"The Stalking Moon" is a pretty good, if not terribly significant, little western with great performances all around and some very suspenseful scenarios. The plot focuses on army scout Gregory Peck whose party takes a group of Native Americans into custody and retrieve white woman Eve-Marie Saint, who was kidnapped years earlier, and her young son, who was fathered by one of the Indians. When Saint insists that she and her son must get out of the area immediately, Peck gives in and takes them to his father's ranch. However, they are followed by the boy's father, a silent hunter intent on taking back his son.
The premise is rather original, and it allows for some spine tingling scenarios near the end of the movie. Unfortunately, the film is, up until the last half hour or so, extremely slow- moving and sometimes dull. Much of the time spent leading up to the villain's arrival (which encompasses about two thirds of the film) seems padded out, with nothing truly significant Taking place for stretches at a time. The fact that the set up takes so much longer to play out than it needs to reveal that in the end, as interesting as it may be, the plot is a bit thin.
Although the first section of the film does start to get boring after a while, sitting through it does pay off. After the arrival of the hunter, the movie remains consistently suspenseful, with one particularly memorable sequence in which Peck waits in silence for his approaching foe that manages to build up tension quite well. The final shootout at the end of the film is also quite exciting.
The story behind the film's villain is also instrumental in building up suspense. It becomes clear as the film moves along and Peck's character learns of the crimes of his enemy that he is human killing machine, capable of stalking his prey in total silence. The movie's villain never speaks a line and is seldom seen throughout the course of the film, but is nevertheless extremely menacing because of what he is capable of doing.
Despite its slow pace, "The Stalking Moon" should still be worthy of one's interest both because of its tense scenarios and because of its solid cast. Gregory Peck makes an excellent hero, as always, eve- Marie Saint gives a melancholy performance as the worried mother who, after years of Indian captivity, barely remembers English, and Robert Forster is good as a member of Peck's party who comes to his aid in fending off his enemy. Overall, this is a worthwhile experience for fans of both suspense films and westerns.
The premise is rather original, and it allows for some spine tingling scenarios near the end of the movie. Unfortunately, the film is, up until the last half hour or so, extremely slow- moving and sometimes dull. Much of the time spent leading up to the villain's arrival (which encompasses about two thirds of the film) seems padded out, with nothing truly significant Taking place for stretches at a time. The fact that the set up takes so much longer to play out than it needs to reveal that in the end, as interesting as it may be, the plot is a bit thin.
Although the first section of the film does start to get boring after a while, sitting through it does pay off. After the arrival of the hunter, the movie remains consistently suspenseful, with one particularly memorable sequence in which Peck waits in silence for his approaching foe that manages to build up tension quite well. The final shootout at the end of the film is also quite exciting.
The story behind the film's villain is also instrumental in building up suspense. It becomes clear as the film moves along and Peck's character learns of the crimes of his enemy that he is human killing machine, capable of stalking his prey in total silence. The movie's villain never speaks a line and is seldom seen throughout the course of the film, but is nevertheless extremely menacing because of what he is capable of doing.
Despite its slow pace, "The Stalking Moon" should still be worthy of one's interest both because of its tense scenarios and because of its solid cast. Gregory Peck makes an excellent hero, as always, eve- Marie Saint gives a melancholy performance as the worried mother who, after years of Indian captivity, barely remembers English, and Robert Forster is good as a member of Peck's party who comes to his aid in fending off his enemy. Overall, this is a worthwhile experience for fans of both suspense films and westerns.
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