thanks to lackluster direction by Arthur Penn (“The Miracle Worker” 1962) and a mediocre screenplay by Lillian Hellman.
The three principal stars are miscast in their roles: Marlon Brando as the sheriff, Robert Redford as the escaped prisoner, and Jane Fonda as his wife. They delivered sluggish performances and therefore come across poorly on the big screen. The talent in the stellar supporting cast is wasted: E. G. Marshall, Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford, Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Bruce Cabot, Paul Williams, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat, Ken Renard, Katherine Walsh, and Lori Martin.
The screenplay by Hellman, based on the 1950’s book and play of the same name by Horton Foote, was mostly unremarkable, trying to be clever and artsy with social commentary while achieving none of the above. Producer Sam Spiegel and director Arthur Penn appear to be at cross-purposes with the screenwriter, billing the picture as an action-adventure. The result is on-screen mediocrity. Filmed in Technicolor, the mostly unwatchable “The Chase” was a box office bomb for Horizon Pictures and Columbia Pictures.
The Chase (1966)
cinema
My Review
“The Chase” is a crime drama film about a prison escapee who returns to his home town to find most of the town folk are not crazy about his homecoming, with the sympathetic town sheriff caught in the middle. What seems like a promising drama turns out to be a big bore thanks to lackluster direction by Arthur Penn (“The Miracle Worker” 1962) and a mediocre screenplay by Lillian Hellman.
The three principal stars are miscast in their roles: Marlon Brando as the sheriff, Robert Redford as the escaped prisoner, and Jane Fonda as his wife. They delivered sluggish performances and therefore come across poorly on the big screen. The talent in the stellar supporting cast is wasted: E. G. Marshall, Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford, Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Bruce Cabot, Paul Williams, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat, Ken Renard, Katherine Walsh, and Lori Martin.
The screenplay by Hellman, based on the 1950’s book and play of the same name by Horton Foote, was mostly unremarkable, trying to be clever and artsy with social commentary while achieving none of the above. Producer Sam Spiegel and director Arthur Penn appear to be at cross-purposes with the screenwriter, billing the picture as an action-adventure. The result is on-screen mediocrity. Filmed in Technicolor, the mostly unwatchable “The Chase” was a box office bomb for Horizon Pictures and Columbia Pictures.